What’s creepy and crawly and good for Mother Earth? Kids found out at this JoCo event

Beth Lipoff
·3 min read

Rain didn’t stop the fun at a Bug Ball in the Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead June 23. The event was held in honor of National Pollinators Week. The celebration went on with costumes, a bug petting zoo and more.

“I think a lot of kids just think that bugs are icky and don’t necessarily know how much they play a part in the overall ecosystem and what they bring as far as benefits,” said Laurie Jacobson, public programs supervisor for the farmstead.

She added that it’s important to teach children that pollinators get us the food we eat. “It just helps their mind grow a little bit.”

The Farmstead has been holding the event since 2015.

Several groups from the community came in to teach about different aspects of pollinators.

“The Mad Science show is really great, because they do teach them scientific names and what the difference is between an insect and a bug,” Jacobson said.

Also pitching in were Johnson County 4-H, with a mounted display of various types of pollinators, and the Johnson County Master Gardeners, who showed the kids a variety of live caterpillars atop plants like dill, which the insects like to eat in the wild.

Kris Burch, from the Johnson County Master Gardeners wildlife committee, shows Stella Robson of Overland Park different caterpillars and the plants they like to eat during the Deanna Rose Farmstead’s June Bug Ball June 23.
Kris Burch, from the Johnson County Master Gardeners wildlife committee, shows Stella Robson of Overland Park different caterpillars and the plants they like to eat during the Deanna Rose Farmstead’s June Bug Ball June 23.

Lindsay Robson of Overland Park said her daughter Stella enjoyed the display.

“She loves bugs. Right now, she’s into bees,” Robson said.

Wendy Perez of Overland Park had a similar experience.

“My son, he loves bugs. He’s always reading bug books. I think it’s awesome. It’s so much fun,” she said.

The Master Gardeners were also enjoying themselves.

“We do a lot of stuff with caterpillars and butterflies. We haven’t been doing it for a few years, but we’re getting back to normal,” said Debbie Chapman, a Master Gardener volunteer.

Making the pollinators larger than life, literally, was the StoneLion Puppet Theater, which had its puppeteers making giant butterflies soar and had aphids stopping by for a visit with various groups of children.

Samples of honey were also offered, alongside large honeycombs that the kids could examine up close.

The farmstead had encouraged kids to come in costume to the event, and many embraced the opportunity. Several kids dressed as ladybugs or butterflies, while others made their own bug-antennae headbands at one of the craft stations at the event.

For those kids who needed to get their wiggles out, the farmstead had a pavilion where teenage employees danced with the kids.

Aliza Shore, 3, of Overland Park dances with Deanna Rose Farmstead employee Madelyn Bailey, 15, during the June Bug Ball June 23.
Aliza Shore, 3, of Overland Park dances with Deanna Rose Farmstead employee Madelyn Bailey, 15, during the June Bug Ball June 23.

Madelyn Bailey, 15, normally works as a cashier at the farmstead but said getting to dance with the kids was a nice change of pace.

The combination of all the different learning opportunities, in addition to the craft tables that featured coloring sheets and other creative pursuits, was popular with young visitors.

“We came to the June Bug Ball last year, and I ate a cricket, and the girls were obsessed with the idea of coming back,” said Julie McInerney, who came with her two daughters, 5-year-old Matilda and 7-year-old Madeline. “Rain or shine, it was on our calendar.”