This week's fun activity... Plastic Bottle Penguin

January 20th is National Penguin Day!  We associate these birds with Winter because many of them live in cold climates all year round. Penguins are camouflaged, similar to our native frogs, fish and birds, by being colored differently on the front and back.  Animals have this to protect themselves from predators both above and below them! For this week’s activity, we’ll make a penguin from a recycled plastic bottle!

Materials: Plastic bottle Cotton balls Black paper Orange (or yellow) paper Wiggly eyes Water based glue Scissors

Step 1 - Clean and Dry Remove any stickers or wrapping from your bottle. Rinse and clean the inside and outside and let it dry.

Step 2 – Stuff Stuff cotton balls into the body to fill the space.  Optionally, you can add glitter with your cotton balls to give your penguin a little sparkle!

Step 3 - Shirt Cut out a “shirt” design from a piece of black paper.  Apply glue and attach this to the bottle.  This helps form the body and wings of your penguin!

Step 4 – Head Cut out about a 1 inch wide strip and wrap it around the lid.  Glue it to secure it into place. This forms the head of the penguin.

Step 5 – Face From orange or yellow paper, cut out a small triangle to act as a beak.  Glue this, along with two wiggly eyes, to your penguin head.

Step 6 – Feet Cut out penguin feet from the same paper as your beak.  Cut them large enough so that they cover the bottom of the bottle.   Apply glue and attach the feet to the bottle. Once the feet are attached and the glue is dry, your penguin is complete!

Step 7 – (Optional) Embellish You can “dress up” your penguin by adding a hat or a scarf; or make it into a crested penguin by adding feathers to the head!

FBBG Memberships: Great All Year Round! All FBBG members receive: Unlimited access to the Gardens A 10% discount in Nell's Garden Cafe' Discounts on FBBG classes, special events and in our Gift Shop on select stock items. Free admission to over 300 AHS gardens nationwide... Including Chicago Botanic, Arizona's Desert Botanical Garden, Illinois' Morton Arboretum and the Florida Botanical Gardens! FBBG's In Season Newsletter Membership Appreciation Event...and more! MEMBER LEVELS: Individual $35 One Membership Admission Card & (1) One-time Guest Pass Individual +1 $50 Two Membership Admission Cards & (2) One-time Guest Passes Family $65 Two Membership Admission Cards - Good for two adults and three children under 17 & (3) One-time Guest Passes Donor level memberships are also available starting at $100. For more information, please call the FBBG office at 414-525-5653. Become a Member Now!

BOERNER BOTANICAL GARDENS UPDATE The Gardens are now closed for the season. The Education and Visitor Center is open. Hours are 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. MASKS ARE REQUIRED! Gift Shop Opening to be announced. Be sure to watch for announcements on fun learning activities for all ages, and for updates on our classes and programs, hosted by FBBG - all year - indoors and out!

Please continue to watch for our weekly activities...  fun learning for ALL ages!