I'm not sure if it's our official mission statement, but during orientation I learned that MOSI's mission is, "Making science real." So that's what I try to do.
I actually got a little upset with myself two weeks ago when I didn't say anything to a new volunteer. This lady was probably in her 50s and said her son was volunteering, as well. This was only her second time there. As most of the guests came through, she directed them to me. I had a Polydamas caterpillar on my hand so I was a big attraction anyway.
Well, after the guests cleared out she wanted to hold the caterpillar, so I let her. After a few minutes, a family showed up. She was still holding the caterpillar and began talking and showing it to the little girl (maybe 4 or 5 years old). She was talking a bit about the process of how the caterpillar would become a butterfly and I heard her say something about how "it's magic". I inwardly cringed and thought, "No, it's science!" I wouldn't embarrass anyone in front of a guest but I should have said something after they left. I was about to leave myself and I was hot and tired so I guess I just wanted to get out of there.
I don't have kids so I guess I don't have much experience in that department. And I have a gifted IQ so I suppose I was kind of a weird kid myself. It never occurs to me to talk down to children, although I do try to speak in simpler terms than I would with an adult. If kids don't know something, they will ask! Case in point, I used the word "molt" one time and a girl just asked me what it meant. And I explained it was when the caterpillar shed its skin, much like a snake does. She nodded and we kept talking. Kids aren't stupid and they tend to act according to how you treat them. If you treat them like they're smart, they act like it. When the butterflies are mating, I explain very scientifically how the male fertilizes the eggs and then I talk about how the female lays the eggs on a particular "host plant". I almost always have Zebra Longwing eggs to show the guests. Honestly, the adults get weirder about butterfly sex than the kids do.
I also have no problem talking about the cultural significance of butterflies because that's part of what makes science real to people, too. A man was asking me about the Monarch migration a few weeks ago and I was saying how it would be such a loss scientifically if it went extinct before we even fully understood it. I then talked to him about how the return of the Monarchs coincides with the Mexican holiday, "Day of the Dead", and how the Mexicans believed the Monarchs were the returning souls of their ancestors. I think a lot of us have heard the story of when you release a butterfly you should tell it your wish because the Native Americans believed since butterflies have no mouths, they can only tell your wish to the "Great Spirit".
I love the stories associated with butterflies but I also try to keep it factual, too. The level of ignorance toward nature astounds me every week. Just the number of people who think a butterfly is going to land on them for no reason makes me crazy! I just want to ask, "Do they ever land on you in your yard?" Just because we've enclosed them doesn't mean they're tame - they still act like butterflies!
I read a statistic a few weeks ago about how this latest generation will see such-and-such less of a percentage of birds, fish, insects, etc. than their parents. And the percentages were like in the 30's and 40's! It kind of made me rethink things a little. I know I get so surprised when the kids start yelling about the turtles and fish in our pond exhibit (which is right outside the flight encounter). I'm like, "Have they never seen a fish before?" And now I think, "Maybe not." I was lucky enough to have a dad who took us all fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and I can't tell you the number of species we've caught. In second grade I bought a book at the school book fair called, "A Dictionary of Fishes". I would take it on the boat and whenever we caught something, I would look it up and read about the fish out loud. But fewer children seem to be having those kinds of experiences.
I guess when they do encounter nature, I want to make sure kids and adults get the facts about it so they can make informed decisions on how to care for their yard, vote on amendments (Yes on 1 here in FL to protect our waterways!), or just to know why it's important to save these creatures. I make sure everyone who comes through the exhibit knows how we almost lost the Atala for good. Hopefully, it makes them stop and think a little.
Okay, that went on way longer than I intended, but you guys are the best to rant to because I know you get it. I guess the short version is that the process of metamorphosis can seem magical, but we still need scientists to study how it happens. And you also shouldn't talk to children like they're too dumb to understand things, because they will surprise you. Plus, it's good to challenge them to think! You may be the one who inspires them to become that person who figures out how metamorphosis works and develops a way of telling cells how to specialize so we can regrow limbs for people or who knows what else!
