Getting past fear: lessons in ‘arachnophilia’

Spiders and roaches and other creepy-crawlies visit the kids at school.Many people, adults included, split when they see a live tarantula. For Ivan Shikhelman, a second-grader at Killybrooke Elementary, a big hairy spider is no problem.

Ivan, 7, first touched a tarantula at a farm a few months back. So when the Orange County Department of Education brought its traveling “8 Legs or 6” program to Killybrooke on Tuesday, he was ready for one of the world’s more fearsome-looking creatures.

“I felt like I was kind of scared the first time,” Ivan said, remembering his encounter on the farm. About the tarantula that he petted in the Killybrooke multipurpose room, though, Ivan shrugged and said it was “kind of soft.”

A key message of the “8 Legs of 6” program, led by traveling scientist Tami Wilhelm, was that bugs and spiders aren’t as dangerous as they look -- well, not all of them, anyway. Wilhelm didn’t provide a black widow for the students and asked them not to touch the scorpion, but she explained that a tarantula bite is no more deadly than a bee sting.

By the end of the hour-long assembly, most students had petted the tarantula and even poked the cockroaches to hear them hiss. As they went around the tables, they filled out worksheets identifying each of the arthropods -- the scientific group that includes insects and arachnids -- crawling in front of them.

“They’re usually scared when they walk in the door, but after going through the games, they get excited,” Wilhelm said.

The presentation also covered the key facts about arthropods: for one, they have segmented bodies, and for another, their skeletons are on the outside. To help demonstrate the concept of an exoskeleton, Wilhelm had students spread out their fingertips.

“Your fingernails are a skeleton on the outside of your body that helps protect you,” she explained.

Wilhelm, an employee of the Department of Education, visits schools every day with her “Inside the Outdoors” program. The seminars, offered to preschool through seventh-grade classes, cover material that helps teachers meet science curriculum standards.

For the students at Killybrooke, touching live insects was a welcome twist on learning. Estafania Mendoza, 7, had had little experience with cockroaches before she jabbed one with her finger to see if it would make a sound.

“I poked it and it hissed,” she said. “I just felt like it.”

Mason Tufuga, 8, like some of his classmates, had handled a tarantula before the assembly. They didn’t frighten him, he said, but he opted to stay away from the scorpions.

“When they sting you, it hurts,” he explained.20051101ip98bekn(LA)Second-grader Michael Landaverde takes a close look at a walking stick. Right Abigal Jimenez, Ricardo Zambrano and Katie Lawrence, all age 7, observe -- but are careful not to touch -- a scorpion. 20051101ip98bwknNo Caption20051101ip94yqknPHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Second-graders Emily Neppl, left, and Anne Laredo examine the silk thread of a tarantula held by traveling scientist Tami Wilhelm during the “8 Legs or 6” presentation at Killybrooke Elementary School on Tuesday. The kids learned that most insects and spiders aren’t as scary as they look.