Visitors to The Big Bug Show can investigate the small world of insects on the big screen, meet live examples face to face and even create a spectacular super-powered bug in a new interactive facility.

Tomorrow, Saturday, is The Big Bug Show Launch Day when activities include trails, competitions, Ugly Bug storytime sessions and family art activities.

The curator of the Big Bug Show is Teresa Whittaker, who as Museums Sheffield exhibitions curator is responsible for the programme in the Harold Cantor Gallery.

She is more used to dealing with objects rather than creatures. "I have always been interested in natural history since I was a kid but I guess that researching this has re-energised my fascination," she says.

"So I have learned quite a lot. I have only been peed upon twice while I have been handling them this week."

The Big Bug Show will feature Microcosmos, an award-winning documentary film showing insects, snails, spiders, and other tiny invertebrates as they work, eat, fight and reproduce through special microscopic cameras as well as slow-motion and time-lapse photography.

"We play with the scale of things with images of creatures that look enormous and seem much more scary up close than they would seem real-size," says Whittaker.

There will also be a chance to see the bugs first hand. "We've got around 100 specimens from the natural history collection ranging from beautiful butterflies to hairy, scary things.

Some are specimens on display, others are in a live tank including giant train millipedes, giant African mountain snails and pink-winged stick insects. They were presumably selected for their sturdiness to withstand constant handling and also needed to be pretty harmless. "We looked for tropical species, ideally vegetarian ones that don't bite."

The museum's temporary gallery has been redesigned to make it look big and spacious and decorated in natural colours – predominantly brown – with Astroturf covering the floor.

"We've tried to bring a taste of the outdoors indoors and the idea is that the adults can sit on the grass and watch Microcosmos while their children entertain themselves in the Creep and Crawl under-fours' play area," says the curator.

Inspired by the exhibition, visitors are invited to become nature explorers and investigate the hidden world underfoot through an associated programme of bug hunts, street safaris and specialist talks.

The purpose is to encourage them to look more closely in their gardens and when walking in woods and parks. But at the same time the museum will benefit with senior curator of natural history Paul Richards looking forward to analysing data from participants.

The Big Bug Show forms part of Love Bugs, a programme of exhibitions and events celebrating the theme of insects and innovation at Museums Sheffield in 2009.

Showing some of the many varied creatures that have gone on to inspire the artists and designers is The Bug Bazaar, currently in the Craft and Design Gallery at the Millennium Gallery.

At Weston Park there will be a series of special workshops to be launched at Easter when the weather gets warmer.

In June a theatre company will perform in a bee tent as part of a Bee Weekend which it is hoped will coincide with the installation of a new hive to replace the bee collection which perished earlier this year to the disease wiping out colonies worldwide.

"The idea of the whole project is to give people a glimpse of the variety of insects and to appreciate their usefulness and not to be frightened by them," explains Whittaker.

The Big Bug Show will run at Weston Park Museum until next spring.

Buy the Sheffield Telegraph and the Property Guide every Friday. To subcribe CLICK HERE


MORE:
Local News
Local Sport
Arts Guide
Community News
Listings Guide
Restaurant Guide
Letters