Latest news with #InsectZoo
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Community-backed petition fails to save Insect Zoo from closure
AMES, Iowa — Despite the support from thousands, the Insect Zoo at Iowa State University will remain closed. Last month, the university's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences announced the closure of the Insect Zoo because of its budget deficit. The impact that the Insect Zoo had on Iowans in the last 30-years quickly came to the limelight after one Des Moines mom, Justine Bailey, started a petition to save the zoo. She made it because her kids grew up attending its programs, and those experiences directly influenced their decisions to now becoming engineers. 'My family is full of smart, nerdy kids,' said Bailey. 'Many other kids have sports and other activities to rely on, but for kids whose main interest is things in the STEM field, this is something that really got them excited.' She said the state of Iowa doesn't have anything quite like the Insect Zoo. In just the last 13-years, over 90 students at Iowa State University helped reach over 500,000 people through the zoo, according to the petition. The petition garnered over 3,300 signatures and around 130 comments and videos from current students, alumni, and visitors who shared the importance of the zoo. One video response came from an alumna who shared that her experience working at the zoo ten years ago is the reason she perused her masters and doctorate in her field. She ended her video statement with, 'We must protect the zoo.' Another video response came from a mother who said her 13-year-old son first visited the zoo when he was nine. Now, his bedroom is inspired by nature. She even showed his wallpaper that depicts a waterfall. She said he plans to attend Iowa State in the future to study entomology. She concluded her video statement with, 'Please save the zoo. It makes a difference.' Despite the community support, Iowa State University will follow through with the closure. In a statement sent to WHO 13 News, the university said: 'The decision to close the Insect Zoo is final and programming ended on April 27. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences continues to explore opportunities for insect education and outreach. While difficult, the college made the decision to close the Insect Zoo after a review determined its budget model was no longer viable.' It's not clear yet where the insects will go, but the university previously told WHO 13 News that they are working to find all of the insects a home. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
15-04-2025
- Science
- Axios
Iowa State to shutter Insect Zoo that taught kids to love bugs, not squish them
Iowa State University's Insect Zoo is set to close this summer, ending a program that encouraged Iowans to be curious about rather than scared of bugs. Why it matters: The hands-on program that brought live arthropods to schools, fairs and libraries across the state taught students about the importance of insects in our ecosystem, program coordinator Ginny Mitchell tells Axios. Driving the news: ISU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, which helped fund the Insect Zoo, decided to close the program after it examined the program's budget and decided it was no longer viable, according to a statement sent to Axios from ISU. The college is working to rehome the insects. What they're saying: "The more compassion that we can show towards these little things, it's also going to lead to more compassion towards humans," Mitchell says about the importance of the zoo. "It's all interconnected." State of play: For the last 13 years, Mitchell has helped lead the program, inviting kids to get hands-on experiences with animals, including tarantulas, beetles, scorpions and millipedes. The zoo is home to 175 arthropod species, including 100 animals confiscated by U.S. Fish & Wildlife, like these baby tarantulas. The program survives largely on small fees paid from schools and events, which were kept low to ensure rural areas could afford programming as well, Mitchell says. The zoo also offers sensory-friendly tours for children with autism and others with sensory sensitivities. Zoom in: The program itself costs around $75,000 annually to operate, but it has suffered from a deficit, which worsened when the pandemic hit and organizations were not paying to have the zoo travel to them, Mitchell says. Mitchell says she's long wanted outside donors, sponsors or an endowment to help fund the zoo. In her staff role, she's not allowed to fundraise, she says. What's next: Justine Bailey, a mother who started a petition to save the program, says her two kids first experienced the Insect Zoo over a decade ago at the South Side Library. The hands-on exhibit encouraged their love for science, which they're now studying in college. "There are sports camps and youth soccer leagues and baseball and softball and football coming out of our ears, but my poor little nerdy, science-loving kids did not have that much available to them," Bailey says. The bottom line:"These children are the ones who are going to grow up and do the things for our planet, for our Earth, for our society that need to be done," Mitchell says.
