Assemble an insect collection that showcases the most common -- and, perhaps, most rare -- household pest insects found in your region. This type of collection might showcase ants, termites, cockroaches, fleas, crickets and fruit flies. In addition to basic scientific information, label each insect in this collection with the way through which it tends to enter a home -- and how best to discourage them.
Title your collection "The Beetles" (terrible pun intended) and fill it with examples of the myriad of different types of beetles, from the Japanese beetles that superficially resemble ladybugs but emit a foul odor to the horned, prehistoric-looking rhinoceros beetle. This type of collection is particularly appropriate for someone who prefers to delve deeply into one type of insect rather than collect a broad survey of insects.
Take a hint from popular television programs dealing with crime scenes and forensic analysis by preparing an insect collection based around the theme of forensic entomology, the scientific analysis of insects found in, on and in the vicinity of a body. Show the different kinds of insects often found on a body, such as maggots, ants and fully grown flies. Or, for a more involved project, create your own miniature "Body Farm" (using humanely trapped and killed pest animals) and sample the insects that help decompose the bodies at regular intervals -- 12 hours after death, one day after death, etc.
Curate a collection of insects that showcases the staggering diversity -- and surprising appearance -- of insect life that lives in the rainforest. Pick the rainforest of one particular area, such as Costa Rica or Brazil, to narrow down your insect search. Insects you might wish to include range from leaf-cutter ants, termites and millipedes to exotic, almost alien-looking insects like the slant-faced katydid.