Last Thursday, we went to Ernie Miller for the Inspector Insector class. Naturalist Molly came into the room dressed as a detective, and immediately grabbed the kids attention. She introduced the kids to their “case” and gave us a list of four suspects, as well as some clues. While the kids “solved” the case, they learned about insects and their four stages of metamorphosis, and one of the kids showed the transformation from an egg to a butterfly. Molly also showed a display case with examples of all the stages of metamorphosis, and the kids learned about other creatures that go through metamorphosis. They also saw examples of spider molting and talked about exoskeletons and how they protect an arachnid’s as well as an insect’s body. The kids also learned about the parts of an insect’s body.
The kids made friends with the hissing cockroaches and held them in their hands, took a peek at a black widow spider, and after going through all the clues, solved the case! Our inspectors were so good they were sent out with three additional “case files” so they could do their own investigations at home.
Thanks to Molly and to Ernie Miller for a great class! The kids were enthused and engaged, and learned a lot about insects.
Inspector Insector introduces the case
Examples of metamorphic stages
Spider Moltings
Black Widow Spider
Hands on with the Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
