Learn About Monarch Butterflies & Giant Insects at The NC Arboretum
Visitors to The North Carolina Arboretum are in for a surprising sight as the World of Giant Insects Exhibit crawls into Asheville. The Arboretum’s Baker Center will be home to six giant robotic insects, interactive displays, and other educational elements from September 24 through January 8, and again during the Winter Lights holiday exhibit, November 18–January 1.
The giant insect exhibit magnifies two beetles, a praying mantis, stick insect, caterpillar, and locust from 40 to 600 times their actual size to teach viewers about their intricate physiologies and behaviors. Visitors will be able to use remote controls and move the heads of a mosquito, honeybee, and dragonfly. Giant magnifying glasses offer a closer look.
The Arboretum will offer a class called “Insects up Close” through their adult education program that focuses on entomology, and the youth education curriculum will offer supplemental information on the exhibit as well. The World of Giant Insects is particularly great for elementary school students, ages five to ten, but is certain to fascinate people of all ages.
Plan to also attend the Arboretum’s Monarch Butterfly Day on Saturday, September 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., as part of a national effort to stave off the decline of this important pollinator. Adults and children can learn ways to conserve their habitats, participate in a monarch tag and release celebration, make and take milkweed seed bombs, and purchase milkweed plants. There will also be face painting, crafts, educational presentations, and a special LEGO brick building activity in coordination with the current Nature Connects®, Art with LEGO Bricks® exhibit on display through October 23.
Admission is free for Arboretum Society members or with the standard parking fee of $12 per personal vehicle. The NC Arboretum is located at 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way in Asheville. To learn more, visit ncarboretum.org, or call 828.665.2492.
