What's Bugging Belva?

From Jan. 5 through April 10, a new exhibit at the Terre Haute Children’s Museum will give museum visitors a chance to follow Belva the bug as she learns that bugs are more than just something to squish, but play important roles in our world.

The "What's Bugging Belva?" exhibit, which was created by the Purdue Agricultural Communications Exhibit Design Center,  uses a children's story format and an interactive garden setting to guide visitors through Belva's world as her grandfather, Belvedere, shows her the wonders of being an insect.

"Insects live in all kinds of different environments and have roles to play," said Tom Turpin, a Purdue University professor of entomology and the exhibit's content specialist. "They are pollinators and nature's recycling crew. They are very important to the ecology of the planet."

Belva learns lessons about the interesting features of insects, such as the metamorphosis a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly. She also discovers how insects, such as beetles, are important for cleaning up dead animals and other "garbage" in nature.

Children have enjoyed the exhibit's hands-on opportunities and up-close-and-personal experiences with insects.

"The device that allows kids to see with compound eyes is great because the kids get to see the world as an insect sees it," Turpin said. "We also have models of the real insects there that were portrayed in the story, so the kids can get a good look at them as well."

Make your own bug mask!

Materials

• Plastic milk jugs, one per child
• Scissors
• Paper birthday blowers
• Tempera paint
• Construction paper scraps
• Materials such as pipe cleaners, straws, pompoms, feathers, stickers, yarn, button, sequins, and bits of fabric
• Glue

What To Do

1. Ahead of time, cut away the back half of the milk jug, leaving the base intact. The jug's base is the top of the mask and will sit on the child's head; the front of the jug is the insectface. Cut two openings for the eyes and a hole for the mouth and birthday blower, or insect tongue.
2. Encourage the children to decorate their masks with the paint and craft materials.
3. While the children are working, invite them to imagine how their insect moves, what kind of second it makes, what its habitat is like, who its enemies are, and what food it needs to live.
4. Invite the children to put on their finished masks and behave like insects.