Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Butterfly garden, archaeology exhibit to open at Orpheum Children’s Science Museum Saturday

A seed grant, along with some hard work by U. of I. student volunteers and museum staff, has grown a butterfly garden at the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum in Champaign.

The “Growing Prairies and Growing Minds” butterfly garden and an archaeology exhibit will open to the public on Saturday, July 30, from 1-5 p.m. at the museum, 346 N. Neil St., Champaign. Guest speakers at the beginning of the event include Illinois state Sen. Scott Bennett and Deb Frank Feinen, the mayor of Champaign. 

Located in the courtyard south of the entrance to the museum, the garden is an interactive outdoor exploration exhibit designed to build an appreciation of nature in a play environment and act as an attractive and therapeutic addition to the public space in downtown Champaign, said René A. Dunn, the executive director of the museum.

“We thought it was a great addition to what we’re doing at the museum,” Dunn said. “We’re expecting children to become familiar with native plants and insects, and to learn about pollination.”

The archaeology exhibit features interactive activities with a field shed, excavation units, archaeological materials and stations that encourage engagement and sensory experiences for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Children will move through the shed and discover how archaeologists learn about the past. The exhibit was created by student volunteers who are part of the Archeology Student Society at Illinois, with $500 donated by American Legion Post 24 in Champaign, a permanent fund grant by the Illinois Association for the Advancement of Archaeology and many community donors.

The butterfly garden was funded in part by the university’s Chancellor’s Public Engagement Student Fellows grant of $2,000, which paid for the plants, soil and lumber for construction as well as oversight of the program. Students in the Entomology Graduate Student Association, led by project manager and entomology graduate student Alexander Hazel, provided the organization and labor needed to create the garden.

“We’re trying to supply a natural space that allows children to experience nature on their own terms,” Hazel said. “It’s a chance to show folks what beautiful plants there are here.” Students planted 150 plants of 41 species, 26 of which are native to Illinois, Hazel said.

Professor of entomology Lawrence Hanks sponsored the project, provided advice and helped Hazel balance his workload in his first year as a graduate student. “He was very confident in my ability to delegate tasks to make this project a reality,” Hazel said.

 

 

Read Next

Life sciences Portrait of the research team posing together.

Minecraft players can now explore whole cells and their contents

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists have translated nanoscale experimental and computational data into precise 3D representations of bacteria, yeast and human epithelial, breast and breast cancer cells in Minecraft, a video game that allows players to explore, build and manipulate structures in three dimensions. The innovation will allow researchers and students of all ages to navigate […]

Arts Photo of seven dancers onstage wearing blue tops and orange or yellow flowing skirts. The backdrop is a Persian design.

February Dance includes works experimenting with live music, technology and a ‘sneaker ballet’

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The dance department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will present February Dance 2025: Fast Forward this week at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. February Dance will be one of the first performances in the newly renovated Colwell Playhouse Theatre since its reopening. The performances are Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Dance professor […]

Honors portraits of four Illinois researchers

Four Illinois researchers receive Presidential Early Career Award

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Four researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign were named recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. The winners this year are health and kinesiology professor Marni Boppart, physics professor Barry Bradlyn, chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Ying […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010