{"id":25831,"date":"2021-06-26T00:31:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-26T00:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=25831"},"modified":"2021-06-27T20:35:39","modified_gmt":"2021-06-27T20:35:39","slug":"i-have-city-kids-make-comic-books-to-create-a-buzz-about-mosquitoes-and-ecology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/i-have-city-kids-make-comic-books-to-create-a-buzz-about-mosquitoes-and-ecology\/","title":{"rendered":"I have city kids make comic books to create a buzz about mosquitoes and ecology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Katherine Richardson Bruna<\/a>, Iowa State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If humans and mosquitoes had a battle at the end of the world, who would win? That\u2019s the question I pose to 30 young kids each summer during a two-week camp called \u201cMosquitoes & Me<\/a>\u201d in Des Moines, Iowa. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0M3uxRbN3Mc?wmode=transparent&start=0 The \u2018Mosquito and Me\u2019 summer camp in Des Moines, Iowa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am an educational anthropologist<\/a> who studies the cultural dynamics of science education. Along with my colleagues Lyric Bartholomay<\/a> and Sara Erickson<\/a>, who help run the camp, we have the young camp participants explore the \u201cend-of-world battle\u201d question as they learn about mosquito biology, ecology and disease transmission. Based on what the kids learn from their hands-on activities, they design a mosquito comic book character that is either a hero or a villain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since this approach was such a big hit, we worked with Marvel Comics artist Bob Hall<\/a> to convert \u201cMosquitoes & Me\u201d<\/a> into an actual comic book<\/a>. Some of our young scientists drew images of themselves and made up catchy public health slogans for a page about mosquito control. The idea is to reach kids who can\u2019t attend \u201cMosquitoes & Me\u201d camp by offering to teach them cool facts about mosquitoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two<\/a>
A page from the \u2018Mosquitoes & Me\u2019 comic book. Katherine R. Bruna, CC BY-ND<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Feeding habits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we make the comic book, some serious science has to take place. While at the camp, a group of mostly Black and Latino elementary and middle schoolers who are interested in science work in teams. They learn everything they need to know to decide whether humans or mosquitoes would win in an end-of-the-world battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
Children at the \u2018Mosquitoes & Me\u2019 summer camp have the opportunity to study mosquitoes. Katherina R. Bruna, CC BY-ND<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They explore mosquito ecology by looking for larvae in local water spots. They examine the important role<\/a> that mosquitoes play in the ecosystem. They tackle the logistics of disease transmission by thinking through whether mosquitoes actually \u201cbite\u201d or \u201csuck.\u201d And they learn about mosquito biology by feeding larvae foods made from their own kitchens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The activities engage them in authentic science practices like data tabling, microscope use and dissection. At the end of camp, they create public service announcements to teach mosquito control and disease prevention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking a more involved approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Research has found that students who experience hands-on learning outperform students<\/a> who receive more traditional instruction. Most importantly, hands-on science gives them an experience with \u201cobject intimacy.\u201d This is a feeling of developing a relationship with the thing they\u2019re studying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Broadening participation by helping young people \u201cfall for science<\/a>\u201d is imperative in increasing diversity in entomology \u2013 a field in which disparities persist<\/a>, particularly for African Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less than 2% of the membership<\/a> of the Entomological Society of America identifies as African American.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students from underrepresented backgrounds who understand how science can serve their communities show stronger motivation<\/a> to persist in science studies. Our overarching goal is that the hands-on approach of \u201cMosquitoes & Me\u201d helps youths, especially those who aren\u2019t engaged by a traditional school science curriculum, see the relevance of science \u2013 and especially entomology \u2013 to themselves and their community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
A camper observes the water conditions of her larvae. Katherine R. Bruna, CC BY-ND<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Solving real-world problems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2019 roughly 409,000 people died from malaria<\/a> worldwide. Even though the \u201cskeeter scientists\u201d of \u201cMosquitoes & Me\u201d summer camps live far away from the countries where malaria remains a dire threat, scientists anticipate that climate change will exacerbate conditions<\/a> in the U.S. \u2013 especially in urban areas \u2013 for other mosquito-borne diseases<\/a>. These include dengue, West Nile virus, chikungunya Zika and yellow fever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community members play a significant role in reducing the prevalence of mosquitoes in urban areas. Since entomology is a predominantly white field, residents of urban neighborhoods may be distrustful of entomologists<\/a> who, to do their work, need to place traps in and around their homes or neighborhoods and do \u201csurveillance\u201d on trash, flower pots, toys, tires and other items that collect water and cause mosquito habitats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pages<\/a>
Pages from the comic book explaining the life cycle and how \u2018Mosquitoes & Me\u2019 campers look for mosquitoes in local parks. Katherine R. Bruna, CC BY-ND<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The young skeeter scientists of \u201cMosquitoes & Me\u201d can help their families make sure that everyday items don\u2019t end up holding standing water and become attractive habitats for mosquito moms to lay their eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
Pages from the \u2018Mosqutio and Me\u2019 comic book where rats run around a dystopian world. Katherine R. Bruna, CC BY-ND<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMosquitoes Suck!\u201d begins with humans winning the end-of-world battle. But promoting environmental education that avoids such a standoff is the prevailing theme. If humans drive mosquitoes to extinction, we will all lose. They are an essential part of life\u2019s intricate interdependence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through \u201cMosquitoes & Me,\u201d we are helping a future generation of diverse potential scientists and their educators fall for mosquitoes, and for science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Over 106,000 readers rely on The Conversation\u2019s newsletter to understand the world.<\/em> Sign up today<\/a>.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katherine Richardson Bruna<\/a>, Professor, Sociocultural Studies of Education, Iowa State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Katherine Richardson Bruna, Iowa State University If humans and mosquitoes had a battle at the end of the world, who would win? That\u2019s the question I pose to 30 young kids each summer during a two-week camp called \u201cMosquitoes & Me\u201d in Des Moines, Iowa. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0M3uxRbN3Mc?wmode=transparent&start=0 The \u2018Mosquito and Me\u2019 summer camp in Des Moines, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":25832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[292],"tags":[10117,6706,10116,5203,4114,10118,602,193,682,4686],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25831"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25831"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25838,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25831\/revisions\/25838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}