Did I pick a good day to be absent…..a few weeks ago, Ms. Svedlund invited Spidey Jen to come to Science class for a spider show and tell. Here is some information Ms. Svedlund provided me about this special class speaker:
Entomology expert and SBCC Professor Dr. Jen Maupin brought in many different live and preserved spider specimens to share with us. Dr. Maupin is on sabbatical from teaching this year and is (among other things) diligently working with the Entomology Department at the Museum of Natural History to catalog and organize the museum’s arachnid collection.
Kindergarten students impressed us with their knowledge about spiders, as well as their bravery in holding different species of spiders. One of the most popular visitors was Rosy the Rose Hair Tarantula (not our native species) and the majority of kindergarten students held her!
Dr. Maupin helped to dispel some myths and fears about spiders. Her calm nature and comfortable manner when handling the different spider visitors helped us to see that we do not need to be afraid of them. She also made sure that we all learned that we should not be poking our fingers at spiders that we see, that the spider is likely more afraid of us than we may be of them, and that there is a proper way to handle spiders.
The pictures paint a very clear picture of students overcoming their fear of spiders and participating in the hands on presentation that Spidey Jen shared.
Dr. Jen reviews the anatomy of a spider.
“Do you want to hold a tarantula?”
“I do! I do!”
Go Ms. Stark!
Oh how brave these students were! You would have found me outside the science lab hiding!