The lesson described herein is the result of a partnership between a teacher and an entomologist brought together by a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded grant that paired teachers and researchers to impact K-12 STEM education through partnership and innovation. This collaboration resulted in five lessons featuring live insects such as cockroaches, beetles, and grasshoppers. The lesson highlighted in this article features Madagascar hissing cockroaches. The hour-long lesson was created in five parts to maximize student interest and engagement. Part one includes an anchoring event that involves showing a scientific research video of a cockroach running across wire mesh and a probing question along with a live cockroach to encourage students to generate observations and facilitate a discussion of ecosystems and microhabitats. Part two includes an investigation adapted from a scientific research study in the field of entomology. This investigation provides students opportunities to explore different insect adaptation models by using robotic Hexbug insects. Part three includes time for students to compile data gathered during the investigation and construct a graph. Part four of the lesson focuses on data analysis and student discussion of data and observations. Finally, part five features viewing research videos of invertebrates running across wire mesh with and without prosthetic spines (Spagna et al. 2007). These videos served as the inspiration for the Hexbug investigation featured in this lesson.