Bug Powers: Real-life insect superheroes at the Bohart Museum of Entomology
UC Davis alumna Stephanie Dole releases new children’s entomology book
By EMILIA ROSE— science@theaggie.org
Showcased at the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology, “Bug Power” by Stephanie Dole caught the attention and curiosity of both children and teachers alike. UC Davis alumna Dole, also known as the Beetlelady, shared her children’s story about the superpowers of insects around the globe in a recent Bohart Museum Open House. Her book offers insight into how she teaches science to people of all ages.
In “Bug Power”, Dole captures and explains the traits and abilities of over 20 insect species. Not only does she explain them using comic-book-style graphics, but she also teaches readers how they are used to advance human technology. From beetles with indestructible armor to poisonous ladybug blood, “Bug Power” explains the inspiration for many fictional superpowers through the biology of bugs.
As an entomologist, Dole had to find ways to explain these insect traits to people with little to no scientific knowledge — people like young children.
Tabatha Yang, the education and outreach coordinator at the Bohart Museum, discusses how children’s books and storytelling are great mediums to transmit information.
“Storytelling, in a broad sense, can be spoken, signed, sung, danced, acted, written, illustrated or filmed,” Yang said. “All these art forms help capture people's attention and help them learn and imagine. Stephanie's book is clever in that it pulls out all the cool superhero features that we have seen or imagined in many storytelling formats and anchors them to their equivalents in nature.”
Dole herself explained that most children are eager to learn concepts well beyond the scope of their age.
“I think you can really take some pretty high-level knowledge and give it to kids,” Dole said. “You just have to be careful with getting too jargon-heavy, although they also love that. They love those little gifts like, 'I know this word'... Kids are hungry for this, and they find it, and they absorb it. They're like sponges.”
Lynn Kimsey, one of Dole’s undergraduate professors and mentors, continues to explain the inspiration and motivation responsible for her success today.
“One impressive thing about Stephanie is her determination,” Kimsey said. “When she sets her mind to do something, she does it and succeeds. It's so important to demonstrate to kids that they need to pursue their passions, and that they can achieve great things with their interests.”
Dole’s career story is meant to be a spark — something that could ignite someone’s innate curiosity and passion for science and learning.
“My general goal with Beetlelady is... I just want to move the needle just a little bit,” Dole said. “They're not gonna end up like me, like, jumping up and down and loving bugs... but maybe they'll just move a little bit to the point where they'll think twice about spraying, or they'll let their kid play with a bug instead of grabbing it away from them and teaching them that they're scary.”
Written by: Emilia Rose— science@theaggie.org