Have a bloomin' buggy weekend at BUGStravaganza!
The cool thing about being a writer is that you get to ferret out things that interest you. I had visited Houston’s Museum of Natural Science a number of times over the years but it wasn’t until I toured the entire facility as part of the research for a travel book that I discovered the museum’s quirky bug zoo. What a fun place. Anyone who's been to Houston for more than a nanosecond has run into some segment of our bug population. The museum simply expands the experience. While most visitors get caught up in the rainforest experience of the Cockrell Butterfly Center, the Insect Zoo with its many weird creatures is even more fascinating. I don't know if I'd call them "crowd-pleasers," but the infamous Madagascar Hissing Roaches clearly get top billing.
The Cockrell Butterfly Center, the Brown Hall of Entomology, and the Insect Zoo have been closed for major renovations. Memorial Weekend 2007 marks their re-opening with brand new state-of-the-art interactive exhibits that bring the insect world to life, while displays of preserved specimens of rare butterflies, beetles, and moths show off some of the most jewel-like tones and intricate patterns found in the insect world. The butterfly rainforest habitat also provides amazing opportunities for the amateur digital photographer. Be sure to wear something colorful and bright. Hawaiian-style shirts tease and tempt butterflies to land on your shoulder, your head, even your hands. On my last trip to the center I even managed to photo-capture the resident iguana as he basked in the sun on the stairway’s railing.
BUGStravaganza! opens Friday, May 25 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm with a performance by the Houston Ballet butterfly dancers, face painting, and even butterfly origami. Saturday, May 26 from 11:00 – 4:00 pm, the on-going Bug Fest features a Bug Chef, roach races, a Stump the Entomologist quiz and more. Rachel Carson fans will enjoy Sunday’s (May 27) A Sense of Wonder from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm with the Rachel Carson Tribute, Bugs on Wheels, snacks and more. And if you heard about the recent Cash for Roaches program, the museum promises an update about Houston's favorite insect-sons during the weekend celebration. (You have to wonder: Just who captured and sold their roach buddies to the museum?)
With the unusually cool spring-like weather we’ve been having, anyone with a slightly green thumb and a curiosity about butterflies will find the butterfly garden plants interesting. Be sure and pick up one of the quick guides to local butterfly-attracting garden plants to help you plan your own butterfly habitat. In fact, this weekend might be the perfect time for such a backyard enterprise. Most nurseries stock the many local butterfly-attracting plants such as Milkweed, Butterfly Weed, and Lantana. If your visit to BUGStravaganza! ignites your gardening fever and you'd like to extend the experience, take a drive out to The Arbor Gate and explore their offerings. Native plants, garden art, cottage gardens, and a multitude of herbs will delight your senses; your garden and your creativity will flourish. Have a great weekend.
UPDATE Friday, May 25, 2007: Apparently Eileen McClelland at the Chronicle caught the same bug this weekend. You can read her article "Think of it as Beetlemania" in today's section E. You'll also find food editor Peggy Grodinsky's short interview with David Temple, the Houston Museum of Natural Science's "in-house bug chef," who swears dry-roasted scorpions taste like pork rinds. You may not want to eat any more broccoli, though, once you find out 3 1/2 ounces may have up to 60 aphids mixed in with your greens. For film buffs, the same page has a list of 10 bug-infested films put together by writer Andrew Dansby. Good eating!
Posted by Vikk Simmons @ 05/24/07 12:37 PM | Print |
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