Those were just a few of the adjectives that the lively group of 3rd graders used to describe the collage of bug photos on the PowerPoint slide in front of them. A few bug lovers in the group preferred to call them "Awesome" and "Cool", to which Nicole and I beamed with approval.
Nicole Pinson is the Master Gardener Program Coordinator and Home Horticulturist for the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the Hillsborough County Extension Office in Seffner, Florida. She's been working tirelessly at AgVenture promoting a fun way for the students to touch, taste, and see Florida agriculture. I was there as a volunteer in the Master Gardener program, playing my small part to help out. And wouldn't you know, our topic was insects - how to recognize the good ones from the few bad ones while appreciating them all. I was playing the role of bug advocate once again.
After the slide show, and once the students shared what they had learned, everyone gathered around the back tables to make their bug necklaces before heading off to their next presentation as our next group of eager learners started to file in.
Wow we have a lot of 3rd graders in the county! Twenty days scheduled for the school year with 5 school groups each day. Do the math - that's a lot of potential entomologists! Ashley, you may have some company!