MMNS Events

Pollinator Day

For more information please contact the Visitor Information Specialist at 601-576-6000 or by email at nicole.smith@mmns.ms.gov

COST: This event is included with Museum admission or MMNS Foundation Membership.

Looking for something fun to do during Spring Break? Buzz on over to the Museum for "Pollinator Day" where exhibitors will teach us how to conserve and celebrate our pollinator populations through engaging activities. 

Special exhibitor stations will showcase information about how pollinators not only contribute to one of every three bites of food you eat, but also support healthy ecosystems that stabilize soils, support other wildlife, and clean the air.  

• Make “native plant seed balls
• See live insects
• Visit with area artists Joe MacGown, Miranda Goss Piefke, and Robin Whitfield
• Camp Creek Native Plants will be selling native plants, while supplies last
• "Oops! All Vegan" food truck will be here, too (not included with admission)

SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER: Meet the ‘NOLA Bug Lady’, Linda Auld, a self-described ‘butterfly mamma’ who has photographed, studied, and raised 147 species of #butterflies and moths! If you enjoy the beauty of these fascinating insects and are curious to learn more about them, don't miss the insights Linda will share in her special presentation, “Monarchs, Migration, Milkweed, and Oe” at 11 a.m.

“BEE a POLLINATOR HERO”: Terra Manasco will share the “BEE a Pollinator Hero” program, and it’s Monarch Way station. Terra is the Conservation Manager of the Birmingham Zoo and will help you make pollinator seed balls to grow bee and butterfly friendly plants! She will also demonstrate how to make a safe drinking source for pollinators. Pick up BEE a Pollinator Hero activity book, too, while supplies last.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Joe A. MacGown is a Mississippi artist whose work ranges from the surreal to scientific illustration. MacGown worked as a research technician/scientific illustrator at the Mississippi Entomological Museum at Mississippi State University from 1988 to 2020, when he retired. He later rejoined the museum on a part time basis to focus on ant research. When MacGown not studying ants, he can generally be found doing art, yardwork, or carpentry at his studio, which is in the Sessums community just outside of Starkville. 

https://www.joemacgown.com/

Miranda Goss Piefke is a research scientist and artist whose work is connected to and inspired by nature.  Each pot is one of a kind and is hand made locally in Vicksburg, MS. Miranda is excited to share her passion about Mississippi’s wildlife at Pollinator Day, so BEE sure to stop by her exhibitor booth. 

Robin Whitfield is a professional artist, Master Naturalist and founder of Friends of Chakchiuma Swamp - a non-profit organization managing Lee Tarty Nauitre Preserve in Grenada, MS.

https://www.facebook.com/robinwhitfieldstudio/

Want to have even more fun in the LeFleur Museum District? Check out our Spring Break "Week of Wonder": https://lefleurmuseumdistrict.com/events/