How many of you readers collect something, whether coins, stamps, statues of elephants, vintage firearms, beanie babies (we’re dating ourselves!), shot glasses from places you’ve visited, etc.? Humans seem to have a predilection for collecting things. Some of these collections seem random, or nostalgic, or even silly – but in the case of museums, a […]
Road trips…they’re fun, but rough on your car’s paint job! Why? Bug splatter! We are all familiar with the mess all over the front of our cars from driving, especially long distances. But, what you may not know is all of the science that can be found in all of those little dead bug bodies, […]
Mark Your Calendars for these events happening at HMNS August 15 – August 21 NEW EXHIBIT OPENING! Gems of the Sea: The Guido T. Poppe Collection Opens August 19, 2016 World class. One of a kind. Never before seen. Made by mollusks. The Philippines consists of over 7,500 islands in Southeast Asia, totaling a land […]
They say, “home is where the heart is”, and in my case that is true. However, home is also where you say things like, “Don’t kill that Black Widow. I need it…,” or “So………do you have any plans for that dead armadillo?” My parents live on a working ranch, complete with cows and buzzards, hay […]
When I’m maintaining the live exhibits in the Brown Hall of Entomology in the Cockrell Butterfly Center, or giving a tour of our Insect Containment Room, one of the questions I’m most frequently asked is, “Where do the bugs come from?” It’s a very good question! Many people ask if we are able to actually collect them, and I wish […]
You may use artificial sweeteners in your tea or coffee, maybe even sprinkle some on your food, but there’s nothing quite like the miracle fruit to make sour foods more palatable. Just gnaw on one of these berries for a minute, let the juice coat your tongue, and for up to an hour, everything from […]
Here’s a task for you: try to rid your audience of their phobias by taking up-close photos of some of the creepiest bugs in our collection. Some are venomous, some do bite, but as usual, none of them want to hurt humans. Any bite or sting in the world of arthropods is an act of self-protection. […]
In 1994, Dr. Nancy Greig inherited what was “basically a hole in the ground.” More than 21 years later, the Cockrell Butterfly Center is a world-renowned exhibition, and Greig’s vision is a major part of the success of both the CBC and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. As Greig puts it, getting the job […]
Summer is here and the kids are out of school, so what better time to escape the heat and join us here at HMNS for some cool and educational arthropod experiences! The Cockrell Butterfly Center will be welcoming back a popular summertime program and introducing a couple of new ones which will be sure to […]
HMNS entomologist Erin Mills walks you through how to mount and display a butterfly in this 4-part video tutorial. Part III: Setting the Butterfly Part III continues below: Check back next week for our final installment of this video series.
