43
Mill Creek Bug Day crawling with people
Photo
Visitors to Mill Creek MetroParks Farm’s Bug Day tried their hand at catching bugs in a field.
Photo
The Cross family, Sharon, Lou, Scott Sr., Dominic and Scott, of Columbiana, enjoyed a spirited game of bug bingo at Mill Creek MetroParks Farm’s Bug Day Aug. 1.
Photo
Caleb French, 5, of Boardman, (center) celebrates his win at “Buggy Downs” at Mill Creek MetroParks Farm’s Bug Day Aug. 1. His mom, Lindsey Handel, celebrates behind him as Mill Creek MetroParks volunteer Carl Antonelli (right) declared Caleb the winner.
Photo
Contestants at “Buggy Downs” encouraged their mealworms to win the bug race at Mill Creek MetroParks Farm’s Bug Day Aug. 1.
By ABBY SLANKER
Hundreds of children and adults enjoyed exploring bugs at Mill Creek MetroParks Farm’s ever popular Bug Day, sponsored by Akron Children’s Hospital of Mahoning Valley, Aug. 1.
As the children entered the building, they received official Bug Day punch cards that listed the stations they could visit, including bug bingo, micro bugs, honey harvest, bug exhibits, bug races, bug stories, bug crafts, bug fun, bug hunts and damsels and dragons.
The micro bugs station included microscopes visitors could use to get a closer look at some species of bugs. The honey harvest station explored the life cycle of the honeybee family and bug bingo offered a chance to win a prize after completing bingo on a card filled with pictures of bugs.
Visitors could also get bug tattoos, color pictures of a variety of species of bugs and make a caterpillar magnet out of colorful craft puff balls and googley eyes.
The bug hunts enabled visitors to grab a net, and after instructions from Mill Creek volunteers, catch as many bugs in a field as they could. The volunteers then examined what was caught and identified the bugs for the visitors.
One of the most popular stations was the bug races at “Buggy Downs.” Round cardboard cutouts were placed on a table and volunteers handed out meal worms to contestants. The contestants then had to encourage their worm to travel from the middle of the cutout to the outskirts of the cutout to win the race.
The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County set up a tent and read books about bugs to visitors. Annette Ahrens, a librarian at the Poland library, read “Locust Pocus!”
At the end of the day, the children had to visit at least six of the 10 stations, and have their cards punched, to earn a Mill Creek MetroParks “Master of Bugology” certificate.