WOW–Educating Future Scientists
WOW (Wonders of Our World) is one of the most gratifying programs I have ever been a part of (if not the most gratifying program). I could go on about all of the wonderful things I have done through the WOW program, but the best thing I have done by far is make a child cry. Yes, I did just say the best thing I did in WOW was make a child cry, but trust me when I say it was inspiring and wonderful.
Still of Arnold; he’s so photogenic!
I made a child cry when I visited a third grade class with some of the greatest people (who I wouldn’t have grown close to if it weren’t for WOW) and held a male Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. Now for those of you who don’t know, Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches are some of the biggest cockroaches known to man that average 3-4 inches in length. These cute critters don’t have wings (unlike other species of cockroaches) and they use the fourth vertebrae of their back to hiss (one characteristic that differentiates the males from the females). The males will hiss when they feel threatened or when they are tempted to mate, and my goodness this little critter felt pretty anxious around a class of 25 terrified third graders. Arnold the cockroach was pretty chill, only hissing when I would press on his back, but the children weren’t so convinced… and that’s when I made a girl cry. I was almost tempted to put the cockroach back into its cage when we switched groups and I carried the little guy as far away as possible from the sobbing girl.
That was the first and last child that cried over the cockroach. The children learned fast that these critters have no intention to hurt us and even some children became brave enough to touch and hold Arnold (he was the only one calm enough to be held). I felt incredibly gratified to have taught the children about what the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach is known for, but I think they all learned something more important from this experience. Animals commonly pegged as “creepy crawlies” have no intention to harm us; in fact, we are scarier to them than they are to us. Not only that, but we don’t bat an eye when we destroy the land in which they live, and they’ve been living on this earth far longer than we have! This goes for all animals that we share the earth with, and while Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches aren’t endangered, many of their other “creepy critter friends” deal with habitat loss and that has caused them to wind up on the endangered species list.
While it sounds incredibly cheesy and the idea is expressed by all environmental activists and many other individuals, our population needs to remain vigilant. We need to do all we can to protect the creatures living below, above and among us. Despite our fear of some of those animals, they were here before us so we must do what we can to accept their existence in our lives. That’s all for my PSA today, and thanks for checking up on my wild adventures as a Buckeye!
After WOW, I went back to Smith to hold Arnold one last time before he went back to OSU’s insectary!