SD55: Insectopia: Collaborating to create a daily dose of play

Encouraging children’s enthusiasm for an “Insectopia” has never been more important, as many insects are experiencing declines worldwide. Frequently, however, narratives children hear surrounding insects are negative, centering on the annoyances, damages, or injuries that insects can inflict. Collaborations between scientists and local organizations can be critical for improving children’s perception of the world around them. The Sadd Lab collaborated with the Children’s Discovery Museum of Normal, Illinois, to create an accessible video program for their “Daily Dose of Play” series during the 2020 pandemic with accompanying activities, when in-person programming was not possible. This video highlights the diversity of insects, and walks children through different aspects of insect form and function, explaining how insects do different things to accomplish similar goals. To accompany this video, the team created “The Bug Hunt”, a scavenger hunt taking children into their backyard and beyond to find common insects. As activities integrating art and science are important for engagement, we collaborated with a local elementary teacher to design an age-appropriate art project, creating butterflies with coffee-filter wings. Since their launch by the Children’s Discovery Museum, these activities have been viewed by dozens of families, and are actively available for interested families.