- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Bee my Valentine!
Did the honey bee ever say that to a pink flowering quince? Probably not.
But she did buzz over there for some nectar and pollen.
What's buzzworthy this week--among other topics--is the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day. The 12th annual event, set all day Saturday, Feb. 18 on the UC Davis campus, will showcase 11 museums or collections. It's a "Super Science Day" and it's free and family friendly.
The scientists are eager to see you, show you their work, and answer your questions. All sites are within walking distance of the campus except for the Raptor Center, which is two miles away on Old Davis Road. Maps and directions are posted on the website. The maps also will be available the day of the event.
The list of the 11 museums or collections:
- Anthropology Museum, 328 Young Hall and grounds, noon to 4 p.m.
- Arboretum and Public Garden, Habitat Gardens in the Environmental GATEway, adjacent to the Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Bohart Museum of Entomology, Room 1124 and main hall of the Academic Surge Building, Crocker Lane, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. (The Phil Ward ant lab, Jason Bond arachnology lab, Santiago Ramirez orchid bee lab, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture all be represented with the Bohart Musueum lab)
- Botanical Conservatory, the greenhouses along Kleiber Hall Drive, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- California Raptor Center, 340 Equine Lane, off Old Davis Road, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Center for Plant Diversity, Sciences Laboratory Building/Esau Science Hall, off Kleiber Hall Drive, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Nematode Collection, Sciences Laboratory Building/Esau Science Hall, off Kleiber Hall Drive, 9 am. to 3 p.m..
- Marine Invertebrate Collection, Sciences Laboratory Building/Esau Science Hall, off Kleiber Hall Drive, 9 am. to 3 p.m.
- Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Room 1394, Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Paleontology Collection, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 1309 Earth and Physical Sciences Building, 434 LaRue Road, 12 noon to 4 p.m.
- Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, Robert Mondavi Institute Brewery and Food Processing facility, Old Davis Road, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (See news story)
"Our scientists are giving it their very best," said Biodiversity Museum chair and co-founder Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator of the Bohart Museum of Entomology. "They're giving it their all. Super Science Day is going to be super exciting."
To show a little love--and lots of heart--to the scientists and the other volunteers who make Biodiversity Museum Day happen, you can donate to the the crowdfunding site to help support it. Donations may be made in honor or memory of someone, said Yang. A donor wall is online. It can be a little as $5 or $10 or more and that will help pay for items such as campus maps, signs and supplies. Yang revealed that the public soon will be able to purchase BioDay merchandise, including T-shirts and hoodies, on a pending UC Davis website.
Meanwhile, it's back to work for the volunteers today (Valentine's Day) and the remainder of the week.