HARRISON HILLS OUTDOOR FAIR BUG ACTIVITIES REPORT

Date: 16 May, 2009
Time: 10 am - 4 pm
Place: ELC, Harrison Hills Park

What a fabulously fun day of creepy crawly activities this was in the Insect Room at the ELC!

The Bug Petting Zoo featuring my Madagascar hissing cockroaches and Archie and Millie the Giant Millipedes, was a huge hit, especially with the children. Some were hesitant at first, but almost everyone ended up petting these harmless, slow-moving vegetarians. It felt great to see minds open up to the fact that not all bugs are nasty, and many bugs are beneficial. A big thank you to volunteer Bug Wranglers: Tristan, Justin, Cory and Ariana.

Volunteer bug wrangler Justin, and Archie the Giant Millipede team up
to show girls that bugs are cool pets!

The beautiful pinned insect specimens attracted hordes of admirers. Butterflies and moths, beetles, bees and other unusual insects were displayed. Thank you CMNH for the loan.

'The Bug Doctor is IN' section received several requests to identify insect pests. I was very happy to help suggest safer ways to control these pests.

Over 80 brave Bug Eaters ranging from 'trainee' to 'pro' and 'guru' levels chowed down on the Choco Chirpies (chocolate covered crickets). Among the 'Gurus' was a little girl who gobbled four plain crickets (legs and all), and Mike who filled up on eight and even ordered a dozen to go! It was awesome seeing so many folks walking around the fair proudly wearing their 'I ATE A BUG' button-of-courage.

'CHEERS!' Three adventurous ladies toast Choco Chirpies before
munching on the tasty treats

The highlight of the Insect Activities was the Roach Races. These were held at 10.30am, 12.30pm and 2.30pm. We had a fourth race at 3.30pm by popular demand! The atmosphere was electrifying: kids and grown ups cheering on the roaches they had adopted for the race. And the happy faces of winners as they stepped up to collect their prize. Big Mama, Barbaro and Lola each won one race, and Big Mama was the champion in the final showdown. Thank you to all Roach Racers for your donations that will go towards improving the Harrison Hills Park facilities!

Volunteer Ariana posing with the Roach Race Track

To all who volunteered, especially Mom, Dad, Spencer, Ariana, Carver and Courtney, a huge Thank You.

See you all again next year for a bigger and better Outdoor Fair