MONROE - Students in Nadine Whiteman's seventh-grade class know bugs just aren't something they step on or look at and say "gross."
Bugs and insects have become part of their lives over the past couple weeks. Middle school students took part in an annual bug collection project for their science class.
It's a project the students have done for several years. Each year, students find themselves thinking about bugs more often than they did before.
"I look for bugs while I'm walking," Taylor Teasdale said. "If I see one on the ground I'll pick it up and put it in my collection."
Each student is required to collect at least 20 bugs; Teasdale has about 23.
Amy Gogin has about 26 bugs in her collection, one is from North Dakota, she said.
"I found some outside of the library, some at my cabin and some at home," she said.
That's what makes bug collecting fun, Robert Ault, Monroe, said. Saturday he came to the Monroe Public Library to answer questions and assist the students in identifying bugs in their collections.
Ault has collected and studied bugs for most of his life. His fascination with bugs began more than 50 years ago when, as an 8-year-old, he started collecting bugs for a 4-H project.
His interest in bugs has never waned.
"We didn't have Nintendo when I was a younger," he laughed. "I used to go out in the woods to watch and collect insects."
Watching and collecting bugs was a way to enjoy his free time and it was also a way to learn.
"Most of what I learned about bugs comes from watching them," he said.
Greg Studer and his daughter Vanessa brought Ault a bug they originally thought was a unique type of fly. It turned out to be a beetle.
"See how it has a hard shell," Ault said. "It's a beetle."
The students and their parents learned that anyone can learn about bugs.
"So much of learning about bugs is just observing them," Ault said.
Bugs and insects have become part of their lives over the past couple weeks. Middle school students took part in an annual bug collection project for their science class.
It's a project the students have done for several years. Each year, students find themselves thinking about bugs more often than they did before.
"I look for bugs while I'm walking," Taylor Teasdale said. "If I see one on the ground I'll pick it up and put it in my collection."
Each student is required to collect at least 20 bugs; Teasdale has about 23.
Amy Gogin has about 26 bugs in her collection, one is from North Dakota, she said.
"I found some outside of the library, some at my cabin and some at home," she said.
That's what makes bug collecting fun, Robert Ault, Monroe, said. Saturday he came to the Monroe Public Library to answer questions and assist the students in identifying bugs in their collections.
Ault has collected and studied bugs for most of his life. His fascination with bugs began more than 50 years ago when, as an 8-year-old, he started collecting bugs for a 4-H project.
His interest in bugs has never waned.
"We didn't have Nintendo when I was a younger," he laughed. "I used to go out in the woods to watch and collect insects."
Watching and collecting bugs was a way to enjoy his free time and it was also a way to learn.
"Most of what I learned about bugs comes from watching them," he said.
Greg Studer and his daughter Vanessa brought Ault a bug they originally thought was a unique type of fly. It turned out to be a beetle.
"See how it has a hard shell," Ault said. "It's a beetle."
The students and their parents learned that anyone can learn about bugs.
"So much of learning about bugs is just observing them," Ault said.