American Entomologist • Spring 2007 12 EDUCATION CONNECTION Insectapalooza: Practical Suggestions for Pulling Off A Large Entomology Outreach Event Ronda L. Hamm and Linda S. Rayor A s you walk through the door, you are greeted by the 6-ft Insectapalooza bee mascot, who is having her picture taken with grinning chil- dren. A little further along, you hear loud cheers and screams urg- ing American cockroaches down a 4-laned track. What to see next? The Insect Zoo, the Film Festival, or Veterinary Entomology? Eventually, parents drag their children away from the cockroach races to partake of the diversity of other activities going on. More than 1,300 people came to the second incarnation of Insectapalooza: Cornell University’s Department of Entomology Open House. How did we share our excitement for arthropods and promote the breadth of our scien- tifc efforts to people of all ages in just 6 hours? The focus of the open house is to reach out to the community to show the diversity of treasures within our department and to promote the feld of entomology. Our goal was to present entomology at a variety of levels, from simple “infotainment,” to char- ismatic displays of arthropod diversity, to educational interactive displays on research being done in our department. Our audience ranged from children of all ages to emeritus professors. Similarly, most displays could not be only for children or for adults, but needed to hold the interest of both. The diversity of Insectapalooza (definition): a strange or unusual insect. activities allowed everyone to learn some- thing (Table 1). Children loved the roach races, insect face painting, and the handful of maggots. The build-a-bug activity allowed children to make an insect to take home with them, using materials we provided. As the bugs were being built, undergraduate volunteers asked the children about their insects and encouraged an understanding of basic insect anatomy. No one who came to the event missed the huge arthropod zoo, flled with many sizeable arthropods to touch, hold, watch, or help feed. The zoo was Go ahead and dig in! Participants at Insectapalooza build a bug to take home. Take a handful or grab just one. Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ae/article-abstract/53/1/12/2474827 by guest on 24 May 2020