NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 21 number 2 - Winter 2001

By Caroline Weaver, Special Collections

Cricket tacos, deep-fried mealworms, and other delicacies tickled the palates of a panel of brave judges and attendees at the NCSU Libraries' Bug-O-Rama festival, which was held on September 8 and 9, 2000. The cook-off, judged in the D. H. Hill Library, was just one of a swarm of fun, family-oriented activities that filled the two-day event organized as a lighthearted way to promote awareness of the library's world-renowned entomology collections. The festival received funding through a grant from Aventis CropScience and from the Friends of the Library.

The Bug-O-Rama celebration of bugs and the imagination included an exhibit and reception, discussion panel, insect cuisine cook-off, bug costume contest, free viewing of the film Mothra, and clips from entomology educational films of the 1950s. Students from area universities, NC State faculty and alumni, and members of the Research Triangle community attended to learn more about bugs.

On September 8, NC State Professor Will Kimler gave an interesting and entertaining lecture on renowned British entomologist John Obadiah Westwood entitled, "The Dilemmas of J. O. Westwood--God, Nature, and Oxford in the Age of Darwinism." The library also opened an exhibit on Westwood and an art show featuring insects drawn by North Carolina Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Janet Krakauer, Katherine Shelburne, Frances Schultzberg, and Ruth Brunstetter. The Westwood exhibit, which ran through December 8, highlighted illustrations found in the Special Collections Department's rare book collection in which Westwood was the primary author, illustrator, or sponsor. An online version of the Westwood exhibit can be found at: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/archives/exhibits/westwood/.

The festival's panel discussion provided a fascinating discussion by NC State faculty Joe Gomez (film studies), John Kessel (English/science fiction), Will Kimler (history of science), and Ron Kuhr (cultural entomology), who shared their perspectives on insects and the roles they play in our lives and culture. Attendees of all ages enjoyed the whimsical festival and the varied observations on bugs and their impact on our lives.