| Description | Most of my students have little or no experience with the wild fauna of Illinois. I am teaching a large Entomological unit to 8th grade students where they will be collecting insects in a number of ways: funnel traps with baits, Berlese funnels, sweep nets, pit trapping, beating trays, siphoning devices, and the good old "quick catch it" hand collecting method. The student are then required to identify, mount, and display 20 arthropods. These arthropods must represent at least six different insect orders. To receive an 'A' for the project, the insects must be further identified to family, or noted to genus and species.
I have 2 microscopes with which the students are able to examine their captures - but nothing like the Bugscope project allows.
Bugscope would give these students and even greater ability to appreciate the unbelievable complexity that these organisms demonstrate.
In addition, the school at which I teach has a high proportion of students who come from families of poverty. This project would allow them to take part in a higher-level science activity that I doubt they will ever forget. |
