If you've ever been to a Bohart Museum of Entomology house, you'll see faculty, staff and students staffing the event and interacting with visitors.
You may visit the petting zoo and hold a Madagascar hissing cockroach, a walking stick or a giant cave cockroach. A giant cave cockroach? What's that? It's Blaberus giganteus, the Central American giant cave cockroach or Brazilian cockroach. It's one of the world's largest cockroaches. And a fun fact: Madagascar hissing cockroaches "hiss" and are nicknamed "hissers." Stick insects, or walking sticks, however, seem to be the most popular.
The most recent open house, held Oct. 5, dealt with the entire collecting-to-curating insect process, what the Bohart Museum scientists do. Nearly 200 visitors attended, according to Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. Some visitors came all the way from Arizona for the opportunity to see "the bugs." One little girl even chose the occasion for her birthday party celebration! A Brownie Girl Scout Troop attended and earned their "bug badges."
Here are several images of UC Davis students sharing their expertise:
The Bohart Museum, home of a global collection of eight million insect specimens, is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. It is directed by Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Shindler Endowed Chair of Insect Systematics, Department of Entomology and Nematology.
The next open house:
Saturday, Nov. 15, 1 to 4 p.m.: "Bees and Their Mimics." UC Davis graduate candidates Lexie Martin of the lab of Rachel Vannette, associate professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology; and Abigail Lehner of the lab of Professor Neal Williams, are coordinating the event. All open houses are free and family friendly. (See schedule)