- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
To apply, students must write a letter about why they want to attend Bio Boot Camp. Letters of recommendations are required but can be "a tad later" as students may be on spring break, says Tabatha Yang, the Bohart Museum of Entomology's education and outreach coordinator.
The camps are hosted by the Bohart Museum of Entomology in collaboration with the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Campus Recreation and the UC Reserve System.
First, there's the Bio Boot Camp, Mountain Session, set July 25-29, for students entering grades 7-9 in the fall. The fee is $475. For those entering 10-12 grades in the fall, there's the Bio Boot Camp 2.0, set July 31-Aug. 6. The fee is $895. Need-based scholarships (partial) are available for both camps.
See website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu/summer-camps.html. Note that COVID-19 regulations apply. They include proof of full vaccination.
Some Bio Boot Camp alumni, like Gwen Erdosh, go on to major in entomology at UC Davis, become president of the UC Davis Entomology Club and be accepted in the campuswide Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology. She draws 24,000 followers on her “Gwentomologist” Instagram account. She recently won a Provost's Undergraduate Research Fellowship, and the Dr. Stephen Garczynski Undergraduate Research Scholarship from the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America.
“Ever since I can remember, I have always loved caterpillars,” Gwen said. (See news story.) “As a little kid, I would collect any caterpillar I saw and raise it to adulthood.” Amazed that a caterpillar could "magically change” into a moth or butterfly, she decided “to make a book matching every caterpillar to its adult. I did my own research online and in books I had, and soon was quite knowledgeable about Lepidoptera. The summer before 9th grade, I attended Bio Boot camp, the summer camp for kids led by the Bohart Museum, and Tabatha Yang (education and outreach coordinator). “This was the experience that led me to choose entomology as a career. During this camp, I learned everything about entomology and had a chance to meet real entomologists at UC Davis, and do field work. I fell in love with it and kept coming back each summer for the camp.”
Previous applications have drawn such expressions of interest as:
- "Since kindergarten, I wanted to be an entomologist/paleontologist. I love to turn over a rock to see what is living underneath."|
- "I have been photographing butterflies and other bugs with my dad since 2018."
- "I love to study how animals behave in different environments and how it compares to humans."
- "I've never had the chance to see biology in a hands-on, outdoor environment for an extended period of time."
Some background information from the website:
"Together with the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology and Campus Recreation, we launched Bio Boot Camp in 2011, a camp for junior high-aged students who are interested in the natural sciences," Yang says on the website. "There is limited enrollment and so we ask that the students themselves be part of the enrollment process. This is a full-day camp from 8:30 am-5:30 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday based at UC Davis. Then on Thursday morning we travel to a UC Reserve for an overnight experience at the UC Berkeley Sagehen Creek Field Station, just outside of Truckee in the Sierras. We return to Davis on Friday afternoon. (Alternate years they travel to the coast to Bodega Bay.)"
On Monday, they will get to know one another, play games, explore the UC Davis campus, and "go behind the scenes" at the two host museums: the Bohart Museum of Entomology and the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology.
On Tuesday, they will visit local streams, catching insects, observing birds, and exploring nature with guest scientists.
On Wednesday, "we deep into standard museum practices from collecting data to preparing specimens, including invertebrates and vertebrates," Yang says.
The Bio Camp ends with an overnight trip (van transportation) to a UC Reserve to learn about nature and the biodiversity of the Central Valley.
Bio Boot Camp 2.0
The Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, and Campus Recreation launched Bio Boot Camp 2.0 in 2013 after "much enthusiasm from Bio Boot Campers who graduated out of the junior high program," according to the organizers. The camp spans 7 days and 6 nights. On the first day, vans will transport the students to UC Berkeley's Sagehen Creek Field Station outside of Truckee. There the campers will conduct a group project, engage in mini-individual projects, explore the area, and discuss college and career paths. The camp also will include "wandering hikes, exploring Lake Tahoe, silly games, and a lot of fun throughout," Yang points out. "We will be stopping at the UC Davis campus on Friday for part of the day to tour the museums and the campus before traveling to UC Davis Quail Ridge Field Station outside of Winters, CA for the last night of camp. Campers will get to compare the Sierra to the Central Valley, prepare for their presentations and have their costumed dinner party." This camp is limited to 10 students and has 3 instructors.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
You may have heard about the "Bug Boot Camp" that ant specialist Phil Ward, professor of entomology at the UC Davis Department of Entomology, conducts for graduate and undergraduate students every other summer.
The real name of the five-week field course is "Insect Taxonomy and Field Ecology" (Entomology 109) but everyone calls it "Bug Boot Camp." The primary goal is to acquaint students with the taxonomic and biological diversity of insects. The students--aka happy campers--gather at the UC Sagehen Creek Field Station, located about 6,800 feet on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada.
That's the Bug Boot Camp. Now there's a newly launched "Bio Boot Camp."
The Bio Boot Camp, though, is a one-week camp for young teens interested in science, particularly entomology and wildlife biology. It's sponsored by the Bohart Museum of Entomology and the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology (MWFB).
Youths entering the seventh, eighth or ninth grades this fall and who have a passion for science are invited to apply. The camp will be limited to a maximum of 16 youths.
The basics:
Dates: June 20 to 24
Site: UC Davis campus with an overnight stay at the UC Sagehen Creek Field Station.
Registration: See UC Davis Campus Recreation program or contact Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for both the Bohart Museum and MWFB, at tabyang@ucdavis.edu.
Activities at the full-day camp will include observing animals, comparing valley to mountain fauna, collecting insects and exploring the anatomy of a dissected bird, she said.
“The goal of the camp is to provide an educational opportunity for students who already have a passion for entomology and wildlife biology, but who have outgrown most other camps and are still too young for internships,” Yang said. “We want to fill that gap, and expose them to the process of science as it is conducted at a top research institute like UC Davis.”
“A specialized camp like this has been frequently requested by visitors to the museum and participants in our other education and outreach programs,” Yang said.
Campers will search for and collect insects, dissect a bird, observe mammals and survey fish with other who share the same keen interests, Yang said. Monday through Wednesday, participants will delve into the research conducted at the museums and several research sites along Putah Creek as well as other locations on campus.
On Thursday and Friday the camp will explore the Sierras with a Thursday overnighter at the Sagehen Creek Field Station.
The two museums sponsoring the Bio Boot Camp are both located in Academic Surge on California Drive, UC Davis campus.
The Bohart Museum, located at 1124 Academic Surge and part of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, houses a worldwide collection of nearly eight million insect specimens and a “petting zoo” of live insects such as Madagascar hissing cockroaches and walking sticks. It is the seventh largest insect museum in North America and is open to the public Monday through Thursday and on special weekends
The Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, located in 1394 Academic Surge and part of the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, houses one of the most significant modern collections of birds, mammals, and fish in California. It is among the top ten collections of vertebrates in California and the third-largest university-managed collection in the state. The MWFB is dedicated to education, outreach, conservation, and research. This museum is not generally open to the public, but tours can be arranged in advance.
