Bees and their mimics and eight-legged encounters (spiders) will be among the themes at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open houses for the 2025-26 academic year.
Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator of the Bohart Museum, part of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, announced the schedule today for the open houses and special events.
The open houses. free and family friendly, are held on weekends at the Bohart base, Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. Admission and parking are free.
The event schedule also includes the Bohart's participation in the 15th annual campuswide UC Davis Bioiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 21 at the Bohart, and the campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day on Saturday, April 18. All activities hosted by UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology take place at Briggs Hall.
The schedule:
Sunday, Oct. 5, 1 to 4 p.m.: "Museum ABC's: How to Collect and Curate."
Saturday, Nov. 15, 1 to 4 p.m.: "Bees and Their Mimics." UC Davis graduate students Lexie Martin and Abigail Lehner are coordinating this open house.
Saturday, Feb. 21 (time pending): 15th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, a campuswide event co-founded by the Bohart Museum.
Sunday, March 15, 1 to 4 p.m.: "Eight Legged Encounters!" This involves spiders.
Saturday, April 18: 1 to 4 p.m., UC Davis Picnic Day at Briggs Hall.
Saturday, May 16, 1 to 4 p.m.: "Buzz Words: Insects in Literature." UC Davis graduate students Grace Horne, Mia Lippey and Marielle Hansel Friedman are co-chairing this event.
The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946, houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus a live petting zoo, including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and tarantulas; and an insect-themed gift shop, stocked with T-shirts, hoodies, books, posters, jewelry, stuffed animals and more.
Director of the Bohart is professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schindler Endowed Chair of Insect Systematics, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and executive associate dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. For more information on the Bohart Museum, email bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.
