Kids and their families learned about bugs, made art projects, watched a puppet show, completed in Insect Olympics, and released butterflies during Kettle Creek Education Center’s Bug Fest on Saturday.

“This is our biggest event of the summer,” said Colleen Lidon, environmental educator at Kettle Creek. “It is a good way to get little ones immersed in nature and show that bugs are cool, not creepy.”

Lidon said the morning and afternoon sessions were at capacity and the parking lot was full all day.

Erik Diemer, of Blossom & Buzz Beekeeping, has been a beekeeper hobbyist for 16 years. He manages more than 100 hives.

“I love leading presentations and teaching people about bees and wasps,” he said.

At his station, the kids rolled honeycomb into candles while he shared information about bees.

A queen bee lives about two years, he said. She leaves the hive twice - once near the start of her reign in order to mate and then at the end of her life.

The Monroe County 4-H entomology club called “Insects Are Us” was one of a handful of organizations that participated in the event.

At their tables, attendees could look at live bugs in containers, let a Bess beetle crawl on their hand and view bug collections from previous entomologists.

“All of these bugs can be found in your backyard. Our club has raised praying mantis, lady bugs, butterflies and maggots,” said Insects Are Us volunteer Allison Conklin.

At another table nearby, her daughter Nora was one of a few volunteers who provided face painting throughout the morning and afternoon sessions. Kids had ladybugs, caterpillars, bees and butterflies painted on their hands and cheeks.

During the Insect Olympics, held outside in the clearing by the woods, a few members of the club directed a grasshopper jumping game.

Kaylin Fehrenbacher and Kaylee Russell asked kids to guess how far the grasshopper would jump when they brought it out from the carrying case. There was a large piece of paper with one-inch marks going out to the edge of the paper. Then, the kids had to see how many jumps it took them to get across a marked 15-feet section of the grass.

“I have been in the club for more than 7 years. I enjoy it and like observing macro invertebrates that live in streams,” said Micah Staples.

His favorite part of the event was performing the skit, which he wrote.

In another game, kids had to work together to move like a caterpillar from one point to another. They had loosely tied ropes around both ankles and had to cooperate and communicate to achieve the task.

We come every year. It’s a fun event. It was quite a busy morning,” said Master Gardener Joy Gilmartin.

She and other Master Gardeners from the PA Extension oversaw the table where kids painted rocks for bugs to live under.

In another room, kids could make maggot paintings. The bugs were dipped into purple, blue, green, or pink paint and then placed on a small square piece of paper. The kids pushed them along so the maggots could make streaks and starbursts on their paper. Then they glued it onto a larger square to hang on the wall.

At the next table, Gareth Denniston and his son, Talon, helped kids make an insect using art supplies such as pieces of egg cartons, pom-poms, pipe cleaners, glue and googly eyes.

Denniston founded Lilliana’s Helping Hands, a nonprofit named for his 14-year-old daughter who died from a complication of strep throat in April 2015.

“Our group is very involved here at Kettle Creek. We work a lot with kids to encourage them to volunteer and be emphatic,” he said.

Lilliana’s Nature Discovery Area, located outside the education center, is named for her. Its grand opening and dedication were held in September 2017.

The event’s finale was a butterfly release at 3 p.m. Volunteers were inside a tent containing milkweed with butterflies and handed them to kids outside the tent. They were instructed to wait until everyone had two butterflies.

“We are teaching the public about insects and sharing our love of entomology,” said Vicky Staples, a volunteer leader from Insects Are Us.

During the summer, the center offers summer day camps and Kettle Creek for Kids, which is for ages 3 to 6. Class size is limited to 15 kids per session. There are bog walks and a trip to the Adirondacks, which is only for adults, Lidon said.