Excitement is building for the 14th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, to take place Saturday, Feb. 8 on the UC Davis campus.
The "Super Science Day" is an opportunity to explore, discover and connect, says chair Tabatha Yang, who doubles as the education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology.
This is an hands-on event where you can talk to the scientists and learn about their research and ask questions.
And, it's free and family friendly. So is parking.
Here is capsule information for the Department of Entomology and Nematology activities: the Bohart Museum of Entomology and the Nematode collection.
Bohart Museum of Entomology
Location: Room 1124 and main hall of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"We will have the main hallway lined with experts sharing insect specimens (live and preserved) and tours of the collections," said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. "The Bohart will be joined by bee experts (other than honey bees), including UC Davis professors Felicity Muth, Rachel Vannette and Neal Williams and their labs. For the ant lovers, professor Phil Ward and his lab will also be on hand to discuss ants."
"Then at 2:45 p.m. in Cruess Hall, Room 1002, the Bohart Museum is hosting the showing of the documentary Nocturnes, about moth research in the Himalayas. It will be followed by a discussion about remote field research with Iris Quayle, a graduate student in the Bond Lab who has been to Belize and Madagascar to study insects. This film is beautiful, slow, and immersive and has some subtitles. It requires a stillness and patience, so may not be for everyone."
Nematode Collection
Location: Katherine Esau Science Hall, off Kleiber Hall Drive.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
"We are excited to showcase the nematode collection for another year at the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day!" said doctoral student Veronica Casey of the lab of Shahid Siddique, associate professor. "There will be jars containing preserved animal-parasitic nematodes, including dog heartworm and a worm donated by a student who was infected when traveling abroad (they're ok now!). We will also have samples of plants infected by plant-parasitic nematodes. Visitors can look under the microscope to see the amazing diversity of free-living nematodes extracted from a local soil sample. There will be a screen projecting a live feed of Caenorhabditis elegans, a model organism used in many different scientific fields. Visitors will get to take home their own fuzzy toy worm!"
The list of what you can and see and experience includes:
Arboretum and Public Garden
Location: Habitat Gardens in the Environmental GATEway, adjacent to the Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive.
Hours: noon to 4 p.m.
Botanical Conservatory
Location: The greenhouses along Kleiber Hall Drive.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
California Raptor Center, School of Veterinary Medicine
Location: 1340 Equine Lane, off Old Davis Road (Located three miles south of the central campus.)
Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Center for Plant Diversity
Location: Katherine Esau Science Hall off Kleiber Hall Drive.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology
Location: Room 1394, Academic Surge Building
455 Crocker Lane
Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Paleontology Collection
Location: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 1309 Earth and Physical Sciences Building, 434 LaRue Road.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Pfaff Yeast Culture Collection
Location: Robert Mondavi Institute Brewery and Food Processing facility, Old Davis Road.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Design Museum
Location: Cruess Hall, Room 124, 375 California Ave.
Hours: 1 to 5 p.m.
Visual Journals: 2010-2024 Exhibit
Moth Documentary
Location: Room 1002 of Cruess Hall
Hour: 2:45 to 5 p.m.
For capsule information on all the museums and collections access this Bug Squad blog post.
More information, including a downloadable map, and the location of refreshments, appears on the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day website at https://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu