On Feb. 21, 12 locations are set to showcase biodiversity-themed collections on campus
By RACHEL TRAN — campus@theaggie.org
The 15th Annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day is a “Super Science Day” that is set to feature 12 museums and collections. The event will occur from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21.
The Anthropology Museum, Arboretum, Bee Haven, Bohart Museum of Entomology, Botanical Conservatory, California Raptor Center, Center for Plant Diversity, Design Museum, Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Nematode Collection, Paleontology Collection and the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection make up the 12 different collections that will be featured.
“We wanted to highlight all the special facilities and special collections that are scattered all throughout campus and off campus,” Tabatha Yang, the chair of the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, said. “We have all these amazing resources and scientists, and they are the gems of campus. This is the only day that they shine and open their doors.”
The event is designed so that individuals can explore the campus at their own pace. Yang suggested visiting only two or three museums at a time, in order to fully explore what each museum has to offer.
“If you attended the [Biodiversity] Day last year, expand your horizons and select some other museums or collections you didn’t visit to learn more,” Yang said in an article published by the Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT). “We have experts in our fields who have dedicated their lives to science. What better way than to learn from scientists who are passionate about their work and eager to talk to visitors?”
The Department of ENT plans to showcase the Bohart Museum, The Bee Haven and the Nematode Collection. The Bohart Museum is home to 8 million different insect specimens; native bees, spiders and orchid bees will be spotlighted in The Academic Surge hallway.
At the end of the event, there will be a Speakers’ Series held from 4 to 5 p.m. The Speakers’ Series will review the collections for those who weren’t able to attend every section of the event. The speakers include Bee Haven Education and Garden Coordinator Samantha Murray, Doctoral candidate Pallavi Shakya, UC Davis Earth and Planetary Sciences Research Assistant Tracy Thomson and Collection Curator and Research Microbiologist Kyria Boundy-Mills.
“[The speakers are] going to give 10-minute talks about science that is accessible to everyone,” Yang said. “It is something new we are trying for the 15-year anniversary.”
The event typically draws an audience of more than just students — parents and individuals from the Bay Area and Sacramento areas also attend. This event is a calmer version of Picnic Day, according to Yang.
“Students get to see what resources they have [available to them],” Yang said. “It could be resources for an internship, an interest in a new minor and meeting other students, graduate students, post doc[torates], faculty and staff.”
For this year’s event, the Biodiversity Museum Committee held a T-shirt design contest in September. The two winners were Christopher Mulligan, a fifth-year doctoral student in paleontology, and Haylie Wilcox, a first-year pursuing a Master’s degree in entomology and nematology. Volunteers will be wearing shirts featuring their designs throughout the event.
“We spent the fall working on the contest and getting people excited for Biodiversity Day,” Yang said. “This one event brings everyone together. We are all distinct, separate collections — we are in different departments and different colleges even — but this event unites all of us.”
For more information on the upcoming Biodiversity Museum Day, visit the event website.
Written by: Rachel Tran — campus@theaggie.org
