Powell County 8-3-26 Jane Hayes
Visitors to the Red River Gorge (RRG) Farmers Market explored the world of butterflies at the RRG Discovery Zone event held July 25th at Slade.
The Red River Gorge Discovery Zone (RRGDZ) is a traveling pop-up learning experience focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM). Through hands-on activities and live presentations, it introduces students to the natural history and conservation of the Red River Gorge as well as local history.
Sandy Hall taught the explorers about the lifecycle of a butterfly: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly. The children built the lifecycle using cut out shapes of each lifecycle stage. They decorated the shapes and glued them to a background.
Suzanne Smith, retired Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Kentucky, taught the explorers about monarch and swallowtail butterflies. She presented a menagerie of butterflies in various stages of life. She showed the explorers eggs on leaves, she showed the explorers caterpillars on leaves (showing how they had been eating the leaves). She emphasized this part of the lesson with a popular children’s book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. She showed the explorers pictures of chrysalises and monarch butterflies. The collection of eggs and caterpillars showed how quickly the caterpillars grow over the two weeks. Dr. Smith also brought samples of milkweed and explained how monarchs eat only this plant.
Lillie, Tammy, and Josh Boyd taught the children about static electricity. The children built a butterfly model using tissue paper for the wings. They then used a balloon to generate static electricity (rubbed against their hair). The butterfly wings lifted up and down as the balloon was moved closer or farther from the wings.
DJ Willoughby taught the explorers about pawpaws and swallowtail butterflies. Pawpaws are a native Kentucky food that swallowtails prefer. Interestingly, the butterflies do not eat the pawpaw fruit, but only the leaves and the tree. DJ used a memory game to teach the children and then to quiz them.
Special thanks to Stacy and Shannon Stidham for transporting the RRGDZ trailer and to the Boyd family for assisting in the set-up and tear-down of the Discovery Zone tables and displays.
Funded by grants from TC Energy, Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, and Powell County Tourism Commission, and supported by fiscal sponsors Community Partners of Powell County and Powell County Tourism, the all-volunteer effort includes other organizations and team members not listed above. Organizations/individuals who donated or loaned items to assist the Discovery Zone in the 2026 season include Sandy Hall, Suzanne Smith, DJ Ledford, Ovie Hollon, Regina Mulcahy, Maria Reed, David Davis, and Josh Davis. Father Al Fritsch, may he rest in peace, formerly of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Appalachia Science in the Public Interest, Society of Jesus, and formerly of Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church (Stanton) and of St. Elizabeth of Hungary (Ravenna), was the inspiration for the Discovery Zone.
Check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/rrgdiscoveryzone/ and our website at rrgdiscoveryzone.com. Join us at our next event on September 19th at Red River Gorge Farmers Market in Slade!
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