Newswise — Nothing can be more fun: Watch cockroaches race for glory, paint your face like a bug, grab a handful of maggots, and taste edible creepy-crawlies at "Insectapalooza 2006," the open house at Cornell University's Department of Entomology on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Comstock Hall.
Insectapalooza beckons those with an unflinching love of all things buggy. It is free and open to all arthropod fanatics and their adventurous companions.
A six-foot tall bee mascot will greet visitors, while race fans can cheer their favorite American cockroaches at the four-lane track. The insect zoo " populated with many six- and eight-legged friends " will give a close-up view of many specimens housed in the entomology department and other large and colorful specimens from around the world. Videos will highlight the bizarre and beautiful world of bees, beetles, butterflies and their buddies.
Ready for a snack? Enjoy delicious cake made more nutritious with ground, roasted mealworms, or eat stir-fried waxworms.
There will be over a dozen hands-on exhibits. Learn about veterinary entomology; tour the Cornell University Insect Collection, one of the largest university collections in the country; enlist in Cornell's campaign to find rare ladybugs; find out how mosquitoes affect West Nile Virus; and understand how insects influence global health.
Web information: http://www.entomology.cornell.edu/IthacaCampus/Events/Insectapalooza.
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