We have a winner! The email has been sent and the name posted in the last comment. Thanks all for your entries, stories, and confessions. :)

When our daughters were very young I made a concerted effort never to appear squeamish or grossed out by any spider, snail, or snake that we’d come across during our many family hikes, nature walks and camping adventures. The scene always unfolded with an excited shout:

“Mom! Dad! Look at that [spider/slug/bug/creepy crawly thing] over there!”
“GEE girls, that’s so COOL,” I’d exclaim. Calmly. And then I’d step back and let Mark pick up whatever was crawling or slithering along. I hate to admit it, but it’s true. I guess my charade worked – either that or the girls inherited something from their father – because during the course of their young lives they have picked up countless snakes, fish, worms, and insects of all kinds: dead or alive.

We’ve really tried hard to teach them that Nature is Awesome and Beautiful, which is why I’m very pleased to tell you about a new exhibition that just opened at the Canadian Museum of Nature (a Fishbowl patron).

I got a sneak preview earlier this week and got to thinking about my own experiences with bugs. I actually spent a lot of time outside with friends, catching bugs in jars and observing them up close. But for some reason – and I’m sure this is true for many of us – bugs lost their lustre along the way… which is too bad because there is a LOT to admire about bugs.

This exhibition is unique in that part of it is a travelling exhibition (this means that it stays at one museum for awhile before moving on to another) and the other part of it is supplemented with the Museum’s own collections, like these bunches of beetles:

A significant part of Bugs Outside the Box is a series of 16 very large sculptures:

They were all created by hand by an Italian artist named Lorenzo Possenti. His laborious process started with a specimen and a microscope and ended with these gorgeous models. The sculptures have been praised by the experts for their incredible scientific accuracy.

The other eye-catching part of Bugs Outside the Box is a series of stunning arrangements. (These are all farmed specimens by the way, bred for study and collection.)

I have a pretty good feeling that the live specimens will also be a big draw:

Below is a female Jungle Nymph, a type of stick insect. The female reaches a length of 15 cm (!) and apparently it’s the second heaviest insect in the world.

There is so much to learn here. And as always, the Museum understands how to make learning fun and engaging for kids by making the experience  hands on and multi sensory. In fact, there’s an area where you can buy a packet of bugs to snack on. Which I did (later at home!):

!!

I’m thinking it would be VERY cool to check this exhibition out over Halloween weekend, don’t you? Do note that it will be open until March 27 (so you have plenty of time to catch it).

This exhibition is supported by Orkin Canada, and a surcharge of $4 (in addition to regular museum admission) applies to the Bugs Outside the Box. I have four passes to give to one Ottawa family. Interested? Read on!

• This giveaway is for four passes to the Canadian Museum of Nature and the Bugs Outside the Box exhibition.
• In order for your entry to qualify, tell me something about bugs. Anything! Do you love ’em or hate ’em? Maybe you have a favourite specimen, or a story to share about an encounter. Would you be brave enough to hold a Jungle Nymph on your hand? Or eat a package of crickets? :)
• One entry per email address please.
• This giveaway is void where prohibited by law.
• If you can’t post your comment for whatever reason you can email it to andrea at quietfish dot com. Please note, I cannot be responsible if your entry is misdirected or gets stuck in my Spam folder.
• I will draw the winning name using Random.org at noon EST on October 31, 2015. I’ll contact the winners via email at that time and post the name here as well.

That’s it! Good luck!