INTERVIEW - 151th Kentucky Derby - Previews

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - MAY 27: (INTERVIEW) Joanne Collins Brock, a second grade teacher at McFerran Preparatory Academy, says "Why do we have hissing cockroaches? That's a great question. I got my hissing cockroaches from a college roommate from WKU probably 18 years ago, 19 years ago. She sent me four in the mail in a rubber maid tin, with a piece of dog food and a wet paper towel and said, you ought to have these for your classroom. The kids will love them. And I'm like, sure, send them on in. At the time, I already had two guinea pigs, my kids had hamsters, we had a couple lizards. Why not have some roaches? And they came and they're like little itty -bitty rolli-pollies, which did not seem like a big deal. But within six months they grow to the size of your finger and most of that very first batch grew about four to five inches long. So they were pretty huge and the kids were fascinated with them and they're kind of scary at first, but they're in the praying mantis family so they're not really roaches. They don't fly, they don't bite. They are the only insect in the world that gives live birth, and they also can make sounds with an air sac in their abdomen. So that's super exciting. When you put your hand in there to pick them up and they all hiss, the kids get all excited. And so we'd keep them in the classroom because it's a great life cycle lesson for the children. First of all, to not be afraid of things that people think are scary." at McFerran Preparatory Academy on May 27, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky. Her class raises Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches in the class room, and on the Thursday before the Kentucky Derby, they race the cockroaches to help celebrate the Kentucky Derby, which is held less than two miles from the school at Legendary Churchill Downs. (Footage by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)