Spring Break
Insect zoo features cricket spitting
KRISTEN MCCARTHY
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: Variety
Instead of grabbing a can of Raid, some members of the University community are getting a little closer to their buggy buddies today.
Where: Biological Sciences, room 426
Cost: Free
"If it's alive, it's touchable," said Marianne Robinette, organizer for the University's 24th annual Insect Zoo.
The event, which is sponsored by the H.O. Lund Entomology Club and the Entomology Outreach Service class, was originally established as an event for the Georgia state science fair.
More than 500 visitors are expected in Athens today - attracting college students as well as large numbers of students from grades five through 12 in schools throughout Georgia.
"The event features a variety of live insects as well as displays of preserved insects from all over the world. There will also be hands-on exhibits and opportunities to handle the insects," said Toni Edelson, the event's chair of promotions, in an e-mail.
"There will be games, food, 'A Bug's Life' DVD viewing and interactive discovery stations."
Displays will vary with a diverse selection of insects from all over the world - including Madagascar hissing cockroaches.
"We'll have everything from mosquitoes to grasshoppers, ants, butterflies, tarantulas and Emperor Scorpions," Robinette said.
The exhibits that will be displayed include live insects, wow boxes - cases for displaying insects - and a "petting zoo" for bugs, none of which are poisonous.
Display cases from the Natural History Museum also will be available for viewing. The displays will feature specialty items, including the insects with the largest wing span and the longest life-span.
Aside from the displays, there will be many activities for any age, including cockroach races and the first annual Cricket Spitting Contest.
The contest has never been held in Georgia, and the person who spits the farthest will hold the state record.
For those who have a strong stomach, snacks such as mealworm cookies and chocolate covered crickets will be available for sampling.
INSECT ZOO
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. todayWhere: Biological Sciences, room 426
Cost: Free
"If it's alive, it's touchable," said Marianne Robinette, organizer for the University's 24th annual Insect Zoo.
The event, which is sponsored by the H.O. Lund Entomology Club and the Entomology Outreach Service class, was originally established as an event for the Georgia state science fair.
More than 500 visitors are expected in Athens today - attracting college students as well as large numbers of students from grades five through 12 in schools throughout Georgia.
"The event features a variety of live insects as well as displays of preserved insects from all over the world. There will also be hands-on exhibits and opportunities to handle the insects," said Toni Edelson, the event's chair of promotions, in an e-mail.
"There will be games, food, 'A Bug's Life' DVD viewing and interactive discovery stations."
Displays will vary with a diverse selection of insects from all over the world - including Madagascar hissing cockroaches.
"We'll have everything from mosquitoes to grasshoppers, ants, butterflies, tarantulas and Emperor Scorpions," Robinette said.
The exhibits that will be displayed include live insects, wow boxes - cases for displaying insects - and a "petting zoo" for bugs, none of which are poisonous.
Display cases from the Natural History Museum also will be available for viewing. The displays will feature specialty items, including the insects with the largest wing span and the longest life-span.
Aside from the displays, there will be many activities for any age, including cockroach races and the first annual Cricket Spitting Contest.
The contest has never been held in Georgia, and the person who spits the farthest will hold the state record.
For those who have a strong stomach, snacks such as mealworm cookies and chocolate covered crickets will be available for sampling.
Be the first to comment on this story