Photographs by Kathy De La Torre
Students from the Next Generation Child Development Center pre-school in Saratoga take turns touching a giant millipede at the Youth Science Institute Insect Fair.
Buggin' Out
By Rebecca Ray
Photographs by Kathy De La Torre
At the Youth Science Institute Insect Fair, visitors got to see more than just insects. Spectators saw other arthropods--which include millipedes, arachnids and crustaceans.
The annual weeklong exhibit, which took place recently at the YSI Science and Nature Center at Sanborn-Skyline County Park in Saratoga, featured arthropods, both live and dead, from tarantulas to ladybugs to Malagasy hissing cockroaches, the only roach species that makes a sound humans can hear. Visitors saw arthropods at various stages of their life cycles, from pupae to adults, and learned about them through lectures and hands-on activities.
Photographs by Kathy De La Torre
Rider Caplain, 4, of Los Gatos, takes a closer look at arthropods--which include insects, arachnids, crustaceans and millipedes--on display at the Youth Science Institute Insect Fair, held from May 18 to 26.
Spectators saw arthropods in their natural habitats, such as bees and butterflies pollinating flowers, and a display where plastic ants were set up in various patterns. This exhibit showed how ants might behave when other ants released certain pheromones--scents undetectable to humans--to communicate that there was food nearby, or that another ant had died.
The YSI catered to all age groups, by providing arthropod-themed puzzles for younger children and displaying posters with information about arthropods for older children and adults.
Photographs by Kathy De La Torre
Carly Kolb, 5, of Saratoga, Aleah Whitley, 5, of San Jose, and Katey Nill, 4, of Monte Sereno, have mixed reactions after looking into a box full of caterpillars at the Youth Science Institute annual Insect Fair at Sanborn-Skyline County Park in Saratoga.
"I think it's good for kids to be exposed to insects, because people's first response is they're icky and scary," YSI instructor Jennifer Snedecker said. She added that the nonprofit Los Gatos-based organization hosted the fair from May 18 to 26, to help people overcome their fear of arthropods and to show how arthropods benefit the environment.
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