The Science Mill in Johnson City is celebrating the roles of butterflies, bees, and bats at its Pollinator Palooza, Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27, with two days of special presenters, STEM activities, movies, and a live butterfly release. The event will run from 10am-4pm on Saturday and 12pm-4pm on Sunday.
“This event is a fun and interesting way to learn about the importance of pollinators like butterflies, how they support food production, and why pollination is super important in the first place,” said a spokesperson.
The planned schedule over the two days includes the following:
Presenters
Local beekeeper Mike Mendez will bring one of his beehives for guests to get an up-close look at how bees do the work of making honey while pollinating plants.
Terri Sparks, a local Master Gardener, will educate guests about the variety of native plants and their symbiotic relationship with pollinators. She will also lead a hands-on activity on plants and pollinators for guests.
Asvini Thivakaran, a 10th-grade student from Round Rock and one of the Top Ten 3M Young Scientists in the nation (2022), was inspired to research renewable energy from piezo materials after visiting the Science Mill in elementary school. She will be at the Science Mill to share her work on renewable energy and the multiple projects she leads to save the planet.
Optional Butterfly Release
Sat 10:30am, 12:00pm / Sun 1:30pm– Butterfly purchase required
Guests will learn about the importance of pollinators and how they support food production. There will be live butterflies at this station that guests will have the opportunity to release and observe. The facilitator will discuss how pollination is reached, how butterflies contribute to pollination, and what to expect when the butterflies are released.
STEM Activities
Seed Bombs
Create seed bombs and learn the advantages of seed bombs over throwing seeds loosely on the ground.
Pollinating Bats
Guests will design their own bats and engineer a flying system using only a straw and some tape, demonstrating their importance to pollination.
Movie Showing: Flight of the Butterflies (3D)
Flight of the Butterflies is a scientific adventure story about the Monarch butterfly migration, the most incredible migration on Earth, and the scientist who spent 40 years trying to discover exactly where the butterflies mysteriously disappeared when they flew south for winter.
With the exception of the butterfly release, all activities come with General Admission.
Onsite cafe, Lady Bird Lane Cafe, is open Wed-Sat, 10:30am - 2:30pm. Museum gift shop open during museum hours. The museum is located at 101 South Lady Bird Lane, Johnson City, TX.
Complete schedules, tickets, and updates can be found at www.sciencemill.org.