Support Your Local Insect Enthusiast!
Jim Nutting is the owner and manager of the Maine Art Glass
Studio and Sanctuary Gallery. In addition to crafting beautiful
artwork he raises insects, some of which will go into the displays.
The summer day when I was visiting, there were two children
accompanied by their grandmother walking through the gallery.
Jim saw them and asked if they were interested in bugs. One
enthusiastically, and one a little hesitantly, said “Yes . . .”
“Come with me, then! And your grandma might enjoy taking a
look, too.”
Behind a thoroughly usual door was a thoroughly unusual
array of invertebrates! Shelves held aquaria, some under special
lights, some screened off at the top, some with water in a little
mock pond . . . it was an astonishing menagerie of crawling things.
The children were delighted! Grandma held her own, careful
not to sway her grandchildren’s thoughts by exclaiming, “Ew!
Yuck!” although she was visibly challenged by the variety of bugs
she now shared a small space with.
Tarantulas, hissing cockroaches, scorpions, millipedes, mantids, and beetles quietly clambered about
their darkened tanks. Some scurried when the light switched on, others remained immobile and thereby
nearly invisible.
Jim took out several different insects and spiders so we could get a closer look. He explained some of the
particular behaviors and characteristics of each. For a special treat, he turned off the lights and flipped the
black light switch on, so we could see a scorpion glow in the dark.
The enthusiasm that Jim showed was unmistakable. He had such a passion about the insects and what
made them worth paying attention to, that he could speak with great authenticity and excitement about
them. That excitement was shared with the children, who asked questions and watched and listened
very carefully.
This kind of experience is an invaluable one to share with students. Often
as teachers we have only a surface knowledge about a topic; we cannot know
everything about everything. Or perhaps crawling things are not our favorite
area of focus. Visiting
an entomologist or just an
enthusiast can offer a depth
of direct contact that might
otherwise not happen in
the classroom.
Synergy Learning
internationaL, inc.
Connect
™
Volume 23 • issue 4
march • april 2010
PO Box 60, Brattleboro, VT 05302
Innovations in K–8 Science, Math, and Technology