Harrington news

For the third week of the summer reading program, the children listened to a short story of the super-power of a dog’s nose which gives them the ability to find people lost in snow, or find drugs or explosives in the airport, or find lost children during a fire. Dogs have other super-powers that, with training, enable them to be seeing-eye dogs.

Budding entomologists Cindy and Victoria Rice brought live specimens of insects in jars, while program director Bridget Rohner was well-prepared with placards depicting insects for the children to pass around the tables. The Rice family live on what is called the old Nitschke place off Coffee Pot Road west of Harrington. The samples they captured were grasshopper, bumble bee, dragon fly, praying mantis, spider, carrion beetle and cricket. The children learned about the various body parts including the antennae, head, thorax, abdomen, wings, legs and tails. A few squeals escaped while the children handled the jars, but for the most part they were very attentive.

The children learned how the spider qualifies as having a super-power, in that the spider’s silk for making webs is stronger than today’s man-made Kevlar thread used for bullet-proof vests. Another type of spider super-power is the ability to inject the digestive enzymes in its venom into the prey it catches.

The 16 children in attendance were encouraged to build a super-bug with super-powers. They worked well with the many supplies that Bridget brought for them to choose and create. Some of these items were foil, pipe cleaners, pompoms, googly eyes, construction paper, popsicle sticks, yarn, balls, magic markers, crayons, crepe paper and foam. Hilarity filled the air as they allowed their imaginations to run free. No two insects looked alike, and each participated in the activity.