Pollinatarium continues to evolve

As one visitor remarked, the Pollinatarium has continued to evolve. For the first time, we were on the 2015 CU Garden Walk for sustainable gardening. We made cedar planting boxes for the south side of the building, where we can’t dig because of the buried power lines. We also put a hexagonal flowerbed box under […]

Thousands get up close and personal with pollinators

The UI Pollinatarium, the discovery/science center dedicated to raising pollinator awareness, is the ultimate in repurposing; the building at the south end of the UI Arboretum was originally constructed as a pesticide storage shed, spent over a decade as Gene Robinson’s Bee Research Facility, and in 2009 was converted into a facility for science outreach […]

National Pollinator Week 2014

In 2007, National Pollinator Week was officially declared by the U.S. Senate in order to recognize the importance of pollinators to ecosystem health and agriculture and to support efforts to increase awareness about pollinators. Here’s how Urbana-Champaign celebrated with the rest of the nation in 2014… Week Long Events June 16-June 22 Pollinator Food Guides […]

Over 2700 visitors in 2012!

In 2012, over 2700 people came to visit. In their numbers were students in every second grade class in Champaign, home schoolers, Urbana school district fourth graders, Parkland College classes, visiting beekeepers, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, passers-by, Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, an agricultural tour group from Montana, and a few bee biology celebrities. We’re now […]

National Pollinator Week 2009

National Pollinator Week in Champaign-Urbana is June 22-28, 2009 and includes Pollinator Discovery Day at the Pollinatarium on Sunday, June 28, from 1:00-4:00 p.m. In addition to the current displays, there will be games, crafts, a bee hive and a pollinator-themed magic show. The day will also feature workshops on insect photography and on becoming […]