Walking onto the center of the stage, junior Cohen Kong delicately cradles an ox beetle in his palm, its unique three horns glinting under the light. Mesmerizing a crowd of children below as he holds it out, Cohen lights up with excitement as he dives into his lesson about the discoveries of the diverse insect world.
Kong’s interest in insects blossomed into a creative teaching initiative at Mr. Insect, a fully student-driven program that teaches children about the insect world and nature. The program offers in-person at different community parks or farm exhibitions and online courses, which include activities and hands-on lessons that Cohen teaches and demonstrates to children.
“I was offered the opportunity to teach by one of my friends I made at a summer camp at UCD, Eno Wang (sophomore at Arcadia High School), the founder of Mr. Insect. He started the program and needed someone to be a lecturer. I decided to try it and it was a cool and fun experience,” Kong said.
Kong’s classes delve into different species’ unique skills and abilities, including beetles, ants and praying mantises. He showcases both live and preserved specimens, providing students with comprehensive learning of how insects thrive and behave in our ecosystem. A typical lesson involves visual slides explaining how the insect interacts with its environment, with fun facts Kong comes up with to quiz the children. Online classes are held on Zoom where Kong showcases Google slides and images to the participants.
“Cohen is a perfect lecturer. e has lots of knowledge in the insect field and follows the agenda. He takes lots of pressure off my load, and also helps with decisions for the company and what to teach for every class,” Wang said.
With the increase in customers, a website was created for Mr. Insect to promote themselves further and feature a list of their various events and online courses. Two shops offer different beetle specimens people can purchase, including Hercules and ox beetles. The other is a ticket shop where participants can exchange tickets earned from the lessons and activities for specimens such as an Arizona Grasshopper or a California Common Scorpion.
“Promoting our business is a tricky part as we make posters and join different community activities to promote ourselves. [I used to do a lot of it by myself] until I met Cohen at a summer camp and his knowledge of the field and leadership skills helped with the program and with helping me promote it,” Wang said.
One of the activities Cohen supervises is a hands-on craft of creating a specimen that the kids can take home. A specimen is a craft of pinning different species of preserved bugs to a small wooden box to showcase them. Kong starts by explaining the various types of bugs they will use and demonstrates how to handle the insects carefully and use the pins to fasten them to the board.e then allows the children to work independently while supervising for any assistance.
“I always love helping the kids out with the lessons and the insect specimen activity. I spend a lot of time catching bugs and listing facts for them. I believe it’s good for kids to go outside and learn a little bit more about nature,” Kong said.
While insects may scare and disgust others, Kong only sees their uniqueness and beauty. His passion for insects started from the countless hours he spent exploring outside, looking for new specimens to examine and find. Reading books and watching multiple YouTube videos that explain the diverse world of insects grew his knowledge and inspired him to teach others about his passion.
“Insects are very diverse and unique, and I have liked them since I was very young. I think they’re beautiful and fascinating to observe. Learning about their nature in the outdoors was a fun way for me to learn and explore,” Kong said.
Looking to the future, Kong hopes that Mr. Insect can continue to expand its services and events. He and the rest of the team plan to create a captivating space where children can learn, explore and connect with nature. Although progress is slow in the learning process, they hope they can grow successfully and reach further toward their goal in a couple of months.
“I hope Mr. Insect can expand and grow larger over the next few months and I am working towards studying more about entomology as best as I can, possibly in college. I hope I learn much more about insects than I know now,” Kong said.
