Book NOW for one of our AMAZING BugZoom Sessions!
Ever wanted to see what our Bug Lab looks like?
All BugZoom lessons will go LIVE from our Bug Lab, right here in the Blue Mountains. See our collection from an entirely new perspective! Watch us wrangle animals we don’t usually wrangle during incursions! Take a peek at what we need to do to keep a large collection of minibeasts alive and thriving. Learn how to keep a range of Australian invertebrate species as pets or for exhibition.
Choose your ideal time and date! Have a Special Request for Content? Just ask!
Session Target Audiences
– K-6 / Primary School for school term, including remote, regional and homeschool groups.
– High School for school term or after school including school holidays.
– After school, vacation care, OOSH, OSHC, including Science and Kids Clubs.
– Pre-K groups with parent or teacher at home or centre/preschool.
– Adult Interest Groups such as Garden, Camera & Naturalist Clubs, Bush Regeneration, Landcare, Water Catchment & Local Land Services, Retirement & Aged Facilities etc.
– Family Groups, including private home sessions.
– Special Needs Groups from school or home.
– Kids Parties
– International Students and Individuals within the above groups.
– TAFE, College and University Students including Teacher Training, and relevant conferences and meetings.
– Zoos, Parks and Aquariums; staff and visitors
– And all remote locations across Australia and Planet Earth!
Topics and Themes
– Basic Minibeast / Invertebrate Intro (for specified age group); based on the Minibeasts & Miniworlds syllabus theme, covering such topics such as habitats & shelters, defences, safety, capturing and captive care, basic classification and identification, basic anatomy, life cycles, and physical characteristics & adaptations.
– Life Cycles and Changes in Our World; Focused on how things grow and change, and how the seasons, day-night cycles and even tides can affect invertebrate life. Participants will see a range of eggs, egg cases, cocoons, galls, in addition to a colourful collection of live invertebrates at various stages in their particular life cycle.
– Arachno-Focus; a special session dedicated to arachnids such as spiders, scorpion etc. We present a variety of delightful arachnids including some VERY LARGE SPIDERS and even handle them for our audience. We talk about their roles in food chains, how they grow and change, which ones are hazardous and which ones are harmless, their defences, colouration, physical characteristics etc. Great for desensitisation strategies.
– The Life of the Lepidopteran; featuring butterflies, caterpillars, pupae/cocoons, and adults. We also present appropriate caterpillar food plants, nectar-rich feed plants and also show you how to make a hand-held butterfly feeder and artificial nectar! We can also read A Very Hungry Caterpillar if desired. (generally only available in warmer months)
– Keeping Invertebrates in Captivity : We look at how to keep a variety of terrestrial invertebrates, including their environmental requirements such as housing, substrates, dietary needs, temperatures and humidity.
– All About Phasmida (stick insects) How did a stick insect come to be? Why do they look like sticks or leaves? How are they different to a praying mantis? Can we keep one as a pet and how? We look at stick insect eggs, hatchlings, sub-adults, their skins, suitable enclosures, other equipment required, and find out what FRASS is! 5-10 assorted Australian species featured!
– Wonderful Waterbugs: A Closer Look at Water Bugs including freshwater mussels, crayfish (yabbies), assorted water beetles, caddisfly larvae, water scorpion, pond-skaters, water spiders, leeches and more!
– One-Footed Friends: All About Snails and Slugs. Why are they known as Gastropods? What do they eat? How do they survive during drought? What is out largest Australian Land snail species? Are all snails pests?
– 6-legged Legends: This very special session is just Strictly Insects. Can you name their external features and body parts? Do you know how many species of insect there are? Let’s look closer at their physical characteristics and how diverse each Insect order is! We don’t just look at commonly seen or kept species; we look at some seriously obscure ones too!
– Basic Animal Classification: How do we know what kind of animal it is? There are a few basic physical characteristics to look out for! There are 6 different groups of animals, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds and the most diverse group of course, The Invertebrates! We look closer at what sets these animals apart from the Vertebrates!
– Backyard Ecology: Caring for Our Backyard Buddies: How can we attract native insects back to our backyards? Learn about the key features you need to restore the precious balance in your immediate area. Watch the biodiversity return and reap the benefits such as chemical-free pest control, pollination and overall garden and farm health.
– The Schoolyard Safari: Great for K-6 and vacation care groups, as it is based on the previous NSW School syllabus theme. We look at what shelters and habitats you may have in your school, or suburb. How do we find them and where do we look? How can we protect these fragile niches within our school area? Is it safe to collect and handle these tiny animals? How can we provide more shelters for this precious wildlife?
– Examining External Features: based on the current NSW Syllabus, we take an intimate look at the diverse range of physical adaptations and external features of an assortment of invertebrate animals.
– The Insect Apocalypse: Did you know that we are losing an alarming amount of insect mass on our planet? We highlight why! How can we stop this? Why do we need to keep insects around? From Bogong Moths to the Bathurst Copper, we investigate the battles these animals face moving into the future.
–Climate Change; and its Effects on Invertebrates: How will an ever increasing hot and drier Australia affect our most diverse group of wildlife? Which species are we likely to lose and why? Can we stop it?
Life in a Tree: Do you know how many species rely on and live in a single Eucalyptus tree? Tens of Thousands of invertebrate species rely on mature Eucalyptus (Gum) Trees. Many also rely on Wattle, Maleleuca, Lilly Pilly, etc. We look at specific invertebrate species that rely on these special kinds of native trees. We look at a variety of species including spiders, snails, slugs, stick insects, native cockroaches, katydids, treehoppers, moths, cicada, Christmas beetles, sawfly larvae, stag beetles and more!,
Life in the Soil: Let us introduce you to some super subterranean life, including millipedes, slaters, worms, beetle larvae, scorpions, native cockroaches, flatworms, earwigs, harvestmen and others.
How Much?
Up to 40mins $180 (minimum fee)
1hour $200
1hour 20mins: $220 (with intermission if desired)
*All prices are GST Exempt
* All BugZoom sessions for those under the age of 16 years of age require some parental, librarian, carer or teacher supervision.
* We now have a Child Protection and Behavioural Policy for our online sessions.
* Sessions currently limited to 30 participants per session, but please let us know if you would like something larger!
* All BugZoom sessions are delivered in Australian English.
* International Sessions (Outside Australia) can be held between 6am – 10pm Australian Eastern Standard Time.
*Other virtual platforms such as Skype, Teams & Meetings available.
Not convinced?
We are happy to meet with you on Zoom for a quick 5-10min demo on what to expect from one of our sessions.