Visitors to the University of California, Davis campus can visit six museums at the fourth annual Biodiversity Museum Day.
It's a week after Super Bowl Sunday, and by then all talk about deflated footballs may have ended.
The UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day will take place Sunday, Feb. 8 from 12 noon to 4 p.m., and will showcase the Bohart Museum of Entomology, Center for Plant Diversity, the Botanical Conservatory, the Paleontology Collection, the Anthropology Collection, and the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology.
“Each museum's impressive research/teaching collection documents the biodiversity of life in California and throughout the world, whether it be plants, fossils, human culture, insects or birds,” said co-coordinator Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum.
All participating museums have active education and outreach programs, but the collections are not always accessible to the public. On Sunday, Feb. 8 they will be.
It's billed as a special day to go behind-the-scenes to learn how scientists conduct research; gain first-hand educational experience; and to see some of the curators' favorite pieces. Visitors are invited to explore displays, talk to scientists and students, and participate in fun activities.
There is no admission, and parking is free, too. Visitors are encouraged to stroll or bike around the UC Davis campus and see all six collections. All are located indoors. Maps, signs and guides will be available. Click to download map.
The locations:
- Bohart Museum of Entomology, Room 1124 of Academic Surge, Crocker Lane (off LaRue Road)
- Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, 1394 Academic Surge, Crocker Lane
- UC Davis Botanical Conservatory, Kleiber Hall Drive
- Center for Plant Diversity, Sciences Laboratory Building, off Kleiber Hall Drive, near Briggs Hall
- Anthropology Collections, Young Hall, off A Street
- Geology Collections, Earth and Physical Sciences Building, across from Academic Surge Building, Crocker Lane
Biodiversity Museum Day's Facebook page provides more information. For further information, you can also contact co-coordinator Ernesto Sandoval at the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory at jesandoval@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-0569.
Attached Images:
A Madagascar hissing cockroach crawls on the arm of a visitor at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Olivia Dally, a UC Davis grad who received her degree in wildlife fish and conservation biology in 2012, preparing specimens at the third annual Biodiversity Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The skull of an Asian elephant, displayed last year by the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Visitors enjoying the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)