Thanksgiving will come early to the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis.
An open house, appropriately themed "Thankful for Bugs," is set from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 1124 Academic Surge on California Drive.
And it's free.
Visitors can view insect specimens from all over the world. And they can hold such critters as live (yes, live!) walking sticks and Madagascar hissing cockroaches.
A special activity: draw an insect and create your own button to wear. "We are busting out the button maker to make the insects we love," said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. "Hopefully, people will appreciate dung beetles and flies as important decomposers,and wasps as insect predators, along with the indispensable butterfly and bee pollinators."
The museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, is the home of seven million insect specimens. Founded in 1946 by noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007), it is dedicated to teaching, research and service.
The Bohart also maintains regular hours from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. It is closed on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission is free.
More information is available on the Bohart website or by contacting Tabatha Yang, at tabyang@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-0493. Due to limited space, group tours will not be booked during the weekend hours.
Attached Images:
Visitors to the Bohart Museum can hold a walking stick. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug in the hand is worth two in the bush? A walking stick at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)