Don’t bug out CBUS, but there’s a mobile zoo headed to COSI this weekend and it’s full of insects from the Ohio State University Entomology Department. As a part of COSI’s Big Science Celebration on Sat., May 7, OSU’s Bugmobile is making its debut + we’re here to put a bug in your ear about it.

A ***what*-mobile? 🐛**

This is a Bugmobile through the efforts of OSU Entomology Department, director Jeni Ruisch, and a private benefactor. The mobile exhibit features arthropods (bugs) + even a tarantula inside a 28-ft trailer from Airstream, an Ohio-based manufacturer of iconic pull-behind campers, who donated it to the project.

Introduction to insects 🪲

The COSI Big Science Celebration is free-to-attend and starts at 11 a.m. at 333 W. Broad St. The Bugmobile will be available right as the day kicks off with Jeni + other members of the Entomology Department there to give visitors an up-close-and-personal experience. Meet the bugs and learn about their role in the ecosystem, but don’t use flash photography for your photos as it could scare the bugs.

Nervous about meeting bugs? City Editor Mitch was too, but Jeni does a wonderful job educating about the bugs which makes them far less intimidating.

The buzz about bugs 🦟

Jeni said the goal is to bring hands-on education to Columbus as the bugs can lead to conversations about food science and ecology, animal husbandry (animals raised for products), and pollinator conservation. The OSU Insectary is home to 200 species of arthropods + stands as the only one in the state and the oldest in the country.

Plus, thanks to the mobility of the Airstream Bugmoblie, Jeni plans to travel to under-served areas like urban centers + rural communities.

A what-mobile? 🐛

Introduction to insects 🪲

The buzz about bugs 🦟

A ***what*-mobile? 🐛**