Apple Valley kids have cooties ... and spiders and creepy-crawlies, too

Elementary school students in Apple Valley are getting a hands-on education in the scientific method, with help from the Bell Museum.

By VADIM LAVRUSIK, Star Tribune

Last update: April 7, 2009 - 11:16 PM

Second-grader Angel Silva held a cockroach that covered almost his whole hand, but he didn't flinch.

"It tickles when it crawls," the Apple Valley student said Tuesday of his favorite insect. "But I am not scared to hold it."

Angel was investigating how the insect -- the largest cockroach species, which releases a pepper smell as a defense mechanism -- moves its antennae. It was part of Cedar Park Elementary School's newly opened BUZ (Building Understanding Zone) room, which includes live tarantulas, cockroaches, tadpoles and other animals aimed at bringing the scientific method of inquiry to the forefront of the K-5 school.

Cedar Park, a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) school, received a $10,000 federal grant to support the BUZ room. The school worked with the University of Minnesota's Bell Museum of Natural History to create and install the exhibit, which runs through June 11.

"Any time we can bring the classroom to life and provide the kids with hands-on learning, we take advantage of it," said John Garcia, the school's principal.

Garcia said the BUZ room will be an extension of classroom teaching. "It really engages the students' interest in the scientific processes of observation and experimentation," he said.

Jamie Holtz, the BUZ room coordinator, said each teacher will decide how to incorporate the room into the curriculum for each class. And the room, which includes not only the animals but tools for handling them, is set up with ways for each age group to use it for learning scientific methods, Holtz said.

Tuesday, the students observed the exotic creatures, jotted down notes in their scientific journals, drew sketches and watched movements to determine the behaviors of each species.

They may have had an assignment to do, but for the second-graders, Tuesday was all about the bugs.

Ashley Acevedo, 7, wasn't quite as brave as her classmate Angel, who held the giant cockroach. But she was nonetheless curious enough to touch the critter, which she said felt slimy.

Her job was to observe whether the cockroach jumped.

"It doesn't," she said, "but it flies up a little."

This type of observation is what makes the exhibit work, said Kevin Williams, the curator of education at the Bell Museum, who refers to himself as the "bug guy." The students, in many cases, are learning a lot without really noticing it.

"Their interests drive what they are studying and they get to interact with the animals in a classroom environment, which makes it fun for them," Williams said.

For now, the animals are on loan from the Bell Museum and will likely travel to other schools as part of the Bell Museum's "Invertebrates in the Classroom" and "Swimming in the Schools" in-school residency programs.

Susan Weller, director of the Bell Museum, said it's all about helping educate children and bringing the museum's resources to the schools. Plus, with all the budget cuts schools are facing, Weller said, many aren't always able to take field trips to the museum.

"We still want them to visit us, but this exposes many more students on a regular basis, which is a richer learning experience," she said.

Vadim Lavrusik is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.