The dissemination of culture related to sericulture, mulberry cultivation and silk proposed by the ARACNE project aims to reach all age groups, including the youngest. For this reason, Dr. Luca Tassoni, who is pursuing his PhD at the Sericulture Laboratory of CREA, organised two educational events with the kindergarden and the nursery school in Padua (Italy). Allowing children at an early age to familiarise themselves with the nature of the silkworm lays the foundation for developing a fundamental sensitivity for the growth of everyone.
On Wednesday, May 15th, an event was held at the municipal nursery school “Il Bruco” in Padua, where children had the opportunity to see and touch silkworms in their various stages of growth. The little ones observed the moths and cocoons up close. The activity involved 60 children between 1 and 3 years old, divided into groups accompanied by teachers.
On May 31st, an event was dedicated to children aged 4 to 6 from the Wollemborg kindergarden in Padua, which was also open to parents and families to learn about the silkworm, biodiversity, the characteristics of the cocoon and silk, and the importance of the mulberry tree. The children closely observed different breeds of silkworms, noting the physical characteristics and colors of the cocoons. They familiarised themselves with mulberry leaves and tasted the berries, discovering the features of the silkworms’ only food. Their curiosity soon extended to the parents, who started asking questions to the expert, Dr. Luca Tassoni, who engaged both youngs and adults.
Some parents then experimented with raising silkworms, adopting two fifth-stage larvae and feeding them at home until they completed their metamorphosis into moths.
