Hi, Sean here, postdoc with the lab and writing a blog post here for the first time. Earlier this year, I gave two talks on a basic introduction to the native diversity of terrestrial arthropods in Singapore.
First, in August, I spoke to the K2 cohort of the Iyad Perdaus childcare centre. This was part of a larger, insect-themed program that the educators had prepared for the children, which was an encouraging initiative!
Me giving my self-introduction and explaining what an entomologist is/does. Photos courtesy of Iyad Perdaus.
Talking spiders and mole crickets. Most photographs in the slides were taken by me, to illustrate how possible it is to see such a wide diversity of arthropods in person. Some images, such as the mole cricket (by Nicky Bay) and the mole were included for better illustrative purposes of points such as form and function, and convergent morphology. By relating the similar morphology of the two animals and given their existing knowledge of the mammalian mole behaviour, the children were able to infer the lifestyle and habits of mole crickets.
After the presentation, the children were presented the opportunity to observe and interact with live beetles that I had loaned from James Khoo from The Curious Pangolin, who raises beetles off his own compost for educational purposes.
Most of the kids were brave and excited to observe and handle the beetles up close, and even children who were initially wary were won over by the excitement of their peers and willing to give the experience a shot. Overall, it seemed like a positive experience that would hopefully leave this next generation with a good impression of insects and the roles they play in our environment.
All of this was only made possible with the enthusiasm and encouragement of the childcare educators, who had even set up a small entomology lab in a corner of the K2 classroom space, complete with sorting stations and posters of insect life cycles that the children had designed together with their parents!
Then in September, I gave the same presentation at the Pets and Wildlife tent at West Coast Park as part of NParks’ Parks Festival event. This was attended mainly by families with children, and was a cosy, informal affair that was more of a conversation between me and the children rather than a formal lecture.
The enthusiasm and keen interest of the children at both these events really showed that an interest in wildlife and nature is important to inculcate at a young age, and that most children are naturally interested and keen to learn if given the opportunity. If we start making more effort now, we can move towards a future society that is more understanding and appreciative of insects in our environment.