News
January 22, 2020Butterflies and Blooms to Open at miSci on February 15, 2020
miSci’s annual exhibition, entitled Butterflies and Blooms, will open to the public on Saturday, February 15, 2020, and will run through April 19, 2020. A member’s only event will be held on Thursday, February 13, 2020, from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. An After Dark event entitled Butterflies and Brews will be held during the same time frame on Friday, April 3, 2020.
“It’s hard not to love butterflies; they are beautifully ethereal. To experience them en masse is special. To experience them en masse with children is a memory that will last a lifetime” says Dr. Gina C. Gould, President of miSci. “This exhibition was one of Jane Golub’s favorite experiences. Jane, a longtime friend of miSci and former trustee, volunteered in the butterfly house for many years. To be surrounded by butterflies and the excitement of young children is to experience a sense of wonder that we adults rarely remember.”
This exhibition provides participants with an opportunity to step into miSci’s indoor butterfly house and walk among hundreds of brilliantly colored native butterflies.
Butterflies are shown at every stage of their life cycle – from egg to Chrysalis chamber to adulthood. Different species of butterflies from the area are in the exhibition, including Monarchs, Black Swallowtails, Buckeyes, Painted Ladies, Common Buckeyes, Red Admirals and Spicebush Swallowtails.
Participants will learn what butterflies eat and how scientists use them as examples for new technology. All of this occurs within a re-creation of the butterflies’ natural, outdoor habitat, which includes plants and flowers that butterflies require for food – all tended by masterful volunteer gardeners.
Programming will occur throughout the exhibition. Classes are listed below.
CLASSES:
Waiting for Wings (Age Levels: PreK+) – Explore where butterflies come from, how they are born, what they eat and how. With simple rhyming text and beautiful illustrations, Lois Ehlert’s Waiting for Wings takes children on the magical journey from egg to butterfly. Students then explore the life cycle through hands-on art and science activities.
Insect Invasion (Age Levels: PreK to Grade 3) – By exploring mounted collections of insects, students will learn the characteristics of living organisms and how scientists collect, study, and group them according to structure. Students will compare insect families to see variations and adaptations between insects. They will also create an ‘insect’ to take home.
Amazing Arthropods (Age Levels: K to Grade 4)– Participants will discover the creepy, crawly phylum of Arthropoda. While observing preserved specimens, see which characteristics arthropods have in common and which ones differ to create classes such as insects, arachnids and crustaceans.
