New Mexico State University (NMSU) announced the development of the Virtual Insect Collection Lab by a team from New Mexico State University, tailored for middle school students and educators. The project has been funded through the Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants program, a part of United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
The Virtual Insect Collection Lab offers an innovative way to learn about insect biology. This interactive online module allows learners to practice hands-on activities such as pinning, pointing, and spreading insects, and gain skills for preserving these specimens for scientific examination. A pilot study assessing the lab's impact revealed that youth participants felt comfortable pinning insects, using the lab increased their confidence in learning science, and became more curious about learning more about insects, according to a press release by NMSU.
One of the key aspects of the lab is its high-quality visual components. "We wanted to get the representation of the insects as real as possible, and we decided the best way to achieve this was with 3D," said Pamela Martinez, a grant co-principal investigator and Innovative Media Research and Extension assistant professor, according to a press release by NMSU. "I was really proud of the way the project turned out and how the design team was able to move forward in learning new processes."
The development process involved multiple experts at NMSU. The NMSU Innovative Media Research and Extension team, along with an entomology professor and director of the NMSU Arthropod Collection, developed the lab in 2021, according to a press release by NMSU.
The funding of this project was aimed at improving educational outcomes in specific fields. The Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants (SPECA) program aims to enhance secondary and two-year postsecondary education in the food and agriculture sciences, ensuring a qualified workforce for the U.S. food and agriculture system. It also seeks to foster collaborative connections among secondary, two-year postsecondary, and higher education programs in these sciences to promote educational excellence and encourage more young Americans to pursue advanced degrees in the field, according to the About Grants webpage provided by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.