UCD Biodiversity Museum Day

Biodiversity Day is a free, educational event for you to explore the amazing scientific collections at UC Davis. Join us on March 6, 11 am - 3 pm.

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

This summer, the Bohart Museum of Entomology is celebrating the #CaliforniaDogfaceButterfly. 50 years ago, California designated this butterfly as the official state insect.

📸: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CC BY 2.0

#BiodiversityMuseumDay #UCDavis

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

We miss seeing so many students on campus and at the museums, but we hope you all are having fantastic summer breaks!

In the fall, we’ll start planning for UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day 2023. Any ideas? Any suggestions? Let us know!

#UCDavis #BiodiversityMuseumDay

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

Have you ever been to the jungle? At the #UCDavis #BotanicalConservatory, it almost feels like you’re in the jungle. 

The complex of multiple greenhouses is home to over 4,500 plant species in more than 150 families, including examples from most of the world's climatic regions.

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

Buzz buzz! A two-bedroom suite, please.

Did you ever know that bees use hotels? While they don’t “check in” for short vacation stays, some species use hotels to breed.

Visit the UC Davis Bee Haven to see some bee hotels, like the one pictured.

#UCDavis #BiodiversityMuseumDay

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

Happy graduation, Aggies!

Everyone at UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day wishes all of the graduating seniors the best on their future endeavors. Congratulations!

#UCDavis #BiodiversityMuseumDay

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

Do you know what flintknapping is? If not, it’s the making of flaked or chipped stone tools by using sharp rocks.

Did you get a chance to try it at UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day this year? It was one of the most popular activities.

#UCDavis #BiodiversityMuseumDay

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

We need pollinators! Across the globe, about 88% of all flowering plants and 35% of plant-based food require pollination to thrive. A range of insects, birds, and mammals pollinate plants, such as bees, wasps, beetles, flies, bats, hummingbirds, butterflies, and moths. #UCDavis

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

Is there anything more fun than touching algae from the sea? 

The Marine Invertebrates Collection at UC Davis offered this fun activity on a previous Biodiversity Museum Day.

#UCDavis #BiodiversityMuseumDay

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

Have you ever heard of the UC Davis Bee Haven?

If not, now you know! Visitors can observe and learn about bees and the plants they pollinate at this unique outdoor museum.

If you want to visit the #UCDavis Bee Haven, it is open daily at no charge from dawn to dusk.

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

Have you ever looked into a microscope? If so, what have you seen?

Microscopes are used by researchers at the UC Davis Center for Plant Diversity and with the Nematology Collection to see their specimens up close. How cool!

#UCDavis #BiodiversityMuseumDay

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology interns and specialists are experts at preparing specimens for the collection. Visitors of UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day even got to watch some of the prep. 

#UCDavis #BiodiversityMuseumDay

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

Woah that’s a lot of bones!

Did you play our guessing game yesterday? If so, here are the results:
#1: Paleontology Collection
#2: California Raptor Center
#3: Bohart Museum of Entomology

How’d you do?

#UCDavis #BiodiversityMuseumDay

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

Want to test your biodiversity skills?

Name the three collections/museums featured in this post that were on display at UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day. Reply with your guesses and check for a post tomorrow with the results!

#UCDavis #BiodiversityMuseumDay

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

Did you enjoy this week of posts featuring the MWFB? You can also stay up to date on the Museum by following their social media accounts, @MWFB

Stay tuned for more collection spotlights coming soon. Comment below which museums you’d like to see next! #UCDavis

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

Want to see #MWFB specimens, like these Summer Tanagers, European Rollers, Belted Kingfishers, and Gouldian Finch, in person? 

The Museum is a research collection and can be visited by appointment only. Please email [email protected] to schedule a tour. #UCDavis

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

The MWFB is like a library: The shelves are the bookcases, the specimens are the books, and the tags on each animal are the pages. The tag has the story of that specimen, where it came from and how it got to the MWFB, and some other observations about its life. #UCDavis

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

This week we are highlighting the #UCDavis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology (#MWFB), a vertebrate Museum dedicated to education, outreach, conservation, and research.

Museum Specialist Rachel Alsheikh and Junior Specialist Danielle Fradet provided a comprehensive tour.

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

Want to see some of UC Davis’ museum collections?

Visit them tomorrow on Picnic Day! We can’t wait to see you all there!

#UCDavis #BiodiversityMuseumDay #PicnicDay

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

Did you know you could make art with yeast? So cool! These Petri dishes were on display at the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection’s booth at this year’s UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day.

#UCDavis #BiodiversityMuseumDay

[UCD Biodiversity Museum Day @BioDivDay]

The Paleontology Collection at UC Davis is teeming with bones, skulls, and models of animals and plants of the past.

The collection’s awesome volunteers at #UCDavis #BiodiversityMuseumDay taught visitors about the history of life, as well as the bones and models on display.