July 17, 2006

Smithsonian Insect Zoo

Want to see living creepy crawleys such as cockroaches up close and personal? Visit the Smithsonian Insect zoo (or my house in Houston). Housed at the National Museum of Natural History the zoo is ironcially sponsored by O. Orkin - the extermination "pest control" company. They even have a helpful replica of a house that highlights where you can find pests in your home. How lovely. It was like a flashback.

These are shots of my brother Matthew volunteering at the Smithsonian. We visited him at work and watched as children and adults from around the world reacted to his critter friends. People watching was much more fun than bug observation.

My sister Marlene is giving Matt the funny look as he hands her the giant grass hopper. Don’t worry, they don’t jump or bite but they do poop on your hand. I of course did not touch any of the wee beasties – which were much larger than wee, we and me.