WATCH NOW: Kenosha Public Museum Eco-Science Fair teaches kids about sustainability .. and eating bugs

The Kenosha Public Museum’s Eco-Science Fair taught visitors how to make blankets out of plastic bags, create seed bombs and even to eat bugs on Saturday .

Kenosha Unified School District students and guest speakers also weighed in on environmental issues and potential paths to a more sustainable future.

Bridget Nash, the museum’s curator of social sciences, said the family-focused event — featuring groups from Carthage, Parkside, the Sierra Club and more — offered people information and resources within the community to help protect the environment.

“It’s a good day to spread that message,” Nash said. “This is something a lot of young students were really, really interested in and passionate about, but they don’t know what they can do.”

Carthage was represented by the Carthage Entomology Club, which had a wide array of insect-based snacks at their table. Chocolates, brownies or just flavored dried crickets were all laid out for guests to taste.

“Edible insects are a very sustainable source of food,” said Club President Mary Gargano-Price. “It’s important to teach future generations other options to being sustainable.”

Although Gargano-Price said some attendees were a little hesitant, those who got past the mental-block of eating insects were usually pleasantly surprised.

“It’s still not as popular in the United States as other countries,” Gargano-Price said, “but it’s been a welcoming reaction.”

Joe Dubaniewicz, with the non-profit Kenosha Green Congregations, said they wanted to get their message of saving the environment and moving to cleaner sources of energy to younger audiences.

“We want to get kids involved,” Dubaniewicz said. “It’s their future, not ours, or mine at least.”

UW-Parkside’s Root River Environmental Education Community Center had an information table, where Environmental Education Manager Laura Schulz was handing out pamphlets and helping with some water test demonstrations for kids.

“You obviously want to get kids excited about nature,” Schulz said. “If they’re excited, they’re more likely to protect it in the future.”

Additional activities were set up throughout the first and second floors of the museum, such as creating miniature compost bins, crocheting blankets and making drink holders out of recyclable materials.

Other attending groups included the Root River Area Chapter of Wild Ones, Racine Master Gardeners and the Kenosha Department of Public Works, which parked a recycling truck for guests to tour.