2016 another banner year at the MSU Bug House

People continue to be enthusiastic about meeting the bugs at Entomology's Bug House, reports Gary Parsons, the program and facility director. Tours and events reached over 9,700 people in 2016!

People continue to be enthusiastic about meeting the bugs at Entomology’s Bug House, reports Gary Parsons, the program and facility director. Tours and events reached over 9,700 people in 2016!

  • 60 different schools booked 106 hour-long tours, bringing 2,761 children to learn about bugs.
  • 17 mini-tours of small family groups included 86 visitors.
  • 828 MSU college students taking ISB 201 had a lab in the Bug House.
  • 9 Monday night open houses brought in 1,178 visitors with a Facebook-posted event in February bringing in 663! Summer open houses in July and August brought in 89 and 86 visitors.
  • Our Halloween open house enticed 200 visitors, and our end-of-the-year Holiday open house entertained another 68.
  • Other special open houses included Be a Tourist in Your Own Town (637 visitors), Bring your Child to Work Day (145), MSU Science Festival (637) and Grandparents University (86).
  • The Bug House also participated in Darwin Discovery day at the MSU Museum (610 visitors), Bug Day in the 4-H Children’s Garden (120), SPOM Breslin Takeover (250), Halloween at the Broad Art Museum (500), Tollgate Fall Fair and Pumpkin Fest in Novi (1,200), and 3 local Elementary Science Fairs (450).

Visitors weren’t the only ones who benefitted:

  • 6 Bug House guides who worked with 10 or more tours earned a combined $3,590 in Bug House Fellowships. The awardees will be announced at the Department Awards ceremony in April.
  • Goliath, our awesome giant tarantula, arrived in July. He is as big as a dinner plate with 1-inch long fangs and still growing!
  • A Teaching and Learning Environment (TLE) grant from MSU provided funds for a new laptop computer, giant TV screen and camera system for showing up-close views of specimens to an entire group and will allow for new creative educational programming for future visitors.
  • New t-shirts with the original Bug House logo in various colors can be purchased through the Entomology Business office.

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