19、Education Programs of Insects at Tama Zoological Park

 

Saika　YAMAZAKI

Tokyo zoological park society

 

Insects used to be a species most closely related to us: they have provided an excellent experience that makes children curious about the world of nature. However, recently there are fewer opportunities for children living in urban areas to approach and handle insects.
In elementary curriculums, insects are embedded as teaching tools in science. However many teachers cannot devote enough time and provide information about insect rearing. Therefore, school curriculums have become textbook-driven, and children often have phobias of insects.
To acquire an affinity for insects, Tama Zoo presents education programs of insects as part of its elementary curriculum. Programs combine two component activities in order to acquire an affinity for insects by handling them.
First, students are provided with some insects and learn how to properly handle them. Secondly, all students engage in cricket fighting by providing a couple examples of stimuli with a cricket to elicit various behavioral responses by using a straw stick. Since 2000, this program has positively affected more than 50,000 students to remove the fear of insects and leaves students with respect for them.