The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools

Monarch discoveries in the Historic Campus garden

Fewer things prompt wonder and creativity in the minds of Lab’s youngest students than the stunning beauty and compact life cycle of the monarch butterfly. As teachers spent the summer preparing the Historic Campus garden for the return of students, great care has been taken to preserve the environment so the butterflies can breed and flourish. Four butterfly habitats reside in the garden, three for Kronforst Lab research, and one for Lab’s monarch sanctuary. 

So when a monarch chrysalis was discovered hiding under one of the cement benches, kindergarten teacher Meredith Dodd and Kronforst Lab post-doctoral researcher Micah Friedman took steps to make sure the chrysalis safely transferred to the Lab sanctuary. 

Successfully resettled in the monarch habitat, a week or two later, the butterfly safely emerged and set free. This summer, Lab bred up to 75 monarch butterflies and released them all into the environment. 

In the 1890s, John Dewey’s expansive ideas about integrating school and society drew national attention to the school gardens at the Laboratory Schools. He urged teachers to connect intellectual and practical elements within their curricula. That tradition continues at the Historic Campus garden, ready and waiting for students on their first day.

Take a walk through the Historic Campus garden with kindergarten teacher Meredith Dodd.