Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristie Reddick & Jessica Honaker.
Hi Kristie & Jessica, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We met in grad school where we were both studying entomology (Jessica Honaker, M.S. studies aphids in agroecosystems and Kristie Reddick, M.S. studies camel spiders in East Africa) during an insect photography class that our professors thought was a “waste of time.” We bonded over our childhoods spent on either side of the Appalachian Mountains.
Kristie owned a video production company and asked Jess to come to Kenya and film her research work. Kristie paid for the trip with her student loans (oof), bought a truck on a credit card (double oof) and Jess said yes (yay), and off we went. We lived in a two-person tent for 5 months on the adventure of a lifetime (hyenas, bats, lions, camel spiders, safari life, and Kenyan colleagues who became like family) Jess asked if she could join Kristie in her company. That was 15 years ago and we have been inseparable ever since.
Fast forward and now we are a full-fledged educational media company where we create curricula, videos, and programs to promote the science of entomology. We have taught and worked all over the world with some incredible organizations like Nike, the Norman Borlaug Institute of International Agriculture, the National Ag Science Center, Microsoft, the US Forest Service, and many others.
You might know us as “those girls with the bugs” who introduced Microsoft’s Windows 10 to the world, or if you are already a bugdork, our fun videos about how insects woo their mates!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth road? Where’s the fun in that? When you run a small business there are always obstacles and challenges, but we have learned that our greatest strength (and we are very grateful for this) is that we get to go through this together. In any relationship, healthy communication is key. We work on this and have come a long way over the years.
You’ll hear a lot of advice about not going into business with your friends but for us the friendship has only grown deeper and when facing a challenge, we have a built-in sounding board. What really helps is having the same values. One of our biggest ongoing issues is working with producers who want to negatively sensationalize bugs in a show and we run into a great deal of sexism as women in science who create educational content. We don’t mess with that- bugs are awesome and we firmly believe in the tenet “if you can see it, you can be it.” Science is for everyone!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are Scicomm-ers, which stands for science communication. As scientists, we teach about arthropods (insects, arachnids, and their relatives) in videos and workshops all over the world. We teach kids, train professionals, and educate at the college level. We’re definitely not traditional science educators – we use bugs to help people feel that they are capable of anything. By blending concepts like growth mindset, resilience, bravery, and grit into learning about animals that are misunderstood and maligned we challenge people to see themselves, others, and the natural world in a new way.
Schools and universities hire us for our innovative and interactive programming like our “DIFFERENT” curriculum, and award-winning, evidence-based curriculum that is being used with middle, high school, and college students around the country. Our K-5 show, Songs of Science, blends entomology, music and communication strategies as we work with students to re-create a symphony of insect sounds, complete with live bugs and real-time microscope views.
What sets us apart from other Scicomm professionals is our approach to science teaching and learning- scientists at their best are open to the power of not knowing. Being vulnerable can be a powerful way to connect with others and we believe that empathy for bugs can teach us how to be better humans.
You can book us for speaking engagements and workshops- you’ll get to meet our tarantula named Beyonce!
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Before the pandemic, we were already planning our move to Ohio from Oregon. Making the decision to stick to the move was a huge factor in our success. We now live down the street from each other (the dream!) in Cincinnati and we couldn’t be happier. In terms of how we approached our business, we had to shift like everyone else. Luckily, we were used to teaching online and making video content- so that wasn’t an issue. But trying to get to know a new city (and getting the city to know us) during COVID-19 has been a slow process. We teach young people about resilience and how adaptations help bugs survive, so we had to take our own advice and use our skills to maneuver this new world. Thankfully, there is a thriving nature-focused community here and between the Cincinnati Zoo, the Cincinnati Nature Center, and the amazing park systems- we have some great new friends!
Now, transitioning out of the pandemic, we are in a new phase. We are in a new city! A new state! It feels like a whole new world of opportunity- so why do the same old thing? It has been a great time to reassess priorities and get super clear on our BIG VISION. We have been dreaming too small. We are so excited about what’s next here in our new Ohio home!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://thebugchicks.
com - Instagram: http://instagram.
com/thebugchicks - Facebook: http://facebook.com/
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Image Credits
The Bug Chicks