Terrestrial isopods (often referred to as sow bugs or pill bugs) are small, land-dwelling crustaceans. Because of their gentle nature, terrestrial isopods are excellent animals to have in a science classroom. There are many fun and effective classroom activities that utilize terrestrial isopods to teach science concepts, but there are multiple barriers to acquiring the large number of terrestrial isopods needed for classroom activities. Furthermore, when terrestrial isopods are brought into the classroom, the possibility exists that they will die inhumanely because finding good information on their proper care and reproduction can be difficult. Websites, books, and magazines frequently provide contradictory, inaccurate, incomplete, overly complex, and inhumane care information. To address these issues, this article explains how to set up a simple, low-maintenance, and inexpensive classroom enclosure for the terrestrial isopod species Porcellio scaber . These techniques, which I use in my classroom, produce large numbers of healthy captive-bred P. scaber . This article also presents examples of effective, hands-on classroom activities utilizing P. scaber .

Heterophrynus batesii (the Giant Amazonian Whip Spider) are often referred to as “whip scorpions” or “whip spiders” because of their very long antenniform legs (i.e., whips), but they are neither scorpions nor spiders. They are amblypygids, a type of harmless charismatic arachnid with an alien-like appearance that students are drawn to. I have developed care and breeding techniques that are effective at getting H. batesii to live and reproduce in captivity. I developed these techniques with other science teachers in mind. These techniques are simple, time efficient, utilize the least expensive materials, and require minimal space—important characteristics since most high school biology teachers are limited by time, money, and space. This article instructs high school biology students (under the guidance of their teacher) how to properly care for and develop a captive breeding program for H. batesii in their high school biology classroom. Topics, resources, and activities are also suggested that allow teachers to make educational connections between the H. batesii captive breeding program, the ongoing sixth mass extinction, and the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

There have been five past great mass extinctions during the history of Earth. There is an ever-growing consensus within the scientific community that we have entered a sixth mass extinction. Human activities are associated directly or indirectly with nearly every aspect of this extinction. This article presents an overview of the five past great mass extinctions; an overview of the current Anthropocene mass extinction; past and present human activities associated with the current Anthropocene mass extinction; current and future rates of species extinction; and broad science-curriculum topics associated with the current Anthropocene mass extinction that can be used by science educators. These broad topics are organized around the major global, anthropogenic direct drivers of habitat modification, fragmentation, and destruction; overexploitation of species; the spread of invasive species and genes; pollution; and climate change.