IN THE CLASSROOM:

Science instructor Deborah Graves wiggled her fingers to make them seem as spidery as possible.

“Imagine if your legs were attached to the middle of your stomach,” Graves said, wiggling her hands right out of her torso.

“Eww!” half the class of second-graders yelled.

This scene at College Park Elementary was all part of an enrichment program from the Orange County Department of Education called “Traveling Scientist,” which brings in outside science instructors to give kids a hands-on look at science.

This installment, titled “Six Legs or Eight Legs?” had kids looking at real spiders, cockroaches, butterflies and other creepy-crawlies to learn about the world of arthropods.

Graves taught students about the way insects shed their exoskeletons like a snake sheds its skin, and how a scorpion with tiny pincers probably had strong venom to make up for them. But she mostly gave kids a chance to look at the animals themselves, from seeing how many legs a walking stick has to finding the differences between male and female butterflies.

Some of those hands-on moments had unexpected consequences.

“Aah!” yelled Omar Mendoza, 7, as he peered into a box and found a cockroach the size of his fist. “I thought there was nothing in there!”

Some moments were less scary and more heartwarming, as when Graves pulled out a tarantula named Rosie and gave all the students a chance to pet her furry abdomen. While children shuddered and shook their heads, most went through with it, some even taking a liking to Rosie.

“It was very hairy,” Ruby Garcia said after she touched the spider.

She was more effusive when she told the story to her friends: “I’m freaking out now, but I like that tarantula a lot!”

KIDS TALK BACK

What was your favorite creature from the class?

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“My favorite was a beetle because they have bumps on them.”

Ivanna Zuniga

7, Costa Mesa

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“The spider because he looks cool to me.”

Omar Mendoza

8, Costa Mesa

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“The tarantula because it was hairy.”

Nathan Hayes

7, Costa Mesa

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“The spider because I got to touch him. It was fuzzy. That was nice.”

Michelle Diaz

7, Costa Mesa

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“The spider because it was so soft and because she didn’t bite.”

Ashley Flores

8, Costa Mesa

REPORTER MICHAEL ALEXANDER may be reached at (714) 966-4618 or at [email protected].