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Bama Bug Fest (April 22-24)

This year’s Bama Bug Fest will be crawling your way April 22-24! Bug Enthusiasts will be able to participate in video live chats with experts, make crafts, and visit in-person exhibits at Alabama Museum of Natural History, Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum, and Tuscaloosa Public Library!
For more details, visit: https://bamabugfest.org/

Virtual Schedule

This year’s virtual Bama Bug Fest will feature four video premieres on the UA Museums’ YouTube Channel! During these video premieres, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in a YouTube live chat with our experts! Even if you miss the live video premiere, feel free to write a question or comment in the YouTube Comment Section and we’ll get back to you!  

Video Premieres / Live Chats with Experts

Bugs in Your Home

Thursday, April 22 @ 6:00pm

Video Description: Bugs are here, bugs are there, bugs are found just about everywhere…even in your home! Whether you love them or hate them, we’ve all seen bugs in our homes. Join our bug experts as they explore what kinds of bugs are common in our houses and why are they there.

Behind-the-Scenes of the Bug Room

Friday, April 23 @ 6:00pm

Video Description: The basement of Smith Hall is home to many interesting items and spaces, none more unexpected than a live insect research and outreach room! Visit the Bug Room with insect manager Kendra Abbott and get acquainted with some of the native and exotic insects housed there. You will meet a few of the students who care for these animals and learn what it takes to maintain a specialized insect home in the basement of a museum!

Beehive Exhibit at the Museum

Saturday, April 24 @ 10:30am

Video Description: A new exhibit is flying to the Alabama Museum of Natural History. Watch this video to learn how a beehive exhibit is created. The Buzz about Bees is a collaborative exhibit with the Alabama Museum of Natural History, the West Alabama Beekeepers Association, and the UA Bee Club. The exhibit focuses on the honey bee and features a live beehive that gives visitors an inside look at the honey bees’ honey production and social structure. Although just a small portion of the over 4,000 species of bee native to North America, the honey bee is a tiny insect with an immeasurable impact.

Black Lighting: Here and Abroad

Saturday, April 24 @ 4:30pm

Video Description: Have you ever watched bugs flit around a lightbulb on the back porch at night? If so, you have seen a form of the insect observation and collection technique called “blacklighting.” Join entomologists from Mozambique, Ecuador, and Alabama as they show us the blacklighting set-ups in their backyard and take us on a tour of their backyard bugs!

Tuscaloosa Public Library Activities

Join the Tuscaloosa Public Library for hands-on extension activities for each day of Bama Bug Fest 2021! Activity packs will be available at each branch of the library starting the week of April 18th. The packs will include written instructions, and instructional videos will premiere on the Tuscaloosa Public Library’s YouTube Channel, the TPL Kids Instagram page (@tplkids), and the Weaver Bolden Branch Instagram page (@tpl_weaver). Each video will have a buggy storytime before we dive into the activity together!

Bugs in Your Home – 3D Build-a-Bug Workshop

Thursday, April 22nd @ 2:00pm

Activity Description: Create your own creepy crawly critter with this 3-D version of the Build-a-Bug Workshop!

Beehive Exhibit – Bee Hotel

Saturday, April 24 @10:00am

Activity Description: Want to show support for the busy bees around your neighborhood? Building a bee hotel from recycled materials will provide a place for the worker bees to rest before returning to their home hive!

Blacklighting – Circuit Bugs!

Premiers April 24th @ 2:00pm

Activity Description: Light up your life by making your own lightning bug–with circuits! This colorful creation really lights up with the help of some basic electricity.

Exhibits

BUGS

Location: Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum (1901 Jack Warner Parkway, 35401)
COVID Guidelines: COVID-19 health and safety guidelines include wearing a mask and practicing social distancing while in the museum.
Dates: TBA
Museum Hours of Operation: Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00am–4:30pm

BUGS is a creative project for the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum that presents insect specimens from The University of Alabama Insect Collection like never before. The exhibit is a feature of Bama Bug Fest 2021 that celebrates the extensive diversity of insects and works to raise awareness about their importance. BUGS features the UA Blount student-created photos from last year’s Details Unseen exhibit, but in a new and interesting perspective. The specimens in these large-scale images were photographed using focus stacking which involves photographing 50 to 100 digital images that are layered on top of one another resulting in a greater depth of field.

Revealing an unexpected and breathtaking beauty, BUGS highlights intricate details only visible under a microscope. The largest images measure 7 feet tall and provide the viewer with a unique role reversal opportunity to study and appreciate the clarity of this hidden world. Specimens from The University of Alabama Insect Collection accompany the large format images for a side-by-side comparison.

The Warner Transportation Museum is proud to present BUGS in cooperation with Bama Bug Fest 2021. The museum supports the efforts of the Alabama Museum of Natural History, the Department of Research and Collections, and the Tuscaloosa Public Library to increase knowledge and appreciation about insects, earth’s most diverse organisms.

Insects and Biodiversity

Location: Tuscaloosa Public Library: Weaver-Bolden Branch (2522 Lanier Ave. Tuscaloosa, AL 35401)
COVID Guidelines: COVID-19 health and safety guidelines include wearing a mask and practicing social distancing while in the library.
Dates: April 3–May 7, 2021
Library Hours of Operation: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 10:00am-5:00pm; closed Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday
Insects and Biodiversity is a collaborative project for the Tuscaloosa Public Library, the UA Department of Research and Collections, and the Alabama Museum of Natural History. The exhibit is a feature part of the Bama Bug Fest 2021 event which celebrates the diversity of insects and their importance in our world. Insects make up about 40% of our planet’s biodiversity-the total number of species of plants, animals, and organisms. Insects and Biodiversity gives you a breakdown of insect diversity and the integral part they play in our lives through graphics, displays, and library resources.

Insects All Around Us

Location: Tuscaloosa Public Library: Main Branch (1801 Jack Warner Parkway, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401)
COVID Guidelines: COVID-19 health and safety guidelines include wearing a mask and practicing social distancing while in the library.
Dates: April 3-May 7, 2021
Library Hours of Operation: Tuesday–Thursday, 10:00am–6:00pm; Friday–Saturday, 10:00am–5:00pm; Sunday 2:00–6:00pm
Insects all Around Us is a collaborative project for the Tuscaloosa Public Library, the UA Department of Research and Collections, and the Alabama Museum of Natural History. The exhibit is a feature part of the Bama Bug Fest 2021 event which celebrates the diversity of insects and their importance in our world. Insects all Around Us features a wide range of insect displays, images, and library resources that celebrates insects big and small. Specimens native to the Southeastern United States and others from around the world are featured in this exhibit found in the front lobby of the Tuscaloosa Public Library branch and showcases the variety of size, color, and shape of insects all around us.

The Buzz About Bees

Location: The Alabama Museum of Natural History
COVID Guidelines: COVID-19 health and safety guidelines include wearing a mask and practicing social distancing while in the museum.
Dates: TBD
Museum Hours of Operation: Monday–Saturday 10:00am–4:30pm