Carleton launched its 19th annual butterfly show at the Nesbitt Biology Building on Sept. 29.
Ed Bruggink, the greenhouse manager at Carleton, said the butterfly show is “very popular because it’s our gift to the community.”
“It’s free, it’s fun, it’s educational,” Bruggink said.
According to its official website, this year’s show will host 1,300 butterflies, representing 41 species from all over the world.
The butterflies are imported from parts of the U.K. and the U.S. each year, Bruggink told the Charlatan, as the insects have come from the same place since 1998 when the show first began.
Bruggink said the Madagascar Moon Moth, an insect with a bright yellow hue and long tail, is new to the butterfly show this year.
Tanner Kyle, a third-year biology student at Carleton and president of the university’s Biology Society, said the show is a great way for Carleton to engage with the community.
“It’s crazy how many people it brings into Carleton,” Kyle said. “I think it is a really great opportunity for Carleton to extend itself to the community.”
Let’s Talk Science, a national organization that seeks to deliver meaningful science, technology, engineering and mathematics to school and community settings, has partnered with the Butterfly Show to provide volunteers to help run the show.
Jaimie Vincent, the events coordinator of Let’s Talk Science, said the organization helps to run the show during weekends and provide tours of the butterfly show for school and community groups.
As a new member of Let’s Talk Science, Vincent expressed her excitement towards the butterfly show.
“There are species that people can’t see in Canada,” she said. “What you see inside the greenhouse, you’ll never see unless you travel.”
Andrew Nguyen, a third-year computer science student, was a first-time visitor of the show. He hoped to have a butterfly land on him, and his goal was accomplished.
“The guy who had seven butterflies on him, gave me one of his,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen said he recommends the butterfly show to all students, and said it is a cost-effective activity.
“I was hoping to have a lot of fun and I did,” he said. “It’s free and it’s really fun.”
The show will go on till Oct. 7, and is open to the public everyday.
Photo by Harriet Smith
