Aussie STEM Stars: Skye Blackburn-Lang: Eating bugs for the planet

Age range 10 to 13

Skye Blackburn-Lang is an entomologist and food scientist who has combined her two specialities and high energy entrepreneurial spirit to become a world leader in developing nutritious superfoods for a sustainable future from insects and their larvae - without the Yuck! factor.

From the time Skye was very young, she was passionate about all things creepy crawly and dreamed of becoming an entomologist when she was just four years old!

After finishing her university studies, she first worked in a pet food company developing nutritious food for cats but very soon created her own businesses introducing children and adults to the world of insects. She developed insect life cycle kits and butterfly sessions, becoming a regular and extremely popular speaker at schools, invited to show and talk about her insects at public and private events. She has appeared on television, on the children’s reality show Camp Orange, and has also worked with production companies that require her services and live insects in TV shows, films and advertisements. Her creepy-crawlies have become rock stars!

After visiting Thailand and seeing insects cooked up as yummy treats, she is now famous for producing amazing food - from ice cream, to muesli to choc chip cookies, made from protein and nutrient-rich insects that she farms herself. Food for the future!