CONTACT:
Dee Gardner, 601-573-5968,
deemuseum@yahoo.com
DATE: June 15, 2006
RELEASE: IMMEDIATE
Giant Robotic Insects Crawl into Mississippi Museum of Natural Science this Summer!
They're bigger than big - they're huge and they move!
Jackson, Miss. - This summer, museum visitors will
magically enter a world in which bugs tower over people. Today, museum
officials and exhibit sponsors unveiled the "World of Giant Insects"
exhibit, which opens on June 17, 2006 and runs through September 10, 2006.
Museum Director Libby Hartfield explained that, "These robotic insects,
which are hugely magnified 40 to 120 times life size, allow clear
observation of some of the behaviors and adaptations that have made them
successful." The insects' movements are achieved by hydraulic mechanism or
electric motor. Each insect has between five and 20 moving parts. Objects
include:
 | A praying mantis, 19 feet long, shows the threatening behavior that causes its prey to freeze in an attempt to avoid being eaten; |
| A 13-foot-long locust spreads its wings; |
| A giant walking stick, over 21 feet long, displays its protective camouflage; |
| Two rhinoceros beetles fight - they're each 11 feet long, the size of Volkswagen...um...beetles! |
| And, at 15 feet, a swallowtail butterfly caterpillar is the biggest wiggler you are ever likely to see. |
| Three giant insect heads' mouthpieces, operated with a push of a button, allow visitors to see how an 80 times-magnified dragonfly chews, and how a bee, 200 times life size, sucks nectar. And watch how the mosquito, 600 times its real size, draws its meals through its piercing mouthpieces. |
"These exhibits offer residents outstanding summer entertainment and draw
visitors that bring tourism dollars into our community. These efforts
illustrate why the Mississippi Tourism Association named the museum
Mississippi's Travel Attraction of the Year," according to Wanda
Collier-Wilson, President & CEO of the Jackson Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Last year's "A T. rex Named Sue" exhibit brought over 60,000 visitors to the
museum. The museum records visitors from every state as well as several
foreign countries each year.
This year, the giant robotic insects are from Kokoro, the company that
originated the major exhibit of robotic, ice-age mammals previously seen at
the MMNS. This time, the subject of the exhibit is a class of animal that
still lives on earth and far outnumbers humans.
The museum is located at 2148 Riverside Drive in Jackson. The public can
call 601.354.7303 or visit
www.mdwfp.com/museum for details.
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science - "World of Giant Insects" exhibit
June 17, 2006 - September 10, 2006
Museum Hours: Museum Admission Fees:
Monday-Friday 8a.m.-5p.m. Adults (18 and older) $5.00
Saturday 9a.m.-5p.m. Children (3-18) $3.00
Sunday 1p.m.-5p.m. Senior Citizens (60 and older) $4.00
Museum members are admitted free.
"World of Giant Insects" is sponsored by The Mississippi Museum of
Natural Science Foundation, Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, Community
Foundation of Greater Jackson, Merrill Lynch and Trustmark Bank.
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