College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Entomology

Gwen Pearson joins the Department of Entomology as an adjunct assistant professor, bringing decades of experience in entomology, science writing, and outreach. Her projects like The Lesson Hive, which curates K–12 entomology lessons, and the Insect Festival Working Group, which develops best practices for insect-focused festivals nationwide, aims to make science more accessible and help foster curiosity about insects. Pearson’s career has spanned research, higher education and science communication, with writing credits ranging from WIRED to The Guardian.

We spoke with her about her career path, passion for science communication and the projects she’s bringing to MSU Entomology.

Q: Can you share a little about your professional background?  

A: I started out as a regular entomologist teaching at a small college, and then my career path went wild. I’ve worked at a dot.com, Assistant Director at Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), Writer for WIRED Magazine, Outreach Coordinator for Purdue Entomology and I currently work full time as a science writer.  

Q: What first sparked your interest in entomology?

A: I didn’t discover the discipline of Entomology until I started Graduate School. It was the perfect way to answer all the behavioral questions I had with little fascinating little animals. 

Q: What specific area(s) of entomology do you concentrate on, and what drew you to that focus? 

A:My field research focused on behavioral ecology in integrated pest management (IPM) – can we understand pest behavior in ways that might let us control them better? 

These days I focus on science communication, both in the K-12 space and general conversation strategies to help people discover they love bugs. 

Q: Can you tell us about your recent appointment—what your role will entail and what you hope to accomplish here at MSU? 

A: I started several projects that needed homes when I went back to writing full time as a freelancer, and I’m thrilled they found a home at MSU!  

The Lesson Hive began as an Entomological Society of America (ESA) project to collect and rate lessons, curricula and supplemental materials, and to organize them by Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) standards, K-12 Grades and other criteria. We have about 200 lessons inventoried so far, and I hear regularly from folks happy to have discovered the site. It’s so hard to use search engines to find what you are looking for right now, so it’s become an important resource. 

The other entomology project I help manage is the Insect Festival Working Group. So many museums and departments have insect festivals, but very few have been evaluated in terms of what visitors learn, or who the audiences are. By working together, our hope is to share work and make it easier for festivals to develop evaluations and best practices, and to benchmark between each other. 

Q:What has been a particularly memorable or formative experience in your career so far? 

A: I got to write about stick insects in the Guardian last week! I always enjoy writing for a new (to me) outlet. My main writing client at the moment is Highlights for Kids Magazine, which are fantastic to work with. It’s also a great challenge – explaining bioluminescence at a third grade level in just 250 words is not easy!  

I loved working at KBS – it is such a gem. I was able to live at the Bird Sanctuary for a while, which was a dream. I am proud to have been pooped on by many Trumpeter Swans 🙂 

Q: Outside of your academic work, what personal interests or hobbies do you enjoy? 

A: Gardening! I serve as a Volunteer Ambassador for the Xerces Society, and do presentations and tabling at events on their behalf in Northern Ohio and Michigan.