Ready for UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day?

An insect encased in amber at the Paleontology Collection. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The event, free, family friendly and educational, is always held on Presidents' Day weekend. It's billed as a time "to meet and talk with UC Davis scientists from undergraduate students to staff to emeritus professors and see amazing objects and organisms from the world around us."

The times will be staggered. Some collections will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and others, from noon to 4 p.m. Here's a list of what you can see, with links to their websites:

Want a peek at what happened last year? See the YouTube video, the work of UC Davis student Alexander Fisher-Wagner.

There will be plenty of attractions for youngsters, including the insect petting zoo at the Bohart Museum; dinosaur bones at the Paleontology Collection; carnivorous plants at the Conservatory; Vegemite and Kombucha (to eat!) at the Yeast Collection; demonstrations of eagles and hawks and other birds at the Raptor Center; prehistoric tool demonstrations (flint knapping, atlatl throwing) at tje Anthropology Collection; leaf rubbing and olive wreath crown making at the Arboretum; insect vacuum for observation at the Bee Haven, and pine cone petting zoo at the Herbarium.

Yes, you can pet stick insects at the Bohart Museum and pet pine cones at the Herbarium.

Meanwhile, you can find more information on the Biodiversity Museum Day website. (More information is pending)