Second Annual Riverside Insect Fair
Donation protected
What is the Riverside Insect Fair?
Preparations are underway for the 2nd Annual Riverside Insect Fair, a free educational event put on by graduate and undergraduate students from the University of California, Riverside in collaboration with the Riverside Metropolitan Museum. This event is scheduled to take place from 10am-4pm, April 30th in downtown Riverside, CA (Mission Inn Ave, Orange St, and Lemon St). Last year’s event was a huge success which hosted more than 60 local vendors and educators and attracted over 6,000 community members. We need your help to make this year’s fair bigger and better than ever!
What will the Riverside Insect Fair offer this year?
Shop: Browse over 60 local vendors and businesses selling insect-related goodies and services! From toys to art to professional supplies, if it’s insect-related, we’ve got you covered!
Play: Touch live insects, walk through a butterfly tent, participate in family-friendly crafts and games, or sample food made from a world-class insect chef. Fun for the entire family around every corner!
Learn: Explore more than 20 live exhibits and watch a series of presentations by real bug experts! Want to know how to get rid of your ant or cockroach problem? Concerned about the health of honeybees and other insect pollinators? Interested in learning about Zika virus and other mosquito-vectored diseases? All your questions answered by a panel of local researchers.
Still want more? Take a look at some video footage of last year's event:
[Video credit to user zelicaon from Youtube]
Why You Should Care:
There is a need for greater public STEM education and outreach. According to the US Department of Education, few American students pursue training in the fields of Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Math. Despite the growing need for more innovators, researchers and leaders in the United States, less than 40% of those that pursued college majors in STEM actually graduated (National Math and Science Initiative, 2014).
Fortunately, sometimes it only takes a simple act of exposure to pique the interest of a young bright mind to a career which they were previously unaware of. The Annual Riverside Insect Fair will use entomology (the study of insects) to supplement and enrich STEM education in the Inland Empire, providing early exposure that will foster real and lasting interest in the sciences in both K-12 students and the community as a whole. This event will serve as an outreach and teaching opportunity for students at UC Riverside and offer local vendors and hobbyists the opportunity to network and converse with industry professionals and academics in the field. We believe that this event will be an excellent platform for entomology and insect-related businesses to showcase their products to a very receptive audience, while educating the general public as to their research and their innovation.
Support Us!
In order to continue to run this important STEM experience as an educational, non-profit event that will engage the full community, we have again chosen to offer free admission to the general public. Last year UC Riverside students donated part of their fundraised funds normally used for student support and departmental events in to purchase live insects, display materials, and structuaral equipment. This year we are thrilled to bring you more vendors, new events, bigger displays, and overall more fun thanks to support from our collaborators at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum. The UC Riverside entomology graduate student volunteers are accepting donations from the community so that we can purchase more insects and supplies for this year's fair and continue to bring the public new and exciting events and experiences for every year to come. Thank you so much for your consideration.
Please help us support interest in the sciences in our community by donating to this cause. We’d love to see you at our event this year!
If you want to learn more or have any questions, please contact us at: [email redacted]
LIKE us on our Facebook page or on the Riverside Metropolitan Museum's Facebook Page. Find out more and share our posts with friends and family!
[All displayed photos credited to Kim Hung]
Preparations are underway for the 2nd Annual Riverside Insect Fair, a free educational event put on by graduate and undergraduate students from the University of California, Riverside in collaboration with the Riverside Metropolitan Museum. This event is scheduled to take place from 10am-4pm, April 30th in downtown Riverside, CA (Mission Inn Ave, Orange St, and Lemon St). Last year’s event was a huge success which hosted more than 60 local vendors and educators and attracted over 6,000 community members. We need your help to make this year’s fair bigger and better than ever!
What will the Riverside Insect Fair offer this year?
Shop: Browse over 60 local vendors and businesses selling insect-related goodies and services! From toys to art to professional supplies, if it’s insect-related, we’ve got you covered!
Play: Touch live insects, walk through a butterfly tent, participate in family-friendly crafts and games, or sample food made from a world-class insect chef. Fun for the entire family around every corner!
Learn: Explore more than 20 live exhibits and watch a series of presentations by real bug experts! Want to know how to get rid of your ant or cockroach problem? Concerned about the health of honeybees and other insect pollinators? Interested in learning about Zika virus and other mosquito-vectored diseases? All your questions answered by a panel of local researchers.
Still want more? Take a look at some video footage of last year's event:
[Video credit to user zelicaon from Youtube]
Why You Should Care:
There is a need for greater public STEM education and outreach. According to the US Department of Education, few American students pursue training in the fields of Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Math. Despite the growing need for more innovators, researchers and leaders in the United States, less than 40% of those that pursued college majors in STEM actually graduated (National Math and Science Initiative, 2014).
Fortunately, sometimes it only takes a simple act of exposure to pique the interest of a young bright mind to a career which they were previously unaware of. The Annual Riverside Insect Fair will use entomology (the study of insects) to supplement and enrich STEM education in the Inland Empire, providing early exposure that will foster real and lasting interest in the sciences in both K-12 students and the community as a whole. This event will serve as an outreach and teaching opportunity for students at UC Riverside and offer local vendors and hobbyists the opportunity to network and converse with industry professionals and academics in the field. We believe that this event will be an excellent platform for entomology and insect-related businesses to showcase their products to a very receptive audience, while educating the general public as to their research and their innovation.
Support Us!
In order to continue to run this important STEM experience as an educational, non-profit event that will engage the full community, we have again chosen to offer free admission to the general public. Last year UC Riverside students donated part of their fundraised funds normally used for student support and departmental events in to purchase live insects, display materials, and structuaral equipment. This year we are thrilled to bring you more vendors, new events, bigger displays, and overall more fun thanks to support from our collaborators at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum. The UC Riverside entomology graduate student volunteers are accepting donations from the community so that we can purchase more insects and supplies for this year's fair and continue to bring the public new and exciting events and experiences for every year to come. Thank you so much for your consideration.
Please help us support interest in the sciences in our community by donating to this cause. We’d love to see you at our event this year!
If you want to learn more or have any questions, please contact us at: [email redacted]
LIKE us on our Facebook page or on the Riverside Metropolitan Museum's Facebook Page. Find out more and share our posts with friends and family!
[All displayed photos credited to Kim Hung]
Organizer
Kelsey Schall
Organizer
Riverside, CA