BugFest returns to North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on Saturday, September 21st, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
This is a free event.
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This is a hugely popular annual event. Each year more than 35,000 (human) visitors come to BugFest to enjoy over 100 exhibits, crafts, games and activities. Scroll down for the whole list of activities and exhibits.
- Enjoy the entertaining displays, exhibits and activities — both inside and outside the Museum.
- Learn about arthropods, which make up three-quarters of all animals on Earth, during fascinating presentations.
- Taste delectable dishes featuring creepy crawlers as a major ingredient at Café Insecta.
The 2019 featured insect: Beetles!
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
All four floors of the Museum will be filled with buggy fun.
9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Jones Street, Bicentennial Plaza, and Edenton Street will be teeming with activities, bug stations and a street carnival.
Read on for more details about what to enjoy at BugFest!
Outside at BugFest
Buggy Make-n-Take
The Scrap Exchange
Make your own insect — or any other type of arthropod — with wacky, fun, colorful materials from The Scrap Exchange!
Battling Beetles
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Delve into the violent world of large scarab beetles! Learn how males duke it out to win the favor of a female. Test your beetle ID skills at the beetle spinner game!
Todos Leyendo Spanish Bookstore
A collection of bug-themed books in Spanish for sale. Good-quality Spanish language books are hard to find, and this will be an all-bugs book display!
Arthropod Olympics
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Become an Arthropod Olympian! Participate in three events: Dung Ball Races, Ant Races and Bee Races and win a medal and all the glory a bug deserves!
Stag Beetle Battles
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Jump into a stag beetle costume and enter the arena: The battle begins! See if you can triumph over your friend and win the day!
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Accessibility and Information
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
BugFest for everyone! This year BugFest is proud to introduce our Information and Accessibility Buddies. These volunteers are trained to assist BugFest visitors with any and all information, wayfinding or accessibility questions or needs. Buddies can be found roaming the event and at the Accessibility and Information Tent located near the accessible drop-off area on the corner of Wilmington and Jones Streets. The tent is also where you’ll find courtesy manual wheelchairs, noise cancelling headphones, sighted guides, maps, event information and more. For more information on the accessibility features of BugFest or to request an accommodation, please contact Hugo Romero Sanchez at hugo.sanchez@naturalsciences.org or see the Accessibility and Inclusion page.
Friendly Dung Beetles
Oberweis Dairy
Come learn how dung beetles help dairy cows.
Face Painting — Jones Street
Paint Saavy
Children and adults can become who or what they want at this year’s BugFest! Make your day memorable with a unique and beautiful face painting design! (Fee.)
Doodlebugs Chalk Art
Paul Dumlao
Come see local artist Paul Dumlao create colorful, large-scale chalk renditions of beetles from around the world. Kids can take part and create their own chalk bug designs!
Sandy Feat
Navigate to the Plaza to see the one, the only, the AMAZING Sandy Feat Sand Sculpture! This year’s fabulous creation will feature BugFest’s 2019 theme arthropod, the beetle! Watch as the sculptors etch away the sand to reveal the dazzling beetle scene, create your own masterpiece at the base and ask questions of the sculptors.
ABC — Art, Bugs & Creativity
Arts-n-Design
Lauri Arntsen has been resurrecting lifeless bugs into beautiful award-winning art for years. In 2017 she began experimenting with eating insects as a protein source and introduced her bug suckers at BugFest 2018. The suckers sold out and this year we will have more flavors, ants on a sticky pretzel log, crunchy peanut butter cups and more!
Member VIP Experience
Friends of the Museum
Learn about our efforts to improve the health and habitat of honeybees and native pollinators, support our local food system and our community through natural, sustainable beekeeping practices, native plantings and educational opportunities!
Exterminati Sunt Mecchanica
Zendustria Studios, LLC
An artful and whimsical take on creepies, crawlies and bugs on the wing, the Exterminati collection seeks to showcase one of the most polarizing groups in the animal kingdom through the use of traditional and modern media and tools, shedding a different light on “Nature’s little robots.”
Café Insecta
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Plaza T-Shirt Sales
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Check out the 2019 BugFest T-shirt featuring our theme arthropod … the dung beetle! A small number of zip hoodies will be available, as well as reusable bags and vintage shirts.
Biospeleologist: Say that Five Times Fast!
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Come see the lifetime work and legacy of the Museum’s own John E. Cooper– a biospeleologist with a passion for crustaceans.
Bee Better Naturally with Helen Yoest
Bee Better Naturally teaches sustainable gardening without pesticides so we can protect the birds, bees and butterflies, and the food for them in the web chain.
Xerces Society & Bee City USA
Visit Xerces Society & Bee City USA to choose which pollinator you would like to be, and learn about enhancing its habitat at home! Make antennae to be a bee, beetle, butterfly or fly to help you find sweet nectar — antennae act like noses and help you smell!
Conservation | Collaboration | Community | Celebration
Apiopolis Urban Bee Sanctuary
Learn about their efforts to improve the health and habitat of honeybees and native pollinators, support our local food system and our community through natural, sustainable beekeeping practices, native plantings and educational opportunities!
Bug-themed Hair Accessories
Erin Alicia Studio
Erin Alicia Studio offers handmade, girly accessories such as headbands, flower hair bows and hair clips for girls of all ages.
Insect Art and Accessories
La Chicharra
A variety of insect- and nature-inspired accessories, home goods and art.
Insect Jewelry
Ocelli Creations
Wear your favorite insect with pride! They create preserved insect jewelry using locally foraged and found insects.
Roachingham 500 Cockroach Races
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Watch Madagascar hissing cockroaches race each other! We’ll do a few rounds of Buggy Bingo in between Roach Races.
Whizzpop’s Fantastic Fleas
Professor Whizzpop
Professor Whizzpop’s Fantastic Fleas is an amazing new show featuring mighty mites and fabulous fleas performing feats of daring and death-defying stunts. Meet their resident strongman, Hercu-flea, and watch as he lifts two hundred times his own body weight! Be awe-inspired by juggling fleas or the incredible Rosa Flea the high diver!
North Carolina Pollinator Conservation Alliance
Come learn more about this partnership of over 25 agencies and organizations across the State. They are committed to educating the public and protecting pollinators and their habitat!
Franklin County Beekeepers
Franklin County Beekeepers is an affiliated chapter of the NC State Beekeepers Association. Their mission is to promote beekeeping and support and educate their members as well as the general public concerning beekeeping.
Creepy Critters
The Goddard School
This station will have bug drawing and art projects for families.
Your Backyard Jungle
NC State University — Frank Lab
Ever wonder which arthropods are in your backyard? Come meet the neighbors and see their showcase of beetles, spiders, bugs and other wondrous creatures.
Self Defense in the Bug World
Master Chang’s Martial Arts
Come see how bugs use self defense to stay safe and learn how to keep yourself safe as well. Discover how alike people and bugs really are in their day-to-day lives.
Children’s Books
Usborne Books & More
Fun and educational children’s books for all ages. Featuring titles full of all kinds of insects.
Caterpillarology
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Check out a huge variety of native North Carolina caterpillars from small, spine-covered stingers to large silk moth caterpillars. Learn which plants these hungry larvae love to eat, what they’ll turn into when they transform into adults, and much more!
Native Plants
Cure Nursery
Native plants that eat bugs, and plants that bugs eat! Native, perennials, trees, shrubs and more!
NC State Parks — Monarchs
North Carolina State Parks
Information about NC State Parks and the monarch butterfly including a butterfly catching game and larval ID.
Life Cycle of the Butterfly
Holly Springs School of Dance
Join us for a creative movement experience for people of all ages! We will read the Hungry Caterpillar and take dancers on a magical adventure exploring the life cycle of a caterpillar. Use their butterfly wings or bring your own!
Wake County Master Gardeners
Gardening advice and exhibits. Children’s activities.
Creating Chemistry to Protect Food, Health, Home and the Environment
BASF Corporation
BASF showcases several of the broad themes for which they create chemistry – protection of crops, health and home – and their Living Acres initiative that encourages growers to provide habitat for pollinators like monarch butterflies. Stop by for bug games, get your picture taken at the photo booth and see monarch butterflies up close!
BASF is a presenting sponsor of BugFest 2019.
Protecting American Agriculture
USDA-APHIS
Protecting US fruits, vegetables, crops and environment from invasive insects. There will be lots of insect boxes for show, tattoos and hand stamps for kids.
Hardworking Honey Bees
Five County Beekeepers Association
Come learn about our friend the honey bee. Beekeepers will be on hand to answer questions.
NC State Honey Bee Lab
NC State University
Educational exhibit about honey bees and beekeeping.
Honey Bees and Honey
Wake County Beekeepers Association
Wake County Beekeepers Association wants to enhance an interest, appreciation, and stress the need to protect our honey bees. This is a great chance to learn and visualize the valuable contribution honey bees play in our everyday lives, not only adding to the beauty of our planet, but also sustaining the ecosystem that supports us. Come see the live hive!
Face Painting — Edenton Street
Paint Saavy
Children and adults can become who or what they want at this year’s BugFest! Make your day memorable with a unique and beautiful face painting design! (Fee.)
Car Bugs
VW Folks
A showing of vehicles which have been referred to as “bugs” and some related cars. These are not planned as a pristine show of cars which do not get of their garage, but daily drivers, projects and just fun to look at and reminisce over. Yes, in most cases you can touch these cars!
Bug Bounce and Super Slide Inflatables
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
From hop to jump, kids will delight in bouncing like a cricket and whooshing like a dragonfly in the fabulous inflatables!
First Floor, Nature Exploration Center
Terminix — Urban Insects
Terminix Company of North Carolina — Nimocks Group
The Terminix exhibit will provide information on insects and related species as seen in urban environments.
What Is a Bug?
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Know your arthropods! Arthropods range from insects to crustaceans to arachnids and more! Come learn the differences and the similarities and meet some live critters on your entomological quest.
Who Else Eats Your Food? Welcome to the World of Agricultural Pests
AgBiome
Crops today are bombarded by lots of different bugs. AgBiome attempts to come up with novel solutions to solve this problem. Stop by their booth to learn about and meet some of our major agricultural pests!
Biopod
Tar River Trading Post, LLC
Tar River Trading Post manufactures devices used to grow large quantities of black soldier grubs, a Southeastern US native species of beneficial insect. Their pods divert food waste from the landfill and bio-convert it into chicken, fish and reptile feed.
Scorpions and Their Kin
Harrell House Bug Museum
Did you know there are many other arachnids besides spiders? Come learn about the OTHER arachnids including scorpions, vinegaroons, whipspiders and more!
Tarantulas and Other Spiders
Harrell House Bug Museum
Come face to face with live giant tarantulas from around the world as well as spiders you might meet in your own back yard!
Scarabs of Ancient Egypt
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Come learn how scarabs, ancient Egyptian funeral rituals, and dung beetles are all related at the Scarabs of Ancient Egypt table! We’ll have a real scarab model, information about ancient Egyptians and lots of cool facts about dung beetles!
Wonderful World of Orthoptera
NC Entomological Society
Leap into the world of Orthoptera and meet some amazing critters! Fly with the grasshoppers, dig with the mole crickets and sing with the katydids!
Cool Crustaceans
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Explore the diversity of crustaceans, from our backyards to the bottom of the sea!
Spider Diversity
Shaw University
While many people think of spiders as being mostly the same, in reality there are many different kinds of spiders living in many different environments. Come and see the diversity of this amazing group of arthropods.
Face to Face — Bug Portrait Painting Demonstration
Stacy Lewis Studio
Stacy Lewis will be demonstrating her mixed media painting techniques to create up-close and personal portraits of some of the Museum’s arthropod residents.
Lemurs Love Bugs!
Duke Lemur Center
Learn all about the amazing lemurs living at the Duke Lemur Center and hear about some of their favorite bugs to eat!
Insect Macrophotography
Entomopixel
Entomopixel uses close-up photography to look at insects in great detail. They photograph insects in nature and in museums. They use simple and advanced equipment to accomplish many aspects of insect photography.
Heroic Horseshoe Crabs
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
It’s a crab! It’s a spider! It’s neither … it’s a horseshoe crab! Come learn about this ancient animal and how they are modern heroes in the biomedical field.
Small Wonders
William Fisher Photography
Selling photos of many insects close up like you have never seen before.
Second Floor, Nature Exploration Center
Dragonfly Detectives
NC Museum of Natural Sciences at Prairie Ridge Ecostation
Dragonfly Detectives is an inquiry-based science discovery program for North Carolina students in grades 4-8. Students do REAL science by participating in a variety of citizen science projects based on the lives of dragonflies. Come check out scientific posters that show the results of our research!
Prairie Ridge Ecostation
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Discover the arthropods that can be found at Prairie Ridge, and how citizen science is used to learn more about them!
Ambassador Invertebrates
BeWild, Inc.
Come meet a few ambassador invertebrates, including cockroaches, scorpions, tarantulas and more! Learn about what makes these invertebrates so amazing and ecologically valuable and see their live exhibits up close.
Funky Bug Antenna Crowns
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Honor our buggy friends by dressing up like one! Make your very own Funky Bug Antenna Crown and proudly display your passion for arthropods!
Quiet Room
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
The quiet room is a place to escape the busyness and energy of the event. Come enjoy quiet play and take a break!
Beetle Art
Timeless Visions LLC
Timeless Visions uses artwork in an interactive way through a new series aiming to bring awareness and the importance of beetles to the public.
Buggin’ Out for Ag!
Wake FFA Federation
Discover the bugs that affect different agricultural commodities across North Carolina and the biological controls for them. Also, come to learn about the Ag Ed and FFA opportunities that Wake County and NC have to offer!
Bonkers about Beetles!
Artspace
Create your very own beetle flag with Artspace, a non-profit visual arts center located in Downtown Raleigh.
Carolina Butterfly Society
Touch a future butterfly as its caterpillar form. Maybe you will be the lucky one to see the butterfly emerge from its chrysalis.
Bugs in My Math
Natural Math
Hands-on modeling, minds-on math! From toddlers to teens and those young at heart, let’s make mathematics our own, and turn it beautiful, useful, and kind.
Bug Adventures
Bug Print Press
The adventures of Luna moths, fireflies, Japanese beetles and a host of other buggy characters from the world of Dragonfly Landing, presented by the author, Helen L. O’Reilly.
Arthropods as Art
Stacy Lee Gallery
Come see some previously live bugs made into permanent works of art using resin! All were sustainably sourced.
Beetle Buzz
Marbles Kids Museum
Come play with Marbles Kids Museum hosts and learn all about beetles and insects. Build your own beetle, explore the world through an insect’s eyes and more!
Busy Beetles Sensory Play
Discovery Room, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Come celebrate beetles with us! We will have lots of fun sensory activities all about beetles! While everyone is welcome in the Discovery Room, these activities are especially for families with young children.
Third Floor, Nature Exploration Center</2>
Insect Zoo
NC State University Entomology Graduate Student Association
The Entomology Graduate Student Association at NC State University will present a variety of arthropods to the public. Come learn about the coolest “bugs” at BugFest!
Lethal Beetles
Raleigh Charter High School Biology Club
This exhibit lets visitors learn about some of the country’s most dangerous beetles. From the goldenhaired pine bark beetle to the devil’s coach horse beetle, our lethal beetles are sure to intrigue you.
Bad Bugs of the Forest
NCDA&CS: NC Forest Service & Plant Industry Division
Our trees are under attack! Come hear about the bad bugs killing our trees and how YOU can help stop it!
Friends and Foes: Not Every Bug is a Bad Bug!
NCDA&CS: Structural Pest Control & Pesticides
Some bugs we love and some we loathe. Learn how you can help beneficial insects and avoid the not-so-friendly ones.
Meet the Bug Vet
Avian and Exotic Animal Care
Avian and Exotic Animal Care is NC’s first 100% exotic animal hospital. Their veterinarians treat all kinds of non-traditional pets, including invertebrates! They have seen and treated pet spiders, insects, hermit crabs, snails and many others.
There’s a Bug in My Soup
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
You are what you eat … so you might be a bug! Learn about the all the bugs that are allowed in everyday food products!
Create a Termite Trail
North Carolina Entomological Society
Create a maze for termites to follow.
Bugs that Bug You
NC State University Urban Entomology
“Bugs that Bug You” will introduce you to the world of insects that love you, kiss you, crawl on you and hiss for you. Their research at NCSU focuses on the ecology, behavior and physiology of cockroaches, bedbugs, moths and termites, as well as pest management and health issues.
Butterflies and Moths
NC School of Science and Mathematics
Come learn about the life cycle of the lovely Lepidoptera! You can pet (and learn the anatomy of) a real, live hornworm!
Stump the Experts
Department of Entomology, NC State University
Entomologists experienced in arthropod identification will help people identify specimens or images they bring in, and provide info on their biology and more. They also will have a variety of field guides to show visitors, so they can see what’s available.
Creeping Crawlies (Centipedes and Millipedes)
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Information on myriapods (centipedes and millipedes) will be featured.
Roe Lab
NCSU Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
The Roe lab specializes in studying the morphology and physiology of insects. This allows for the creation and testing of novel compounds and materials used in the protection of individuals or agriculturally important crops.
Ask Us! We Won’t Be Bugged!
NC State University Libraries
Insect origami! Bug recipes! Coloring sheets, crayons and rubber stamps! NCSU Libraries offers fun for the kids and respite for the adults, so come on by and be sure to get your USDA/APHIS Bug Passports stamped!
Fourth Floor, Nature Exploration Center
Native Plants and Pollinators
Saint Mary’s School
Native plants provide pollinators with food, a safe place to lay eggs, and protection from predators. Help save pollinators by creating native plant “pit stops”!
Butterflies: Beyond the Basics
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Explore the fascinating world of butterflies and moths, from your backyard to South America. Learn about the amazing adaptations, life cycles, and defenses of these amazing creatures.
Arthropod Zoo
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Do you like “BUGS?”
Be sure to visit the Arthropod Zoo on the 4th floor during BugFest! We have LIVE exhibits and a large collection of LIVING arachnids, crustaceans, millipedes, centipedes, insects and many other arthropods and invertebrates.
Come see & learn about:
• How we maintain our living arthropods.
• How and why preservation and labeling techniques for preserved arthropod display, reference and teaching collections is important.
• Participating in Citizen Science Projects.
First Floor Nature Research Center
Insects and Plant Pathology
Plant Pathology Graduate Student Association
Learn about the role that bugs can play in spreading plant diseases.
Insect Biodiversity
Biodiversity Initiative at East Carolina University
Come learn about insect biodiversity. This table will have interactive displays about insect communities living in pitcher plants, fruit fly developmental biology, and more!
Bed Bugs
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Enter if you dare — the world of bed bugs! Learn how these parasites have made humans their hosts!
NC State Insect Collection Beetle Showcase
The NC State Insect Collection has over 1.6 million specimens that scientists use to answer research questions about insect biodiversity, evolution and taxonomy. They will showcase some of the most interesting beetles in their collection and tell fun facts and interesting stories about them. Come take a look!
Get Bugged Out With Girl Scouts!
Girl Scouts NC Coastal Pines
This table will have information for parents and girls interested in joining Girl Scouts. They will feature an activity from the All About Animals Journey Program.
Rolling down Penny Lane
State Employees’ Credit Union
Stop by the SECU booth for trivia, face painting, and lots of fun financial education for all ages!
Math Doesn’t Bug Me
NC State University Math and CRSC
Participate in fun, interactive math and bug activities and games. Interact with mathematicians and learn about mathematics applied to or motivated by biology.
Meet the Beetles
Museum of Life and Science
Join Museum of Life and Science entomologists and educators to look at, examine, and even touch some beetles from around the world!
Second Floor, Nature Research Center
Native Bees Build it Better
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Open your eyes to the wonder of native bees! There will be native bee information, including life cycle, comparison to other bees and wasps, and plans for building native bee nests in one’s own yard.
From Asilidae to Zaprionus, Tips for Starting Your Own Insect Collection
Naturalist Center, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
We will have some of the tools and resources needed to catch and identify common backyard insects along with tips for pinning and displaying your collection.
Leaf-mining Insects of North Carolina
St. Andrews University
Leaf-mining insects are moths, flies and beetles that “mine” through the insides of leaves — they are tiny, beautifully patterned, and incredibly diverse. Come see examples of these small wonders and hear about discoveries of new species here in North Carolina.
Friends of Plant Conservation
Learn about some of North Carolina’s rarest plants, including carnivorous plants such as the Venus fly trap, and how we are protecting them in their natural habitats across the state.
Insect Pathology: What Bugs a Bug?
Novozymes
We show that bugs don’t have it all their way. Come see insect pathogens, parasites, and predators.
Eaters of the Dead
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Learn about dermestid beetles and their importance in the curation of research collections!
Third Floor, Nature Research Center
Worms Eat My Garbage
Wake County Solid Waste
Earthworms are the hardest working creatures on Earth. Learn how these amazing creatures keep our soils healthy; How you can make your own worm bin; Reduce food waste; Make “Black Gold” aka vermicompost, a super plant food to feed to your plants and garden; All while teaching your children about natural resource conservation. Also, enter our contest for the chance to win a worm bin!
NC State University Electron Microscopy of Bugs
NC State University Materials Science and Engineering
Use an electron microscope to make small things appear large!
Pods from the Past and Present
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Come learn about connections between prehistoric (fossil) arthropods and their modern relatives. See specimens from the Museum’s invertebrate paleontological and non-molluscan invertebrates collections.
More upcoming festivals in the Triangle
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh
11 W Jones St
Raleigh, NC
