A jumping spider stares at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Treat, please, says this jumping spider.

It's time to jump in to help the 13th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day crowdunding project.

It's a Super Science Day to be held Saturday, Feb. 10 on the UC Davis campus.

It's a free and family friendly event. You can visit such biological museums or collections as the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, Bohart Museum of Entomology, Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Arboretum and Public Garden, California Raptor Center, Earth and Planetary Sciences Paleontology Collections, Botanical Conservatory, Center for Plant Diversity, Nematode Collections, Marine Invertebrate Teaching Collection, and the Department of Anthropology Museum.

And you can talk to the scientists one-on-one.

The crowdfunding project ends at 11:59 p.m., Monday, Oct. 30. You can donate here. You can donate in memory of a loved one, or, for example, to honor your favorite scientist or favorite insect or spider.

"Donations will help us sustain this free science event, and enable our student interns to take science outreach to a whole new level," according to Biodiversity Museum Day chair Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology." The goal of our event is to connect people from all walks of life to science and the biodiversity surrounding them."

Donation levels start at $5.

Don't want to buy candy corn and other treats for Halloween? Another kind of treat will help fund a Super Science Day.

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.

Hand transfer of a tarantula at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The event, billed as a Super Science Day, will showcase 11 museums or collections. It's an opportunity to chat with scientists and learn what research is taking place at UC Davis. It's also an opportunity for students to gain career ideas.

The Biodiversity Museum Day is free and family friendly. Parking is also free. 

Organizers of the crowdfunding are Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology who is chairing the Biodiversity Museum Day; Brennen Dyer, Bohart Museum collections manager; and Melissa Cruz Hernandez, outreach and leadership program manager, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.

"Your support will enable our 11 collections--the students, staff and faculty associated with them--to hold this event," they announced. Donations will not only help us sustain this free science event, they will enable our student interns to take science outreach to a whole new level. The goal of our event is to connect people from all walks of life to science and the biodiversity surrounding them. All donors will be recognized on the Biodiversity Museum Day social media accounts with a shout-out post." 

Gifts are tax-deductible. The first to donate was Jakob Jess, a MET Sacramento High School interning at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. He is currently lending his video/computer/website skills to the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day project. See the donor wall. 

The Eleven museums or collections on campus showcasing their work:

• 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.
• 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, 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) 

The UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day is traditionally held on Presidents' Day Weekend at various venues on campus.  The 2022 event, however, took place March 6 in the UC Davis Conference Center and drew some 1000 visitors. This year, it's back home to the individual departments where scientists will be on hand to greet visitors and answer questions. 

Is your 2016 calendar up on the wall yet? Or are you calendaring everything on your smart phone?

No matter how you keep track of your "things to do," how about setting aside Saturday, Feb. 13?

The University of California, Davis has scheduled its fifth annual Biodiversity Museum Day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13. It's a "Super Science" sort of day. It's a campuswide open house showcasing 11 specialized research and teaching collections, five more than last year. The event is free and open to the public.

New to the Biodiversity Day are the Nematode Collection, Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, California Raptor Center, Phaff Yeast Culture Collection and the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.

They will join the Center for Plant Diversity, Botanical Conservatory, Paleontology Collections, Anthropology Collection, Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, and the Bohart Museum of Entomology for a day of science exploration.

Biodiversity Museum Day is billed as a special day for the public to go behind the scenes to learn how scientists conduct research; gain first-hand educational experience; and see some of the curators' favorite pieces, including the history of the collection or the organism.

Parking is free. Visitors are encouraged to stroll or bike around the UC Davis campus to visit these diverse collections. They can explore displays, talk to scientists and students, and participate in family-friendly activities. This year students interested in applying or transferring to UC Davis are especially encouraged to visit.

All participating museums and collections have active education and outreach programs, but the collections are not always accessible to the public. For a full-day experience, the Biodiversity Museum Day has scheduled staggered hours:

• Anthropology Collections, Young Hall, open noon to 4 p.m.
• Arboretum, Headquarters along LaRue Road, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Bohart Museum of Entomology, Academic Surge Building, open noon to 4 p.m.
• Botanical Conservatory, greenhouses along Klieber Hall Drive, open 10 a.m. to  4 p.m.
• California Raptor Center, Old Davis Road, open 9 a.m. to noon
• Center for Plant Diversity, Sciences Lab Building, open 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, Bee Biology Road, open 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Academic Surge Building, open noon to 4 p.m.
• Nematode Collection, Sciences Lab Building, open 1 to 4 p.m.
• Paleontology Collections, Earth and Physical Sciences Building, open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, Earth and Physical Sciences Building, open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Maps, signs and guides will be available at all the collections, online, and on social media, including Facebook and Twitter, @BioDivDay.

For further information about the event, contact Ernesto Sandoval, director of the Botanical Conservatory, at jesandoval@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-0569.