The purpose of this document is to provide a review of my summer internship with the
Onondaga County Library, and highlight the successes and lessons learned. This summer internship was made possible through a generous grant from the Edna Bailey Sussman
Foundation.
Program Development
The summer reading program at the Onondaga County Library was “Catch the reading bug”. I spent approximately 4 weeks developing my interpretive program based on the summer reading theme. As this program was to supplement the reading program, I felt a theme directly related to bug (in this case, more specifically insects) would be most pertinent. I settled on the following program theme (an imperative part of good interpretive planning):
After coming up with the program theme, I developed four supportive subthemes, which would be the substance of my program: o Insects decompose dead plant and animal matter o Insects are important pollinators o Many food webs are dependent on insects o Insects are extremely diverse
Once I had a clear theme and several subthemes that would constitute the information I aimed to convey to the students, I had to develop a method that would be most effective for the students in the designated age range (7 to 13 years old). I decided my program would be best delivered in five parts. I developed a short presentation to introduce participants to insects – how many there were, basic body parts, as well as the rules and plan for the program. Then, the students rotated among four tables, one table for each subtheme listed above. I used nature journaling as a way to focus the participants on the lesson at each table. Nature journaling is a way for program participants to observe natural subjects and illustrate what they see. It is a way to refine observational skills and foster appreciation of nature. (An example of a nature journal that shaped science is the in-depth nature journals of Charles Darwin.) At the end of the program, the participants could add more paper to their nature journals (1/2 sheets of watercolor paper, tied together with yarn) for use at home.
Ms. Roz Napier, Youth Services Coordinator for Onondaga County, and my summer supervisor, reviewed my program plan to ensure the material was age appropriate.
Additionally, she came to my first program (as well as several others) to give me immediate feedback on my program and methods.
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Program Delivery
First program
The first program was a rather chaotic experience! I found out very quickly that the attention spans of children are much shorter than that of the other audiences I have worked with. They did best with the hands on activities, and did not enjoy the long
PowerPoint. During the first program, the students were allowed to go to each table at their leisure. Some students raced to each station, quickly wrote something down, and then went to the next. Those students often did not spend the time looking at the objects necessary to figure out how the display related to insects or themselves. Others spent the entire time at one station. While the overall stations concept worked very well, it was evident the participants needed a bit more structure. After the first program, I altered the flow of how the students went to each table. When the students arrived I directed them to sit at one of the four tables, whichever most interested them. After my PowerPoint, which was quickly pared down, students would have approximately 10 minutes at each station. While at each station, they were instructed to write a sentence in their nature journals and draw something from that station.
Overall
The stations included many specimens for participants to touch and see. I had several field guides at each table. If students wanted more information on certain insects, we would look them up in the books together. I had live specimens – baby toads that I had raised from tadpoles (for the food web station), Madagascar hissing cockroaches, patent leather beetles, millipedes and centipedes. The latter two are not insects but arthropods, and I used them as a teaching point on what makes an insect, and how they were similar, how things related to insects can perform similar functions. I had display cases with many insects in them – a case of moths and butterflies, a case with all sorts of local as well as some tropical beetles, and a case with other insects (stick insects, bees and wasps, cicadas, etc). I had many aquatic insects in small vials for viewing. I had magnifying
Figure 1: Explaining a concept about food webs to program participants
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glasses and a (closed) container with scoops of compost crawling with insects, millipedes, centipedes and spiders. I had many scientific skins of local animals – birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. There was a lot to take in at every station.
Participants were able to find something interesting at each table to write about and draw in their nature journals.
The most frustrating part of this experience was the audience was often not in the designated age group or requested group size. However, this became an important learning opportunity for me. The program was developed for a group of 25 children ages
7 to 13. Some libraries I went to had generally the right age group, and many libraries were sure to limit attendance to 25 children. Many of the libraries did have 25 students show up, but some libraries had in the range of 10 to 15. It was a good mix, no library was the same, in terms of the types or numbers of kids that came, which kept the program interesting. However, there were several of libraries that I visited that had completely disregarded the age range. At one library I had 35 5-year-olds. While frustrating, this actually required me to be very dynamic, and to learn how to quickly alter my program. I did not have any time to redo my materials when this happened, so it forced me to think on my feet, and figure out “what can I quickly do to make this program relevant to 5year-olds” when it was actually developed for 7 to 13 year olds. I learned a good deal about how to be a dynamic presenter from this experience.
I feel that nature journaling was an exceptionally effective way to tie together the stations. Where there were a number of hands on items at each table, the use of the nature journal caused the students to reflect on what they were seeing. It also required the students to observe what they were seeing more critically.
Overall, the program that I delivered was a success. There was a lot going on – interesting props, painting and drawing, and lots of questions. No library was the same.
Children were different at every library – different in terms of their energy, their interest and enthusiasm, and their creativity. It kept it very interesting for me, and because of that kept it interesting for the children.
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Figure 2: Two participants look at a short tailed shrew from the food web station.
Program Evaluation
I had participants evaluate the program several ways. As part of my closing statements, I asked all the participants to help me figure out what they learned during the program.
Since three of the four tables related directly to functions insects play in the environment,
I asked the students “What is one of the three reasons insects are important to nature”.
Once I got a correct answer, I had them tell me the other two. I also asked the students to tell me what diversity was, and whether or not they thought insects were diverse. In addition to solicited verbal evaluation, I had participants (and their parents) to fill out a feedback form. On this feedback form, I asked participants to tell me what their favorite and least favorite station was, and why, and what they think I could add to make this program more interesting to them. Many students found the food web station their favorite, because of the live toadlets. At my first few programs, many parents recommended I give the participants a bit more time at each station. In response to that, I altered the flow of the program slightly so that those participants who wanted to stay at a station were able to, while others could switch. I did not clean up the stations for a while after the official end of the program, to accommodate participants who wanted more time at each station. After altering the program to allow for more time, the most common recommendation was to multiply myself so that there were more of me to help the students at every table. Unfortunately, this could not be done, and I had to manage all the tables concurrently, moving from station to station to keep the kids on topic and answer questions. Overall, the feedback was very positive, and children and their parents seemed to have fun and learn about how important insects are to nature and us.
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Program Summary
Developing and implementing “Catch the Nature Bug” for Onondaga County youth gave me the meaningful experience in leading effective environmental programs for youth that
I was seeking. This was a truly rewarding experience that allowed me to grow, both professionally and personally. I learned a great deal about what it means to be an effective communicator to children ages 4 to 16. Additionally, of the 600 students I interacted with this summer, most of them will think twice about thinking of insects only as annoying pests or gross creatures. This was a rewarding experience for all involved.
Partnerships for the future
I highly recommend the continuation of this partnership into future years. I sincerely believe everyone who participated in this program learned something new about insects, while also having some fun. The program supported the library summer reading program, brought many kids into the library, and got many kids interested in insects and the wonders of nature. It is one important step in the direction of effecting the next generation of environmental stewards, teaching them to value a relationship and connection with nature. Additionally, this summer internship helped a budding environmental interpreter learn what it means to be an effective communicator and naturalist. This was a successful program for all involved.
Figure 3: A child at Betts Branch Library unsure about what to think of the Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
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