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Article published Apr 11, 2006
Kindergartners get personal with creepy-crawly creatures
Traveling show a lesson on life
By NIKOLAUS OLSEN
NikOlsen@coloradoan.com

"Ewws" outnumbered "ahhs" Monday as kindergartners at O'Dea Elementary School got an up-close look at arthropods, the world's most populous living organisms.

Insects, spiders, crustaceans, millipedes and centipedes were all on hand for the children to see as they plunged into a buggy academic unit.

Arthropods (identified by their jointed legs) comprise three out of every four of the Earth's organisms, said Fiona Garvin, an instructor with the University of Colorado's traveling school science program, to about 40 O'Dea kindergartners.

There are more than 800,000 arthropod species that have been identified and likely many more that humans haven't yet discovered, she said.

At times, the students were squirmier than the bugs Garvin had brought as they clamored to see species such as the "walking leaf," which uses its foliage-inspired look for camouflage, and well-known favorites such as scorpions and tarantulas.

"I like the scorpion because it's poisonous," declared 5-year-old Billy Martin.

Learning about animals and insects provides an introduction to life sciences, said O'Dea kindergarten teacher Marjorie Butts. Kindergartners are just now starting a unit on bugs, and seeing some real examples helps set the tone.

"This works really, really well," Butts said.

The insect that drew the biggest "eww" of the day was the vinegaroon, also known as a whiptail. It wasn't the look of the scorpion-related bug that grossed-out the kids, but what it can do to defend itself from predators.

"(A vinegaroon) can make vinegar in its body and then shoot it out of its butt," Garvin told the class.

The vinegaroon wasn't the only insect on hand Monday that can secrete substances for self-defense. The millipede produces a smelly gas that is part cyanide, and the Madagascar hissing cockroach can produce a hissing noise by pushing air through tiny holes in its exoskeleton.

Cockroaches don't live up to their dirty reputation, Gavin said.

"Cockroaches are very clean, so they can smell and sense food," she said.

For 6-year-old Damian Cordova, the special defenses of the other arthropods weren't enough to replace his favorite, the tarantula.

"I like it because it is the scariest," he said.