Young Explorers Discover the Fascinating World of Beetles

Science can be fun, engaging, and accessible even to the youngest audiences. This was demonstrated by colleagues from the Biodiversity and Molecular Evolution research group, Michal Motyka and Renata Bílková, who prepared an interactive programme on the fascinating world of beetles for the Children’s University at Palacký University.

During the programme, schoolchildren followed the traces of insects and tried out different collection methods using nets and traps. They searched for beetles in leaf litter, explored scientific collections, and learned more about the diversity of these small yet highly significant organisms. The programme also included a discussion on how the discovery of a new beetle species in remote rainforest regions can contribute to a better understanding of how ecosystems function.

A station dedicated to fireflies also attracted great interest, where children learned about their life cycle. The programme featured a creative component as well, allowing participants to design and “discover” their own beetle.

“Our aim is to show children that the world of beetles is incredibly diverse and full of records. We try to explain to them that even though beetles are small, they are immensely important to nature and that even today, hundreds of millions of years after they first appeared, we are still discovering entirely new species. Modern methods, such as DNA sequencing, help us to better understand the entire ‘tree of life’. I hope they not only gained new knowledge, but also discovered the joy of exploring nature and scientific work,” said Michal Motyka.