Community Gather for Entomology at Science Initiative Building
On a chilly morning in Laramie, the second floor of the Science Initiative Building, children leaned over displays, parents snapped photos, and University of Wyoming students and professors guided families through hands-on activities, all centered on insects.
From 10 a.m. to noon on Feb. 21, UW hosted “STEM Saturday,” a STEM-ology monthly themed engagement event focused on entomology. The free, family-centered program welcomed community members of all ages, beginning with check-in from 10 to 10:15 a.m., followed by a welcome and orientation section before the participants rotated through 25-minute activity stations with five-minute transitions. The event emphasized not only the science of insects, but also UW’s broader outreach mission and its commitment to making STEM education accessible and engaging for everyone at all ages.
For event organizer Megan Candelaria, the goal of STEM Saturday is straightforward but powerful.
“The goal is just to get people excited about STEM and the research that’s going on at the university and really involve the community,” Candelaria said. “Everybody from toddlers all the way up to senior citizens.”
She explained that the idea grew from ongoing outreach efforts on campus. Organizers began asking themselves how they could expand their reach and strengthen local involvement.
“We do a lot of outreach events, and we were just kind of like, what can we do to do more? And to do more community involvement, especially,” she said.
Karagh Brummond, director of the Science Initiative Roadshow, said the event also connects directly to UW’s land-grant mission, which calls for universities to serve and engage their communities.
“As a university, as part of our land-grant mission, we need to be engaged with the community,” Brummond said. “I think the Roadshow and other STEM programs on campus do a great job of that.”
The Science Initiative Roadshow is a state-funded program supported by donors that travels across Wyoming, bringing hands-on STEM programming to K–12 schools, early childhood centers, and even senior centers.
“We travel all across the state of Wyoming,” Brummond said. “Hands-on STEM activities are mostly in K–12 schools, but also in early childhood centers and senior centers all across Wyoming.”
STEM Saturday is part of a broader STEM-ology series that includes Toddler Tuesday and Senior Science Friday. According to Brummond, the goal is to show that science belongs to everyone.
“It’s really meant to just show different members of our community what it means to do science and make it fun and engaging and hands-on,” she said. “There’s no learner too young or too old to participate.”
This month’s focus on entomology was intentional. Insects are everywhere, and they offer endless opportunities for curiosity and discovery.
“I think it’s really important for kids to learn about all different types of STEM at this age,” Candelaria said. “Insects especially, because they’re everywhere and they do all kinds of really cool things.”
She noted that early exposure can shape future interests and careers.
“Anytime you can get kids excited and interested about science and STEM, it’s great,” she said. “It might start them off on an awesome career. They might grow up to be an entomologist.”
Brummond emphasized that learning about insects is also about learning how to think like a scientist.
“I think it’s important to learn how to ask questions and make observations and just continue that curiosity in their life,” she said. “Even if it’s not something they want to do when they grow up.”
From 10:30 a.m. until noon, families rotated through stations designed for a range of age groups. One activity introduced younger children to the defining traits of insects, prompting them to ask questions like: Is a spider an insect? How do we know? Another station explored forensic entomology, demonstrating how insects can help investigators build crime timelines. A moth-catching activity illustrated the difficulty of spotting camouflaged organisms.
“Who doesn’t want to get their hands on?” Candelaria said with a laugh. “It’s not nearly as cool to just listen to something when you can get in there and be playing with it and interacting with it.”
Brummond described hands-on learning as “fundamental” to science education.
“By engaging with hands-on, the kids, the participants are truly more likely to remember what they’re learning and be excited about what they’re learning,” she said.
UW professors, undergraduate and graduate students, ran most of the stations. They developed the activities, practiced them beforehand, and then delivered them to the public as part of their paid work with the Roadshow.
“All the UW students are running our stations today,” Brummond said. “They’ve developed them, they’ve practiced them, and now they’re implementing them with the community.”
Candelaria described the students as central to the event’s success.
“They’re the heart of the show,” she said. “We’re just here to give them supplies.”
For Melanie Torres, a Ph.D. student in Ecology and Evolution within the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, events like this are about more than facts. They are about changing perceptions.
“When I was an undergrad, I took entomology, and I have been falling in love with insects ever since,” Torres said.
Although she studies frogs and salamanders, she often teaches insect biology labs and guest lectures. Her enthusiasm was evident as she discussed insect diversity.
“The king of it, however, is beetles,” Torres said. “There’s over 400,000 known species and an estimated over a million to two million species of beetle that could be extant on this planet.”
She explained that insects live in nearly every environment imaginable, aquatic systems, deserts, and even Antarctica. Sharing that diversity with children, she said, helps break down fear.
“By introducing them to insects at an early age and showing that there is just so much cooler things than just, ‘Oh, they’re scary,’” Torres said, “that stigma of insects can at least be squashed.”
Her belief in the field’s importance is direct and uncompromising.
“Insects are literally the backbone of society, quite frankly,” Torres said. “Without insects, we would not be here.”
Scott Schell, UW’s extension entomology specialist, echoed that sentiment while highlighting real-world impacts. His station focused on using smartphone photography to contribute to citizen science through platforms like BugGuide.net and iNaturalist.
“Almost everybody now has a smartphone,” Schell said. “To be able to use it effectively to capture images … and submit those photos to contribute to science.”
He also spoke about invasive species, disease transmission, and pollination.
“Insects have major impact on our lives, whether we’re aware of it or not,” Schell said. He pointed to examples such as the emerald ash borer, which has damaged ash tree populations, and beneficial pollinators like honeybees.
Despite some adults’ hesitation, Schell said children usually respond with enthusiasm.
“All kids are born entomologists,” he said. “Just some of us never outgrow it.”
Organizers said turnout exceeded expectations, especially given the cold weather and the fact that the event required no reservations.
“We never know what we’re going to get,” Candelaria said. “This is a great turnout.”
The STEM-ology events will continue through the spring, with March focusing on physics and April on energy and natural resources. Planning for fall events is already underway, and organizers hope for continued support to expand programming.
As families left the Science Initiative Building, many children carried new questions, new perspectives, and maybe even a new appreciation for the tiny creatures that shape the world around them.
And if the organizers are right, some of those children may one day return to campus as scientists.
