**During the Evening Insectival (5pm-7pm), Jones Street, the Nature Research Center, and the Nature Exploration Center’s 2nd-4th floors will be closed. Edenton Street, the Bicentennial Plaza, and the 1st floor of the Nature Exploration Center will remain open until 7pm.
Quiet Space (10am–5pm)
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Our quiet space is an area where visitors can take a break from the events and activities. This space is sectioned off and available for visitors with anxiety, stress and sensory overstimulation. Guests are also provided with sensory toys, coloring pages, books and noise-canceling headphones (upon request). People of all ages and abilities are welcome to take advantage of our quiet space.
Jones Street (10am-5pm)
Arthropod Olympics
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Become an Arthropod Olympian! Participate in three events: Dung Ball Races, Ant Races and Bee Races — win a medal and all the glory a bug deserves!
BASF — We Create Chemistry
BASF Corporation
Visit the BASF displays to learn about crop protection and how the company strives to protect human health and homes. Show your support for pollinators and come see live monarch butterflies at this station!
Beekeeping and Honey Bee Education
5 County Beekeepers Association
The 5 County Beekeepers Association (5CBA) is a volunteer club that promotes beekeeping and honey bee education. They are a chapter of the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association.
Bring Back the Night Sky — Moth Edition
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Get a glimpse of how light pollution can affect moths’ everyday life and learn what you can do to help!
Bug-themed Hair Accessories
Erin Alicia Studio
You will find handmade bug-themed hair accessories for all ages at this booth, featuring butterflies, spiders, spider webs and more.
Buzzing Hives: Unveiling the World of Beekeeping
Wake County Beekeepers Association
Step into the fascinating world of beekeeping and discover the secrets of these industrious pollinators. Explore this exhibit to learn about the art of beekeeping, witness the process of honey production and get up close with common beekeepers’ tools such as bee suits, smokers and hive frames.
Caterpillarology
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Come see and learn about the amazing variety of caterpillars found in North Carolina and the plants they like to eat. See crazy-looking caterpillars like monkey slugs, spicebush swallowtails and (hopefully, if we’re lucky enough to find one) an imperial!
Extension Master Gardener Volunteers of Wake County
Gardening advice for homeowners and insect activities for the young.
Forest Insects — Native and Invasive
NC State Forest Health Lab
Make your own button while learning about native and invasive insects affecting the health of our forests.
Franklin County Beekeeper’s Association
Franklin County Beekeeper’s Association is a beekeeping club that provides education and experiences to people interested in keeping bees.
Lepidopterans of the Eno
Eno River Association
Learn about the many moths and butterflies that live around the Eno River and rely on it for their survival!
Plants4Kids
North Carolina State University
Plants provide us with food, clothes, medicines, clean air and building materials. But here come different bugs, some of them plant friends and some of them plant foes. This NC State research group studies how plants grow and develop. Come learn about plants and how they interface with the bug world!
Protecting American Agriculture
USDA-APHIS
USDA-APHIS seeks to protect US fruits, vegetables, crops and environment from invasive insects. There will be lots of insect boxes for show, tattoos and hand stamps for kids.
The Wonderful World of Pollinators
The City of Raleigh Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources
Raleigh Parks and Recreation will be providing broad departmental information through environmental quizzes, program literature and their pollinator packet! Pollinators are a vital part of the Raleigh Parks System and help to support overall ecosystem health.
Taurean Treasures
Taurean Treasures are terrariums and shadow boxes with preserved butterflies and moths and mixed media collages using insect wings.
Xerces Society
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats. Their key program areas are: pollinator conservation, endangered species conservation and reducing pesticide use and impacts.
The Math Neighborhood
Natural Math; Chapel Hill Math Circle; G-Force Robotics; MathHappens; Mobile Science Café; Mathematics Institute of the Triangle; Triangle Math Teachers’ Circle
Math friends and neighbors from around the Triangle are having a party, and you are invited! Explore the “M” in STEM with a variety of local organizations and playful activities for all ages. Discover how math connects us all — students, families, teachers and communities.
Bicentennial Plaza (10am-7pm)
Accessibility
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Museum staff will be on-hand to answer questions about accessibility at the event! This tent will be located in front of the Museum entrance.
Art-Thropods
Piedmont Wildlife Center
Create your own unique butterfly species using common household items! Learn how butterflies use camouflage and mimicry in the wild!
Bug Bites! Bite Them Before They Bite You!
5:00–7:00pm
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Come join us for a meet-and-eat! See bugs cooked right before your eyes and sample some delicious buggy treats.
Café Insecta
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
10:00am–3:00pm (or while supplies last)
Celebrate entomophagy (bug eating) at Café Insecta! Sample bug-filled dishes prepared by local chefs and vote on your favorite dish!
Children’s Books & Science Kits (10am–5pm)
PaperPie
Find fun and educational children’s books, puzzles, games and science kits from Usborne Publishing, Kane Miller Publishing and SmartLab Toys.
Face Painting ($)
Paint Savvy
Get decorated by talented artists at one of these face painting stations.
Entomology Without Death
Vesal Cuts Paper
Entomology Without Death is a series of work created from 2D- and 3D-layered paper-cut art. Each piece is made from up to 100 layers of paper.
Jewelry From Nature
Copper Ashes
This artist makes copper jewelry that incorporates crystals, shells, fossils, organics and real, ethically sourced bones, crab shells and insects, including dragonflies, cicadas, butterflies, moths, bees and more. All of these things are encased within the copper through the process of electroplating and turned into wearable art.
Lepidopteran Jewelry
Stacy Lee Gallery
The artist has wings from butterflies, moths and beetles, set as earrings or pendants. Come find out how insect farming helps conserve the rainforest and pick up a new statement piece.
Life Below the Surface: Discovering Aquatic Insects (10am–5pm)
Ramirez Lab, NC State University
Come learn more about life below the water’s surface and the amazing bugs that inhabit our rivers. They will have microscopes to see the bugs up close, including live ones!
Museum Membership
Friends of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Purchase or renew your membership at BugFest or online September 1–14 with code “Butterfly24” and receive a free BugFest T-shirt on the day of the event!
Native Butterflies and Bees of NC
NC State Pollinator Researchers
Learn about the native butterflies and bees of North Carolina and meet some of these amazing pollinators up close!
BugFest T-Shirt Sales
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Check out the 2024 BugFest T-shirt featuring this year’s theme arthropod … the giant leopard moth! Vintage shirts will also be available.
Crawfish Quest
NCSU Student Fisheries Society
Join the NCSU student fisheries society to see and learn about what critters live in North Carolina waters! They will have live crawfish and other aquatic insects for you to observe and even hold. Take home your own painted crawfish friend with their build-a-craw craft station!
Pollinator-friendly Pest Control
Rise Pest Management
Rise Pest Management is a small, local, family owned and operated pest control company with a focus on ecologically responsible methods that are safe for your pets, kids and pollinators.
Southeastern Native Plants for Sale
Carolina Habitats, Chapel Hill NC
Lepidopterans and other pollinators are supported by native plants — Carolina Habitats will be selling native plants specially selected for pollinator diversity in our local ecoregion!
The Caterpillar’s Pajamas: Wildlife Art by Allison Stoiser
Allison Stoiser Art
Allison Stoiser is a wildlife artist whose work offers a playful, contemporary take on natural history and scientific illustration.
Buggy Make-N-Take
The Scrap Exchange
The Scrap Exchange, a nonprofit organization that specializes in creativity via reuse and sustainability, will be bringing a van full of large, reusable crafting materials, several boxes of smaller materials, along with plenty of scissors, tape and staplers. Their team of expert scrappers will guide crafters in making their creations.
Edenton Street (10am-7pm)
Bug Bounce and Super Slide Inflatables
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
From hop to jump, kids will delight in bouncing like a cricket and whooshing like a dragonfly in the fabulous inflatables!
Bug Crafts! (10am-5pm)
Mayhem Magnolia
There will be space and materials to sit and color bug pictures, read bug books, or learn to crochet a bug! Handmade invertebrate stuffed animals available to purchase.
Battling Beetles
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Delve into the violent world of large scarab beetles! Learn how males duke it out to win the favor of a female. Test your beetle ID skills at the beetle spinner game!
Doodle Bugs: Chalk Art by Paul Dumlao
Paul Dumlao (artist)
Come observe local artist Paul Dumlao as he creates giant colorful illustrations of lepidopterans from around the world, using vibrant chalk pastels. Try to guess the names of the creatures he’s drawing, or create your own masterpiece in the kids’ chalking area!
Lifecycle of a Caterpillar: a Moving Experience! (10am-5pm)
Holly Springs School Of Dance
This station will feature a reading of “The Hungry Caterpillar,” followed by a creative movement experience for kids. Bring your own wings or borrow some of theirs!
Stag Beetle Battles
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Jump into a stag beetle costume and enter the arena — let the battles begin! See if you can triumph over your friend and win the day!
Nature Exploration Center 1st Floor (10am-7pm)
Airbrushing ($)
Paint Savvy Events and Productions
Get a skin-friendly face painting or airbrushed arm arthropod.
Butterfly Origami
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Fold, flap, and fly your way over to this fun origami butterfly table. Take a close look at the diverse shapes of lepidopteran wings and make your own version out of paper.
Cool Crustaceans
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Explore the diversity of crustaceans, from our backyards to the bottom of the sea!
Flies, Genes, and You
NCSU Scott Lab
Feast your eyes on glow-in-the-dark flies, meat-loving maggots, and more! Learn how genetic engineering helps us unravel biological mysteries and solve agricultural crises. Play games to win your very own maggot art!
Insect Photography and Electronics
Entomopixel
Application of Photography and Electronics in the appreciation, education and investigation of insects.
Mesmerizing Insect Photos
William Fisher Photography
Close-up photos of insects and lots of insect jewelry.
Scorpions and their Kin
The Santa Fe Reptile and Bug Museum
Did you know there are many other arachnids besides spiders? Come learn about the OTHER arachnids, including scorpions, vinegaroons, whip spiders and more!
Steam Forged Studios
Steam Forged Studios specializes in handmade steampunk-, fantasy, pirate-, anime- and sci-fi-themed items. They also produce many styles and sizes of beaded spiders.
Tarantulas and Other Spiders
The Santa Fe Reptile and Bug Museum
Come face to face with live giant tarantulas from around the world as well as spiders you might meet in your own backyard.
The Case of the Vanishing Greenery
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Unlock “The Case of the Vanishing Greenery”! Help us investigate and solve the mystery of which insect — butterfly or moth — has feasted on two plants.
What Is a Bug?
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Know your arthropods! Arthropods range from insects to crustaceans to arachnids and more! Come learn the differences and the similarities and meet some live critters on your entomological quest!
Wonderful World of Orthoptera
NC Entomological Society
Leap into the world of Orthoptera and meet some amazing critters! Fly with the grasshoppers, dig with the mole crickets and sing with the katydids!
Nature Exploration Center 2nd Floor (10am-5pm)
Exploring the World of Butterflies
Heritage High School FFA Chapter
Enjoy crafting with fun butterfly finger crafts and colorful butterfly clips, perfect for kids and adults. Complement these activities with a visit to live butterfly exhibits, and be enchanted by the beauty and grace of butterflies.
The Interaction Between Lepidoptera and Crop Plants
Syngenta
This display will showcase how Syngenta’s entomology expertise plays a crucial role in protecting crops from harmful pests.
Entomology & Textiles & You
North Carolina State University
When the departments of entomology and textiles work together, unexpected technologies can be produced.
Bug Art Gals
averyszart and wyliesart
Avery specializes in cartoon-style digital work and crochet. Wylie specializes in traditional mediums and detail-oriented work.
Nature Exploration Center 3rd Floor (10am-5pm)
Butterfly Metamorphosis: Up Close and Personal
Science Learning Resources, Inc.
A children’s book incorporating microscopic observations of the painted lady butterfly life cycle will be available for viewing and sale. The storyline involves playful anthropomorphic expressions of the mind of the organism at different stages of metamorphosis.
Creeping Crawlies (Centipedes and Millipedes)
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Information on myriapods (centipedes and millipedes) will be featured.
Funky Bug Antenna Crowns
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Honor our buggy friends by dressing up like one! Make your very own Funky Bug Antenna Crown and proudly display your passion for arthropods!
Girl Scouts Take On Moths and Butterflies
Girl Scouts — North Carolina Coastal Pines
Girl Scouts will showcase a butterfly activity.
Lifestyles of the Small and Squishy: Caterpillars With Strange Habits
City of Raleigh
Leaf-mining insect larvae live in the tiny, thin space inside a leaf, and gall-making insects make controlled tumors on their plants, living inside and getting fresh food and shelter. In this exhibit, live and preserved leaf miners, gall makers, and other crazy larval lifestyles will be on display (including moths, flies and other arthropods).
NC State University (NCSU) Arthropod Zoo
NCSU Entomology Graduate Student Association
Entomology graduate students from NC State will demonstrate live arthropods and pinned specimens and sell bug-themed merchandise.
NCDA&CS
North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Invasive pests are a huge threat to plants in North Carolina! Stop by to learn how to identify and join the fight against these bad bugs, plant diseases and weeds.
NCDA&CS Structural Pest Control and Pesticide Division
Meet the folks from the NC Division whose mission is to protect public health, safety and welfare, and the environment. They support continued availability of stable, high-quality supplies of food, fiber and forest products.
Not All Rainbows and Butterflies: Understanding the Agricultural Importance of Lepidopterans
Greenlight Biosciences
Join the Greenlight Biosciences team and dive into the fascinating world of Lepidopterans — the order of insects that includes butterflies and moths. While these creatures are often celebrated for their beauty, their role in agriculture is complex and multifaceted.
Termite Trails
North Carolina Entomological Society
Insects use chemicals called “pheromones” to communicate with smell. Come use pens that mimic termite-trailing pheromones and watch real live termites follow the lines in your drawing!
The Vampires in Our Backyards: Ticks, Mosquitoes, and Other Blood Suckers
NC State University
An interactive display on arthropod vectors of human and animal disease.
Unwelcome Houseguests
NCSU Entomology and Plant Pathology
Get up close with the bugs that bug us! Cockroaches and bed bugs are insects that have developed close associations with humans and our homes.
To see these insects that have become worldwide pests of human dwellings, come visit this exhibit and learn more about their biology and management.
Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG)
Veterinary Emergency Group in Cary is a 24/7 walk-in ER hospital helping people and their pets during veterinary emergencies.
Nature Exploration Center 4th Floor (10am-5pm)
Beautiful Bugs! Mixed Media Painting Demonstration
Stacy Lewis Studio
Stacy Lewis will be demonstrating mixed media techniques to create colorful, textured paintings of butterflies, dragonflies and other artistic arthropods.
Bugs & Butterflies
Mad Science
Kids will experience life through a bug’s eyes and view bugs up close using a microviewer! They will also learn about the life cycles of bugs and butterflies and how they differ from other animals.
Loving Lepidoptera! Butterflies and Moths on Display
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Enjoy the colorful beauty and amazing diversity of exotic and native butterflies in the various mounts on display. Learn how butterflies are preserved in collections and the methods used mount them.
Pollinators and Pests
Center for Integrated Pest Management
Adult butterflies and moths are important pollinators of flowering plants in wild ecosystems and managed systems such as parks and landscapes. However, their larvae require host plants and may be a serious pest in the garden and food production.
Nature Research Center 1st Floor (10am-5pm)
Carolina Butterfly Society
Check out some caterpillars and watch as butterflies emerge from their chrysalis.
North Carolina Moths
North Carolina Biodiversity Project
The authors of the Moths of NC website and members of the NC Biodiversity Project will bring a collection of specimens and caterpillars to highlight the diversity and ecology of the more than 3,000 species of moths found in North Carolina.
Watch Your Savings Grow!
State Employees Credit Union (SECU)
The SECU booth will consist of a variety of BugFest-related youth financial education materials, teaching kids how to grow their savings.
Nature Research Center 2nd Floor (10am-5pm)
Bugs and Biomimicry: How Bugs Inspire Human Design
Leigh Aultman, Biomimicry Educator
Learn how nature can inspire sustainable designs by exploring the fascinating world of insect adaptations.
Lepidopteran Collections
Naturalist Center, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Come view a spectacular collection of butterflies and moths! What can we learn from these collections? Why are these specimen collections so important? We’ll have insect pinning demos so you can learn how to start your own collection.
Bug-themed Art
PedeMyPants
Check out local, handmade bug art such as paintings, beaded ornaments and pinned and jarred specimens.
Spider Exams
NC Museum of Natural Sciences Veterinary Sciences
Come visit the Veterinary Sciences Team as they examine a few of the Museum’s eight-legged friends in the Windows on Animal Health!
Magic Wings
Museum of Life and Science
Explore the lifecycles of bugs and butterflies, take a closer look at their glorious wings, and interact with some real live specimens!
Nature Research Center 3rd Floor (10am-5pm)
Ant Lab
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Come visit the Evolutionary Biology & Behavior Lab, also known as Ant Lab on YouTube! Learn about our research, the entomology videos we make, and meet some of the researchers and insects that inhabit the lab.
Bed Bugs
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Enter if you dare, the world of bed bugs! Learn how these parasites have made humans their host.
Native Bees Build it Better
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Learn about all the fantastic native bees around us.
There’s a Bug in My Soup
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
You are what you eat … so you might be a bug! Learn about the all the bugs that are allowed in everyday food products!
Explore Monkey Blood Cells and Microscopic “Bugs”!
Genomics & Microbiology Research Lab, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Explore microscopic “bugs” like bacteria and yeast and learn how to identify immune cells in monkey blood that fight bad bugs!
Nature Research Center 4th Floor (12pm-4pm)
Sound of the Forest Art
Noon–4:00pm
Nicole Parish
Nicole Parish is a content creator, artist and autism educator with a love of the natural world and a special interest in insects. She is excited to bring her handmade insect-themed prints, sculptures and jewelry to her very first BugFest!
Prairie Ridge Ecostation
Celebration of Moths at Prairie Ridge
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
8:00–10:00pm
After the downtown BugFest festivities end, join staff at Prairie Ridge Ecostation in west Raleigh for a night of moths and other nighttime insects! We’ll have light stations available for viewing nocturnal insects and staff on hand for answering questions and identification help.
More information about Celebration of Moths at Prairie Ridge