Sapulpa Library’s Frank Hall was at near capacity on Wednesday afternoon with children of all ages, their parents, and clear plexiglass cubes full of some of the coolest creepy-crawlers Sapulpa has ever seen.
Giant Walkingsticks, various beetles, and even the scorpion-like Vinegaroon were all available for handling at the library’s program, which had been rescheduled from earlier in the summer to Wednesday.
Neal Aker with the Oklahoma Insect Adventure was the host of the show and handled all the arthropods and insects with ease, occasionally showing off special features and abilities to the room full of nervous but excited children.
Aker held up a beetle that had a distinctive, almost fuzzy gray color to it. “This beetle has a special ability when it gets some moisture,” he said, as he cupped the beetle in his hand and breathed into it, as if fogging up a mirror. The gray beetle in his hand had turned to a deep, dark black. A collective “cool!” could be heard from the kids in the front.
Aker told Sapulpa Times that the Oklahoma Insect Adventure began about 20 years ago with Dr. Andrine Shufran, who started the program because she wanted to see underserved communities get more exposure to entomology—the science of bugs.
“Entomology is a widely important field, but a field that doesn’t seem to get enough attention,” Aker said. “We’re (entomology) directly connected to America’s food supply. We’re directly connected to pollination agriculture. We are a foundation, and yet we seem to be losing programs every year.”
The Oklahoma Insect Adventure is Dr. Shufran’s solution to a dwindling field of science. “We want to make sure that we get our name out there through stuff like this. This is very, very palatable to the average person to come and see a bug zoo, and then with that bug zoo, we get to teach about things that people don’t generally get to understand or get to learn about in their everyday lives,” Aker said.
We’re directly connected to America’s food supply. We’re directly connected to pollination agriculture. We are a foundation, and yet we seem to be losing programs every year.
– Neal Aker
Aker, who has been with Insect Adventure for about two years, used to be terrified of bugs. “When I was eight years old, I sat on a paper wasp nest,” he said. “I got stung 12 times, and for the next few years of my life, I was terrified of anything that flew, anything with six legs.”
Thankfully, a change began to happen after Aker enrolled at OSU, even though at that point, it had little to do with bugs.
“I came to OSU as a music major,” he said. “I took a few introductory classes, and found out I like bugs a whole lot more than I like music.” After working his way through the Entomology Department, Aker found the natural intersection between his original passion and his new one: performing. “I found out I really like performing. I really like public speaking, so I ended up getting a job with this.”
Aker’s consistent exposure and education to bugs extinguished his anxieties about them. “I can now hold pretty much any bug I want,” he says. “I am living proof that exposure therapy works.”
For those who missed the show, don’t fret; there is a larger collection of bugs at the Insect Adventure live bug petting zoo in Stillwater. It is open from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the first and third Saturdays of every month. Admission is just $3 per person (cash only).
Learn more about the Oklahoma Insect Adventure at okstate.edu.
