I Ate An Ant

Yes, today I ate an ant. (My first) A chocolate covered one. And, the chocolate was so big (and yummy!) that I never tasted (or felt!) the ant (thought I could see a tiny piece of him).


We went to a Bugstravaganza event at the grand re-opening of our Entomology Hall. I can't believe the wonderful transformation they've done to this area! It was a little crowded or we would have spent more time.




After the "Bug Hall", we went to the Butterfly Pavilion. Wow! I think they must have released hundreds of extra butterflies for this event! I've never seen so many. And, they were landing on everyone. This little black and white butterfly landed on Alexandra's shoe 3 times! She said it tickled, but she held still for a photo.



We also saw pineapples growing. I'd never even seen a photo of how they grow and I got so excited to see this! I think we'll have to try to grow our own, though I've heard it takes several years.




A little boy let this butterfly crawl from his finger to Alexandra's. She was so excited to see its proboscis which was all curled up.





Then, she handed it to me and I took some more photos, including this close up. I love the antenae in this photo! (You probably have to click on it to get where you can see it closely.)



Here's the chef stir-frying up some bugs - some kind of bamboo "something" larva. (No thanks!) They even have a new machine in the permanent exhibit where you can buy boxes of crickets (how about some with cheese or sour cream and onions?) for just a couple of dollars. `


Here are some of the "declicious"samples. (I just couldn't do it, but lots of folks were! Did you know that people in most of the world eat bugs?)


Alexandra and I also pet quite a few bugs including a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach (Alexandra was the first to be brave, so I had to follow), a giant walkingsticks, a millipede, and several others. Alexandra also did some crafts and we watched a cockroach race. (Alexandra put #2 in the starting box, but he came in 4th, I think.)


We also toured other parts of the museum and enjoyed a "talk" a lady gave us about different kinds of rocks. She was impressed that Alexandra knew what pumice and obsidian were (we were studying volcanoes this week) and she kept saying how smart our little kids (homeschoolers) were. It made me feel good! :-) And, we just had a great day!