'Hissing, Crawling, Perching and Rising' Part of UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day

Feb 15, 2023

Madagascar hissing cockroaches will hiss, walking sticks (aka stick insects) will crawl, raptors will perch, and yeast will rise at the 12th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, an all-day event on Saturday, Feb. 18 on the university campus. 

Other sounds will include the "sound of silence" at still-life displays, but not really, as questions and answers will flow, says Biodiversity Museum chair,Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator at the Bohart Museum of Entomology.

Billed as a Super Science Day--a day in which visitors can chat with scientists and see their work--the event is free and family friendly.  

The insects are housed in the Bohart Museum of Entomology's petting zoo; the raptors at the California Raptor Center; and the yeast in the Phaff Yeast Collection, which will be shown in the Robert Mondavi Institute Brewery and Food Processing facility.

The Biodiversity Museum Day will showcase 11 museums or collections:  

  • Anthropology Museum, 328 Young Hall and grounds, noon to 4 p.m.
  • Arboretum and Public Garden, Habitat Gardens in the Environmental GATEway, adjacent to the Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive,  9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Bohart Museum of Entomology, Room 1124 and main hall of the Academic Surge Building, Crocker Lane, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.
  • Botanical Conservatory, the greenhouses along Kleiber Hall Drive, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • California Raptor Center, 1340 Equine Lane, off Old Davis Road, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
  • Center for Plant Diversity, Sciences Laboratory Building/Esau Science Hall, off Kleiber Hall Drive, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Nematode Collection, Sciences Laboratory Building/Esau Science Hall, off Kleiber Hall Drive, 9 am. to 3 p.m..
  • Marine Invertebrate Collection, Sciences Laboratory Building/Esau Science Hall, off Kleiber Hall Drive, 9 am. to 3 p.m.
  • Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Room 1394, Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Paleontology Collection, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 1309 Earth and Physical Sciences Building, 434 LaRue Road, 12 noon to 4 p.m.
  • Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, Robert Mondavi Institute Brewery and Food Processing facility, Old Davis Road, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (See news story

Maps are available online and also will be handed out at the Biodiversity Museum Day. Yang said visitors can purchase food at the assorted food trucks. Parking, she added, is also free.  Those who wish to donate can do so by accessing this page.