This was one of the displays at the 12th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day: tomato roots infected with root-knot nematodes. Nematologist Shahid Siddique organized the display in the Katherine Esau Science Hall, formerly the Sciences Lab Building. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The event: The 13th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, a Super Science Day.

It's an opportunity to see scientists in action.

It's day when 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.

A Peruvian stick insect at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

And it's free and open to the public.

The date has not been set, but the first few Biodiversity Museum Days took place on Presidents' Day weekend. The committee will announce the date soon.

"Each year more than 200 volunteers--students, staff and faculty--from across campus help more 4,000 visitors--including other UC Davis students, staff and faculty--learn about biodiversity through our amazing biological collections," said UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day chair Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology. 

Donations, from $5 on up, may be made at this website: UC Davis October Crowdfund campaign. It costs approximately $5000 to finance the Biodiversity Museum Day, the committee related. Donors may make contributions to honor a loved one or a favorite organism, such as a praying mantis, plant, nematode or fossil. The crowdfunding campaign ends at 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 31.

The committee asks that you:

• Share the news with three friends/co-workers/neighbors
• Post on your social media. The UC Davis Crowdfund has links for Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (or X)
• Donate here

Coordinating the UC Davis October Crowdfund campaign are Yang; Brennen Dyer, collections manager for the Bohart Museum; and Melissa Cruz Hernandez, outreach and leadership program manager for the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.