It All Begins at the Bohart

It all begins at the Bohart.

The Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis, that is.

Officials at the museum, located at 1124 Academic Surge on California Drive, have just announced the complete list of weekend openings for the 2011-2012 academic year. They'll all be held on either a Saturday or Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.

And they're all free.

The first of the 10-series weekend openings, set Saturday, Sept. 24, will focus on “Catch, Collect and Curate: Entomology 101.”

“There will be collecting devices set-up outside and inside, so people can see how they are used,” said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. “People will have the chance to practice pinning common insects--dead ones!--that we will provide until supplies run out. “

Visitors will have a opportunity to access the Bohart computers to see the video clips on  “How to Make an Insect Collection,” the work of UC Davis professor James Carey’s entomology class last spring. The entire series, totaling 11 clips ranging in length from 32 seconds to 77 seconds, can be viewed in just less than 10 minutes. (See news story with link to video clips)

So, on Sept. 24 at the Bohart Museum, high school and college students in science courses can learn how to create an insect collection, something required of them later this year.

The time to begin is now, Yang says.

Also, 4-H'ers enrolled in entomology projects will want to know how to do this, too. The session is open to all.

The special weekend openings complement the regularly scheduled weekday hours of the Bohart Museum. During the year, visitors can tour the Bohart between 9 a.m. and noon and 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday (except on holidays).

The Bohart Museum, home of more than seven million insect specimens (plus a live "petting zoo" of Madagascar hissing cockoaches and walking sticks and other critters), is a great resource.

Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, directs the Bohart Museum. She and the other scientists in the Bohart Museum make the study of insects not only educational but fun.

Here's what's on tap from Sept. 24 through June 3.