If insects freak you out, don't read this post
I am soooo tired. I went into the Museum this morning, for the first time in a while, and I did an extra-long shift. We have a school holiday program running for three weeks that is all about bugs. Buggy, buggy insects. Creepy crawlies galore! Ick. There's lots of activities, a great display of mounted specimens, and lots of living specimens. Apparently it's been really popular and today was only the second or third day of the program. We volunteers were asked to station ourselves around the room and tell people about the insects, for example, help them locate the bit of leaf which is actually a stick insect, point out the blue legs on the centipedes, and, oh yeah, HOLD THE GIANT BURROWING COCKROACHES. In the morning when I saw this tank with the two giant cockroaches and the staff were like, "Take them out! Look! They crawl on you! We will show people!", I was all, "No way, man." (Because I am a Valley Girl/surfer dude in my other life.) I don't really like any animals, let alone all things insect-like.
But then I ended up hanging out near that table, and people kept asking to pick up a cockroach, and all the other staff and volunteers would be busy, and I was kind of curious, so I gave it a go and I'm now a pro at it. Even though I still find it kind of icky. The creatures move along your hand quite fast when they are alert, and it reminded me a bit of the scurrying of a mouse held in your hand -- it tickled in the same way -- though I think I prefer the cockroaches to mice. Their backs are hard and smooth but they feel fragile, and their underbellies are quite soft, almost cold and wet, vaguely like the feeling of a dog's nose. Even though I held them heaps of times I still got freaked out if I began to think about it too much; I am just not an insect girl. Still, I prefer legs and feelers to anything that slithers or wriggles.
Heaps of people had my initial reaction, and "ewwww!"-ed over the roaches, but a lot of people, mostly boys and mothers, were eager to hold them. I had to be careful that some children didn't freak and drop them, but most kids were good. One of the sort of funny and unexpected aspects was that the cockroaches got tired. If they'd been held for a while and passed around a lot, they would move a lot slower and when placed back in the tank they would just lie still for a long while. I actually worried a lot that one or the other had become too stressed and died, but they always started moving again after about 20 mins.
I am also pleased to report that out of the at least 800 people who came through the museum today, there was only one bratty child who didn't know how to behave. She picked up the tiny aquarium that housed a centipede and shook it, displacing its rest, but I told her not to do that and at the same time her father roused on her. I love it when parents actually parent their children.
Oh yeah, and you need to clear your mind right now of any ideas about these cockroaches being anything like the gross introduced pest species that haunt our houses. Here are some links so you know what I am talking about, and both include pictures: ABC Creature Features, and a site about keeping them as pets.
But ick, I can still feel the movement of the cockroach's legs over my hands. *shivers*
So what did *you* do today?
But then I ended up hanging out near that table, and people kept asking to pick up a cockroach, and all the other staff and volunteers would be busy, and I was kind of curious, so I gave it a go and I'm now a pro at it. Even though I still find it kind of icky. The creatures move along your hand quite fast when they are alert, and it reminded me a bit of the scurrying of a mouse held in your hand -- it tickled in the same way -- though I think I prefer the cockroaches to mice. Their backs are hard and smooth but they feel fragile, and their underbellies are quite soft, almost cold and wet, vaguely like the feeling of a dog's nose. Even though I held them heaps of times I still got freaked out if I began to think about it too much; I am just not an insect girl. Still, I prefer legs and feelers to anything that slithers or wriggles.
Heaps of people had my initial reaction, and "ewwww!"-ed over the roaches, but a lot of people, mostly boys and mothers, were eager to hold them. I had to be careful that some children didn't freak and drop them, but most kids were good. One of the sort of funny and unexpected aspects was that the cockroaches got tired. If they'd been held for a while and passed around a lot, they would move a lot slower and when placed back in the tank they would just lie still for a long while. I actually worried a lot that one or the other had become too stressed and died, but they always started moving again after about 20 mins.
I am also pleased to report that out of the at least 800 people who came through the museum today, there was only one bratty child who didn't know how to behave. She picked up the tiny aquarium that housed a centipede and shook it, displacing its rest, but I told her not to do that and at the same time her father roused on her. I love it when parents actually parent their children.
Oh yeah, and you need to clear your mind right now of any ideas about these cockroaches being anything like the gross introduced pest species that haunt our houses. Here are some links so you know what I am talking about, and both include pictures: ABC Creature Features, and a site about keeping them as pets.
But ick, I can still feel the movement of the cockroach's legs over my hands. *shivers*
So what did *you* do today?