From blacktop to full color, the area in front of the Florida Museum of Natural History will transform into an aromatic wonderland for butterflies and guests.
Just past the makeshift meadow of about 140 species of flowers, the museum will hold its first-ever mini BioBlitz.
A BioBlitz is a type of field research where scientists and other volunteers do intensive identification of all living organisms in a specific area for 24 to 48 hours. The museum’s will last five hours. This is where museum collections begin.
The theme of the museum’s second-annual Earth Day celebration, held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., is From Field to Collection. The second-largest plant sale of the year is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, Saturday and Sunday. The goal of this event is to “increase habitat for pollinators” said Jeff Hansen, coordinator of operations and visitor services for the museum.
The Earth Day celebration is free but access to the Titanoboa exhibit and the Butterfly Rainforest is not.
Last year, about 1,600 people came out to the celebration, but the museum is prepared for 2,000, said Catherine Carey, the museum’s public programs coordinator.
“We often get caught up in day-to-day living,” Carey said, “and we forget that we live in habitat.”
