Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Insect Education Kit

With these Insect Education Kits, kids could take home their very own Madagascar Hissing Cockroach! The Biology Department of our local university contacted us with this idea, as they needed to cull the colony of hissing cockroaches they keep in one of their campus teaching labs. We combined our funding to purchase the necessary materials (containers, roach rations, insect watering gel, coco cradle, condiment cups with lids (for the food and water), egg flats, rulers, and magnifying glasses).

Each kit included: o Roach, food/water, habitat, all in a tank o Care & feeding guide for roach o Informational packet about insect classification with a few activities for working with the roach o Insect coloring book o Insect activity packet o Insect word search and crossword (with key) o Parts of an insect game o Ruler & magnifying glass

Really all the library had to do was order some things. They were picked up by the Biology Department and she had her students assemble the packets and get everything ready to go out. They delivered them to us boxed up with an apple slice and ready for their new homes.

They aren't as frightening as I imagined they'd be--somehow I think them being so large makes them less scary. They don't fly or jump or bite, so kids can hold them if they're careful.

I had no idea how this would go over--I've never done anything like this at the library before. But we had an overwhelmingly positive response, and they went fast! We were also able to do some outreach with teachers who wanted them for a classroom pet. It was a very successful program.