- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Visitors are invited to “come look at our collection, hold live insects and browse our gift shop,” said Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and professor of entomology at UC Davis.
The Dec. 7th event is an extension of the weekday hours, said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. “We will have some Oh, My! drawers pulled (called “Oh, my” because that’s what visitors say when they first see them), and live animals to hold.” These include Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks, tarantulas and praying mantids. Visitors can also see newly emerged praying mantids.
Attendees can test out Lizard Island, a new ecological videogamebeing developed by Budding Biologist (http://www.buddingbiologist.com/about.html), an educational publishing company owned by Kristine Callis-Duehl, a post-doctoral associate housed in the Department of Entomology and Nematology. This game is loosely based on ecological research being conducted by Louie Yang, assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. Walter Hsiao, the video game developer , will be on hand to answer questions about game design.
Hsaio earlier designed a fly fishing simulation game that included input from Louie Yang and Sharon Lawler, professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology: http://www.flysim.com/flysim/flysim_features.html
The Bohart Museum, housing nearly eight million specimens, is the seventh largest insect collection in North America. It is also the home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum in 1946.
The year-around gift shop (also online) offers t-shirts, jewelry, insect nets, posters and books, including the newly published children’s book, “The Story of the Dogface Butterfly,” written by UC Davis doctoral candidate Fran Keller and illustrated (watercolor and ink) by Laine Bauer, a 2012 graduate of UC Davis. The 35-page book, geared toward kindergarteners through sixth graders, also includes photos by naturalist Greg Kareofelas of Davis, a volunteer at the Bohart.
Bohart officials schedule weekend open houses throughout the academic year. Upcoming open houses are:
Sunday, Jan. 12
Theme: "Snuggle Bugs"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 8
Theme: "Biodiversity Museum Day"
Hours: Noon to 4 p.m.
This event will be held in conjunction with the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Herbarium, Botanical Conservatory, Anthropology Collection and Geology and will take place at each of those locations. (All are free and open to the public.)
Sunday, March 2
Theme: "Garden Heroes!"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
Saturday, April 12:
Theme: “UC Davis Picnic Day: 100 Years”
Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday, May 4
Theme: "Moth-er's Day"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
Saturday, July 26
Theme: "Arachnids: Awesome or Awful?"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
The Bohart Museum’s regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The insect museum is closed to the public on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission is free. More information is available from Tabatha Yang at tabyang@ucdavis.edu.
Those who would like to join the Bohart Museum Society, a campus and community support organization dedicated to supporting the mission of the museum, can do so by accessing http://bohart.ucdavis.edu/html/about_society.html.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The museum, which houses nearly eight million insects, is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge building on the UC Davis campus, Crocker Lane.
The event is free and open to the public. It's a family friendly event.
"Beetles," said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator at the Bohart," are incredibly diverse from the dung beetles to the shiny wood-boring beetles to the mighty rhinoceros beetles. They are also spectacularly beautiful. Besides specimens from around the world, we also be displaying (not selling!) jewelry made from the wings of beetles--this was common practice in South America's indigenous populations."
In addition to displays of beetles, "we will have a fun hands-on craft, something involving sequins and another craft involving 'dung balls,' " Yang said.
The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis and housing nearly eight million specimens, is the seventh largest insect collection in North America. It is also the home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum in 1946.
Special attractions at the Bohart include a live "petting zoo," with critters such as Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks, tarantulas and prayingmantids. Visitors can also shop at the year-around gift shop (or online) for t-shirts, jewelry, insect nets, posters and books, including the newly published children’s book, “The Story of the Dogface Butterfly,” written by UC Davis doctoral candidate Fran Keller and illustrated (watercolor and ink) by Laine Bauer, a 2012 graduate of UC Davis. The 35-page book, geared toward kindergarteners through sixth graders, also includes photos by naturalist Greg Kareofelas of Davis, a volunteer at the Bohart.
Bohart officials schedule weekend open houses throughout the academic year. Regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The insect museum is closed to the public on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission is free. More information is available from Tabatha Yang at tabyang@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
All will be held from 1 to 4 p.m., with two exceptions. The open house on Saturday, Feb. 8 during UC Davis Biodiversity Day will be from noon to 4 p.m. On the campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day, Saturday, April 12, the hours at the Bohart Museum are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Bohart Museum open houses are free and open to the public. The first is on Saturday, Sept. 21 when the theme is “Live from the Bohart!” It will feature how to rear white cabbage flies and other insects.
The schedule of open houses:
Saturday, Sept. 21
Theme: "Live from the Bohart!"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 23
Theme: "Beauty and Beetles"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 12
Theme: "Snuggle Bugs"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 8
Theme: "Biodiversity Museum Day"
Hours: Noon to 4 p.m.
This event will be held in conjunction with the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Herbarium, Botanical Conservatory, Anthropology Collection and Geology and will take place at each of those locations. (All are free and open to the public.)
Sunday, March 2
Theme: "Garden Heroes!"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
Saturday, April 12:
Theme: “UC Davis Picnic Day: 100 Years”
Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday, May 4
Theme: "Moth-er's Day"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
Saturday, July 26
Theme: "Arachnids: Awesome or Awful?"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
New addition:The December Event
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013
Hours: Noon to 3 p.m.
The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, houses a global collection of nearly eight million insect specimens and is the seventh largest insect collection in North America. It is also the home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum in 1946.
The insect museum includes a gift shop, stocked with T-shirts, posters, insect nets, books, and other items, that also can be purchased online. Another attraction is the live "petting zoo," complete with Madagascar hissing cockroaches and walking sticks. Visitors enjoy holding and photographing them.
The museum’s regular public hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Group tours can be arranged with Tabatha Yang at tabyang@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-0493. The museum is closed to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and UC Davis holidays.
The Bohart Museum is located near the intersection of La Rue Road and Crocker Lane.
Those who would like to join the Bohart Museum Society, a campus and community support organization dedicated to supporting the mission of the museum, can do so by accessing http://bohart.ucdavis.edu/html/about_society.html.
“You can help support the museum and its educational programs by becoming a member,” Kimsey said. “The Bohart Museum and the Bohart Museum Society are dedicated to teaching, research and public service. Our current growth is financed by memberships and contributions.” Membership and donations directly support the following programs and activities:
Visiting Scientist Program
Each year, two or three short-term fellowships are awarded to systematists to come and study the museum collections.
High School Student Internships
The Society funds summer internships for high school students to learn about insects, curation, collecting and other aspects of entomology.
Associates Program
This program is designed to give special recognition to society members who donate their time and expertise to improving the museum's collections, or through collecting activities.
Benefits of Membership include a subscription to the Bohart Museum Society quarterly newsletter; invitation to “members only” special events and programs, including the Halloween open house; select member discounts on gift shop merchandise; access to the collections, and free information and identification services from staff; and the use of the museum library of entomological books and periodicals.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The Bohart Museum of Entomology’s open house, set from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, June 9, will inform visitors how to find insects via an inside/outside activity that is free and open to the public.
The event will take place in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge building and at the side of the building, located on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. This is the last of the open houses for the 2012-13 academic year.
Visitors can try their hand at catching insects with nets and with pan traps. A pan trap is a colored pan filed with water, to which a drop of dish liquid soap is added to break the surface tension and trap the insects.
Another highlight will be how to rear cabbage white butterflies. Many classroom teachers try to rear monarch butterflies, which are more abundant on the East Coast, as is its host plant, milkweed.
To protect the monarchs, scientists are recommending that cabbage whites be used instead. “They are more abundant, easily obtained and easy to rear,” said Tabatha Yang, the Bohart’s education and outreach coordinator. Teachers can easily demonstrate the life cycle of an insect with the cabbage white, she added. Also, summer is a good time for family project investigations. They can witness the transformation of an egg to a caterpillar to a chrysalis to an adult.
Cabbage whites deposit their eggs singly on a variety of plants, including cabbage, broccoli, kale, cauliflower and mustards.
Free pamphlets will be given to visitors, Yang said.
The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, houses a global collection of nearly eight million insect specimens and is the seventh largest insect collection in North America. It is also the home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum in 1946.
Visitors can also hold such live specimens as Madagascar hissing cockroaches and walking sticks. The gift shop includes t-shirts, jewelry, insect nets, posters and books, including the newly published children’s book, “The Story of the Dogface Butterfly,” written by UC Davis doctoral candidate Fran Keller and illustrated (watercolor and ink) by Laine Bauer, a 2012 graduate of UC Davis. The 35-page book, geared toward kindergarteners through sixth graders, also includes photos by naturalist Greg Kareofelas of Davis, a volunteer at the Bohart.
The book tells the untold story of the California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice), Keller said. Bauer’s illustrations depict the life cycle of this butterfly and the children who helped designate it as the California state insect.
The net proceeds from the sale of this book go directly to the education, outreach and research programs of the Bohart Museum. The book can also be ordered online.
Bohart officials schedule weekend open houses throughout the academic year so that families and others who cannot attend on the weekdays can do so on the weekends. The Bohart’s regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The insect museum is closed to the public on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission is free.
For further information, contact Yang at tabyang@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-0493.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
DAVIS--What to do the day before Moth’ers Day?
The Bohart Museum of Entomology is planning an open house themed Moth’ers Day, featuring moths, from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, May 11.
The event, free and open to the public, will take place in Room 1124 of Academic Surge on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.
The focus is on moths, most of which are nocturnal, unlike butterflies which fly during the day. Moths of all sizes, shapes, colors and patterns will be displayed, said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator.
Scientists will explain the difference between moths and butterflies.
The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, houses a global collection of nearly eight million insect specimens and is the seventh largest insect collection in North America. It is also the home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum.
Visitors can not only examine drawers of moth specimens, but also can hold such live specimens as Madagascar hissing cockroaches, a rose-haired tarantula and walking sticks.
The gift shop includes t-shirts, jewelry, insect nets, posters and books, including the newly published children’s book, “The Story of the Dogface Butterfly,” written by UC Davis doctoral candidate Fran Keller and illustrated (watercolor and ink) by Laine Bauer, a 2012 graduate of UC Davis. The 35-page book, geared toward kindergarteners through sixth graders, also includes photos by naturalist Greg Kareofelas of Davis, a volunteer at the Bohart.
The book tells the untold story of the California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice), Keller said. Bauer’s illustrations depict the life cycle of this butterfly and the children who helped designate it as the California state insect.
The net proceeds from the sale of this book go directly to the education, outreach and research programs of the Bohart Museum. The book can also be ordered online at http://www.bohartmuseum.com/the-story-of-the-dogface-butterfly.html.
Bohart officials schedule weekend open houses throughout the academic year so that families and others who cannot attend on the weekdays can do so on the weekends. The Bohart’s regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The insect museum is closed to the public on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission is free.
The last open house of the academic year is from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, June 9. The theme is "How to Find Insects."
For further information, contact Yang at tabyang@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-0493.