Bell Museum opens exhibit of larger-than-life bugs – The Minnesota Daily

The Bell Museum presented an insect-focused 3D sculpture exhibition, which will be open until September.

Are you afraid of bugs? Rest assured, you are not entering your own personal nightmare. With interactive activities, fascinating facts and beautiful 3D renderings, the latest Bell Museums exhibit has a lot to offer, even for the most entomophobic.

Running through September 14, Bugs: Outside the Box takes the insect world to a larger-than-life size. The exhibition, free to the public, features a selection of enlarged insect sculptures that provide an up-close look at the architecture and unique body parts of the insects.

Although insects are featured in the permanent galleries of the Bell Museums, this is the first exhibition devoted entirely to the science of insects.

If a bug crawls on your skin or if you find a spider in the corner of your apartment, you might meet the bug with a little disgust, even fear. But gallery program coordinator Heather Cummins explained that the little insects around us require less fear and more understanding.

Not only are bugs beautiful, they make the world go round, Cummins said. They make up 75-80% of the diversity of life on the planet, and within that diversity they do much of the dirty work to keep our planet clean and habitable. They are a truly essential part of life on this planet, and learning more about them helps us become better informed so that we can continue to improve the way we care for the Earth.

Now, as you walk through the Bell Museum, one of the first things you see in the lobby is a huge moth at the entrance to the exhibit, greeting visitors. The colossal insect models were designed by Italian artist Lorenzo Possenti. Sculpted and painted by hand, Possenti has taken great care in the creation of these sculptures and each remains a unique work of art.

Bell Museum’s Director of Audience Engagement and Science Learning, Dr Holly Menninger, explained how, as a temporary rental, Bugs: Outside the Box was chosen for the exhibit, not just for its unique attraction for visitors, but also for its safety in the light of COVID-19[FEMININE[FEMININE

We wanted something that would be visually exciting and interesting and wow our audience, but there wasn’t a lot that people would touch or interact with, Menninger said. This exhibit was really engaging because we created the opportunity to invite our visitors to really take a close look at insects, to observe their body parts, architecture and wonderful colors to look at things from a new perspective.

The organizers of the Bell Museum hope visitors will be inspired to step out and explore the world of insects at the museum and at home. The Learning Landscape exhibits section offers visitors the opportunity to observe insects in action and engage with a plethora of unique species. Many of these exhibition activities are also available on the Bell Museum’s website for 24-hour access.

In addition to these activities, the museum hosts several virtual programs planned for the summer. Of Bugs Trivia Night at Be a pest detective and Help insects build their homes, there are many interactive events to attend.

Associate Director of Public Engagement and Science Learning Jennifer Stampe hopes visitors leave the exhibit with a new or renewed appreciation and respect for the insect world.

This exhibition and the associated activities give visitors a chance to go from art to science to direct observation of nature, Stampe said. The only big point to remember is that the natural world is fascinating, beautiful, and vast, and we can learn so much about it when we slow down and take the time to observe what we find around us.