We attempted to develop cultural teaching materials for “Science Division II” in junior high and “Fundamental Biology” in high school classes in units related to organic matter decomposition by microorganisms, in Japan. Seventeen kinds of foodstuff (processed foods and fruits and vegetables) fragment (s) were separately placed on nutrient-poor agar plate media [plain agar medium and 10-fold diluted PDA medium (1/10 PDA)] in Petri dishes by aseptic manipulation. Thereafter, in one series of experiments, the Petri dishes were sealed by a piece of parafilm, and in another series of experiments, the foodstuff fragments were exposed to air-contaminant bacteria and fungi for 30 seconds prior to the sealing. All cultures were incubated at 20°C for 24 days. The exposure did not affect the growth of bacteria and mold on the surface of most foodstuff pieces. The decomposition dynamics of the foodstuff fragments during cultivation on the nutrient-poor media were able to chase at an interval of two to five days by the naked eye observation for at least 17 days. This is because the growth rates of bacteria and mold that appeared from the foodstuff pieces on the nutrient-poor media became suitable for the time-series observation. In most cultures of the fruits and vegetables, both bacteria and molds grew vigorously. On the other hand, bacteria predominated in the culture of processed animal foods. The advantage of this teaching material based on food decomposition as a model can be carried out easily and safely by the students because it does not require strict aseptic manipulation as long as the sterile agar plate media are prepared by the teacher. Namely, students prepare the foodstuff fragment (s) and put them separately on the agar plate media without strict aseptic manipulation and are able to chase the decomposition dynamics of animal and plant organic substances caused by bacteria and/or fungi from outside of the Petri dish without opening the lid of the Petri dish containing the culture.

The potential of “insect diets” to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030, “Zero hunger: end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture”, is discussed. The reason for the focus on insect diets is suggested to be their potential to reduce global hunger, as insects are not only nutritious but also high in calories. Due to future population growth and agro-environmental issues, entomophagy could be one of the possibilities to achieve sustainable goals; however, at present, the practice of entomophagy is declining worldwide. In order for entomophagy to be considered one of the solutions to food problems, we believe that there should first be activities to think about and learn about entomophagy in school education. In this study, we report on an activity combining an insect observation experiment in science and an entomophagy experience for university students to experience entomophagy and to think about entomophagy.

Understanding the taxonomic groups and characteristics of organisms that young children are generally interested in will help in the construction of a curriculum on organisms for nursery school teachers in training. In this study, I collected questions about organisms from 3- to 5- year-old children based on a questionnaire survey to nursery school teachers. By analyzing the contents of the 292 questions obtained, I attempted to understand the current state of young children’s interest in organisms. Many small organisms that can be observed in the natural environment around children, such as pill bugs, butterflies, and cicadas, appeared in the children’s questions. Insects were the most common taxon (approximately 30%), followed by plants and crustaceans. Although age effect was not significant in the proportion of taxa, insects tended to appear more frequently in the questions of males, and plants and humans in the questions of females. The most common biological characteristic item that appeared in young children’s questions was animal behavior. The type of information requested through questioning was explanatory information, which accounted for more than 60% of the questions.