Media Advisory: Hokie BugCamp 2019
With nets in hand, young entomologists will learn how to collect and identify insects – where to look for hard-to-find critters, and how to scoop and transfer specimens.
What: 6th Annual Hokie BugCamp where kids get hands-on experience collecting, identifying, handling, and researching a wide variety of insects. Held on the Virginia Tech campus and co-sponsored by the Virginia Tech Department of Entomology and Virginia Cooperative Extension – Montgomery County 4-H, Hokie BugCamp is jam packed with activities that will leave campers bug-crazed and bug-amazed!
When:
• July 11, 2019 (8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ages 6-8)
• July 12, 2019 (8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. ages 9-13)
Location: Seitz Hall and Hahn Horticulture Gardens, call for exact times/locations
Visuals:
• With nets in hand, young entomologists will learn how to collect and identify insects – where to look for hard-to-find critters, and how to scoop and transfer specimens.
• Once collecting jars are full, older campers will pin, label, and display their insects during the Build Your Own Collection session.
• Mini campers will create insect-inspired art to form a travelling Native Pollinators exhibit, showcased throughout the summer and fall in the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Libraries with a final presentation at Hokie BugFest on October 5.
• Special guest and fellow entomophile Brent Watts from WDBJ7 will explain the fascinating connection between bugs and the weather.
• Younger kids will build tasty, healthy, and anatomically correct Insect Snack Crafts.
• Interested in STEM? Older campers will conduct scientific investigations, share and analyze data, and construct research chambers to test behaviors and preferences of pill bugs during the Isopod Habitat Build.
• Hokie BugCamp would not be complete without a BugZoo Safari where campers can admire bird-eating tarantulas, hold Madagascar hissing roaches, and see giant African millipedes and others from Virginia Tech’s living bug collection.
For news coverage, contact: Dana Beegle, Department of Entomology – 540-231-8715 or 540-231-6543.