13th annual celebration of insects at Museum Center June 4
CINCINNATI – Bugs. Some walk, some slither, some even fly. They’re everywhere. And now they’re getting their proper due at BugFest , Cincinnati Museum Center’s annual celebration dedicated to bugs, their role in a healthy environment and dispelling the misconceptions that cause us to fear them. Join us for the 13th annual BugFest at Cincinnati Museum Center Saturday, June 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Insects can be found in nearly every explored environment on earth. With over one million species, insects make up more than half of all known living organisms and are vital to our environment and to humans as well. Yet so many people are afraid of them. Through education, activities and exposure, BugFest will help squash those fears so that maybe you’ll squish fewer bugs.
Learn more about the bugs that share our environment, whether they come from the other side of the world or our own backyard. Join local experts from the University of Cincinnati Department of Biology, Cincinnati Parks, Cincinnati Nature Center and more as they showcase some of the world’s most interesting insects, including local backyard bugs, Monarch butterflies, diving beetles and Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Cincinnati Museum Center’s own experts will allow you to meet and hold insects, watch cockroaches race each other to the finish line, witness our Big Brown Bat Flight and learn more about how bats and insects work together in the environment.
Experts will also help you learn new and exciting skills. Take an insect mounting class in the STEM Discovery Lab with Meddling with Nature, an artistic taxidermist bridging the gap between art and natural science. Learn the ways in which bugs are used in fly fishing with a crash course from the Buckeye United Fly Fishers. Sharpen your origami skills with K12 Ohio Virtual Academy and go home with your own origami butterfly lifecycle, or purchase some insect-inspired jewelry and crafts from Folderol and Fiddledy Dee.
Don’t worry about packing a lunch. Visit the Gnatty Café for a selection of foods pollinated by or made with insects as one of the ingredients. Start off with an appetizer of Italian bread with Chirpy-Garlic Spread or Pesto-Worm Spread, followed by an entrée of Spaghetti with Buggy Balls and tomato sauce, then finish it all off with our choice of chocolate chirp brownies or chocolate covered critters for dessert.
Join experts from Cincinnati Museum Center and beyond to learn more about the insects that creepy crawl the earth among us. Additional programming will be provided by Great Parks of Hamilton County, Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District, Usborne Books and More, USDA Asian Longhorned Beetle Eradication Program, Cincinnati Health Department, Cincinnati Naturalist Society, Thomas More College Biology Field Station and Greenacres Water Quality Project.
Join us Saturday, June 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for BugFest. BugFest is including with admission and is free to Cincinnati Museum Center Members. For a complete list of activities and participating organizations visit www.cincymuseum.org/events/bugfest