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Crowdfunding for UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day

Tabatha Yang of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, project leader
Tabatha Yang of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, project leader
Would you like to make a financial contribution to support the 11th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day?

A UC Davis Crowdfunding Project is underway until 11:59 p.m., Feb. 28, with a set goal of $5000. Contributions from $5 on up are welcome.

The Biodiversity Museum Day, free and science-based, traditionally takes place the Saturday of Presidents' Day weekend and involves nearly a dozen museums or collections showing their displays and exhibits to the general public.  It's always been an opportunity for campus visitors to talk to the scientists and see the work underway.

However, due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and UC Davis policies, this year's event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, March 6 in the UC Davis Conference Center, 550 Alumni Lane and is geared for undergraduates and other members of the UC Davis community instead of the general public. (The general public can look forward to the UC Davis Picnic Day on April 23, 2022 when many of the same museums and collections are scheduled to be featured.)

Rachel Davis of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, project leader
Rachel Davis of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, project leader
Participating collections include, but are not limited to, the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, Bohart Museum of Entomology, Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Arboretum and Public Garden, UC Davis Raptor Center, Paleontology Collections, Botanical Conservatory, Center for Plant Diversity, Nematode Collections, and Department of Anthropology Museum, according to the Biodiversity Museum Day CrowdFunding Project managers Tabatha Yang, education and public outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology, and Rachel Davis, a GATEways horticulturist and museum scientist at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.

"Last year, throughout the month of February, we offered a virtual 'BioDivDay' with lectures, talks, and demos from experts,"  they wrote on the Biodiversity Museum Day Crowdfunding Project page. "Your support will enable our 11 collections-- the students, staff and faculty associated with them-- to hold this event again."

"Donations will not only help us sustain the free, in-person event, it will enable our student interns to take science outreach to a whole new level. The goal of our event is to connect people from all walks of life to science and the biodiversity surrounding them.  All donors will be recognized on the Biodiversity Museum Day social media accounts with a shout-out post. Your gifts will help us with some of our key expenses that include:

  1. Volunteer support  ($2000)
  2. Event rentals ($1500)
  3. Event materials  ($1500)"

COVID guidelines for UC Davis,Yolo County and the state of California--including appropriate mask wearing, UC Davis symptom surveys, vaccination records or negativeCOVID tests--will be followed. Side trips or tours of some of the facilities or collections, including the Bohart Museum of Entomology, Botanical Conservatory, Arboretum and Public Garden, and the yeast collection are planned but not yet scheduled.

To donate, access https://bit.ly/3HPhSaA. A donor wall includes the names of contributors.