Wednesday, February 18, 2009

go out and explore

There is a new atrium at the Botanical Gardens that opened last week. It looks wonderful, though still has a few bugs to sort out.


Monster Bugs
like this Caterpillar who looks ready to chomp on the Living Wall (and the kiddies heads - who squealed with mock fear)

there were boards with insects from exotic Malaysia and Thailand and other tropical climes



which vied for attention with the giant fighting beetles







beautiful creatures that fly











there were live bugs to see
like these grasshoppers

and this monster (rose tarantula) who is apparently very soft and light as a feather and who would explode if she fell even 3" due to her internal organs just floating around that enormous abdomen

There were robotics to play with, levers to push, ropes to pull, knobs to turn, mechanical legs to move, movies to watch, bugs to colour, all aimed to teach about the physiology and anatomy and purpose of bugs. And there was food to eat
like these freshly made 'gourmet' chocolate covered crickets
that tasted more like chocolate than anything else
or so I heard.
go ahead click on any picture to make them bigger

34 comments:

  1. A few bugs?

    I can't believe you didn't try the crickets!

    Those aren't your hands under the tarantula are they?

    I suddenly don't want that PayDay candybar any more.

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  2. Oh my. Great piccies. Not sure I like the giant spider one though! ;)

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  3. My younger son would love the bugs. We saw a tarantula like that on the wall of our lodge in Costa Rica.

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  4. I tried crickets in Japan when I was walking there last year. They were roasted in soy and very delicious - crunchy like baby octupus.

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  5. no crickets for me either...but wow what a great interactive display. I would love to explore that.

    great shots

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  6. Those are definitely not my hands under that tarantula Ruth, though I did tentatively stroke it's leg.

    That was taken Kimbofo, mostly to help me overcome my fear of spiders.

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  7. Were they little like these crickets Delwyn?

    Char, I almost tried one after seeing the disappointment on some people's faces that they "tasted of chocolate more than anything else", but luckily a crowd appeared and got in the way.

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  8. If I think about such things Citizen, I would never enjoy my travels to places like Costa Rica.

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  9. You really got me with that first line!...a few bugs indeed! What a great place to visit... I must say I would never taste a chocolate cricket either...or hold one of those furry things!

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  10. Oliag, I contemplated putting in a warning...

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  11. I dont fear spiders as I once did, but somehow, having one on my hand would not appeal! What an interesting place to visit!

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  12. Meggie, it was a great display for the opening. And with a new statutory holiday (and nothing else open) it was very crowded. I went back the next day to get more shots with less people around.

    It's on til April

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  13. What a cool place, I like going to butterfly houses and can spend hours taking pics... :-)

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  14. Oh, Ed, there is a butterfly house in Niagara Falls, I've thought of going back - I think photos of butterflies would be a real challenge!

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  15. my cricket crunchies looked very like yours!

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  16. What a fantastic place! I am envious. Our Museum has n intereactive area for kids which includes a Rose tarantula, but the spider is well and truly dead! There is a music composition called La Tarantula - it is very spirited.
    I wouldn't have eaten those crickets, but my older brother once ate a huhu grub. He reckoned it tasted like peanut butter.

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  17. Oh, it is a great place!

    My son is all freaked out about bugs, though (what kind of lad is he, I ask you?), so we'll stick to watching Julia Child.

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  18. I'm not a big bug fan, but I do like butterflies. I wish I had not seen the tarantula so close to bed time.

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  19. Me holding that spider? Never. Gonna. Happen.

    The rest of it looks very cool.

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  20. Delwyn, they looked almost too small to have any taste, actually.

    Amanda, they also had mealyworm cookies. yech.

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  21. Jocelyn, and Julia Child doesn't scare him? She used to scare me when I was younger. Just a little.

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  22. Geewits, Sorry
    and not for me either, Kylie

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  23. Oh wow, love the monster "bugs". And that tarantula! She's beautiful. Did you get to hold her? Damn I'd like that...

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  24. You lead an adventurous life, even though you didn't try the crickets, though I don't blame you. I have a slight fear of insects, they are so alien looking and somewhat creepy and crawly and they fly fast. Even a trapped butterfly in a room will make me feel uneasy. Therefor, I can't imagine eating one, although I know they are a great source of protein and maybe a future food staple.

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  25. Whata wonderful place.. my flat mate used to havea tarantula (we made the firemen go inside to retrieve it when there was a fire there too!) but I was never brave enough to handle it..
    and I could never bring myself to try those crickets either... eeeewwww

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  26. What a fantastic place! I think those giant fighting beetles would give me nightmares, but I'd love to explore the other things.

    And no, I'd opt out of the crickets, too!

    Thanks for visiting my blog - hope to see you again!

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  27. Katie, you were brave enough to live with a tarantula?!

    Jazz, you are the first to be excited about that thing, and no I didn't even ask; they might have been scared I'd drop her if she moved (quite likely)

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  28. Irene, I can understand being afraid of butterflies - they do swoop and twirl all over the place and can be unnerving.

    What our imaginations can do us, eh Gilly?

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  29. That butterfly looks like a giant Tiffany lamp.

    CJ xx

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  30. Crystal I've often thought butterflies must have been his inspiration.

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  31. looks like a fun place to spend an afternoon! this is my first visit to your blog from don's green barn. i love the photo in your header!!!

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  32. Glad you stopped by, Julie.
    (and I will miss that photo of snow on a red dogwood branch - but am so ready for spring and for it to be gone in real life)

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  33. How did I ever miss this!!! I love this big guy!!! my daughter and son would want to keep one as a pet!!!

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  34. Well, Gwen, um, I don't know what to say. It is not what I want to think of when I consider your house.

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