Kids learn best when they're being entertained. That's something entomologist Tony Gustin realized years ago when he first started his traveling bug show, The Creepy Crawly Zoo.
And it's something he still understands as he works to establish the next phase of his journey to bring science to kids — building a natural science park.
Gustin, who is better known as the Bug Whisperer in museums, libraries and schools, says it all started as a joke over a couple of beers.
"I was in my last semester of college, and my lab partner had just finished his masters so we were out celebrating," Gustin said. "He went on a tirade, saying 'I don't want to work 9-5 the rest of my life. I want to talk about bugs and get paid to do it.' We all started laughing and toasting, like, yeah, imagine that. And then I thought, why couldn't I do something like that?"
The traveling show Gustin developed over the next two years has him bringing about 15 different types of bugs to show off. He lets kids touch things like hissing cockroaches, giant African millipedes, stink beetles, caterpillars and giant meal worms. As for his tarantulas, scorpions and black widows? Well, those are just for show. "It's borderline educational, borderline funny and entertaining," Gustin said. "I make them laugh, make them scream and let them hold and pet bugs."
And, above all, this funny, entertaining show sparks an interest in science. "The very foundation of science is just curiosity, and when it comes to insects, they're every kid's first introduction to the natural world," Gustin said. "No kid has to go anywhere to observe them, and the questions they ask about insects can lead to any science you can think of. That's where science begins."
Gustin is now building upon that scientific foundation to create something bigger than his traveling bug show — the Gateway Science Center, which he describes as a kind of science theme park, where kids will be able to touch, feed and interact with live animals. This will happen both indoors as well as outdoors where kids will be encouraged to run around with a net and jar and just...find science.
The idea to retire his mobile show and build a science center has been percolating in Gustin's mind for years, but the project has picked up momentum recently with the donation of half a million dollars worth of insects from fellow entomologist Dan Capps. Gustin joked, "Now that I have this huge collection being donated, I better build a place to keep them!"
Capps unveiled his massive collection on the promenade at Discovery World at one of Gustin's monthly shows — which he has resurrected for the time being after retiring in 2015, in order to spread word about and raise money for his science center.
Gustin can't say for sure when the center, which he hopes will be located in Waukesha, will be built and ready to open, but now that he has 501c3 status and a giant bug collection donation, he feels like he's on the fast track. "I'm tipping toward the next phase, and it's thrilling and terrifying at the same time to be taking this theoretical concept and making it into an actual design."
For more information about the Gateway Science Center and to find out how to help Gustin make his plan a reality, check out the Creepy Crawly Zoo website.