UC Davis Bee Haven Will Be Part of 2026 UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day
This "Super Science Day" Is Set Saturday, Feb. 21
The UC Davis Bee Haven will be part of the 2026 campuswide UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, set Saturday, Feb. 21.
The new inclusion means that the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology will contribute three museums or collections to the Biodiversity Museum Day:
- The Bohart Museum of Entomology, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane
- Nematology Collection in the Katherine Esau Science Hall, located near Briggs Hall
- The Bee Haven, a half-acre demonstration garden or outdoor museum located at 1 Bee Biology Road, next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility
15th Annual
The 2026 Biodiversity Museum Day is the 15th annual, said coordinator and co-founder Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator of the Bohart Museum. The event, free and family friendly, is billed as a Super Science Day and an opportunity to explore, discover and connect, and chat with the scientists.
The Haven is an educational resource for the public to learn about bees and other pollinators, and the flowers they visit. The Department of Entomology and Nematology, under the direction of then interim chair Lynn Kimsey (now UC Davis distinguished professor emerita) installed the bee garden in the fall of 2009.
Director of the Haven is bee scientist Elina Niño, professor of UC Cooperative Extension, Apiculture, and a member of the faculty of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. She is also the founder and director of the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP).
The Haven team includes Niño; Samantha Murray, education and garden coordinator; Joe Tauzer, manager of the Laidlaw facility; and Wendy Mather and Kian Nikzad, co-program managers of CAMBP. The garden is open to the public from dawn to dusk.
Participants at the 2025 BioDiv Day, held Feb. 8, were Arboretum and Public Garden; Bohart Museum of Entomology; Botanical Conservatory; California Raptor Center; Center for Plant Diversity; Nematode Collection; Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology; Paleontology Collection; and Phaff Yeast Culture Collection. Also on the program the Visual Journal Exhibit at Design Museum at Cruess Hall, Room 124; and a Moth Documentary in Cruess Hall. The Department of Anthropology was unable to participate.
Design Contest
Yang also announced the 2026 Design Contest for Biodiversity Museum Day. "In celebration of our 15th anniversary, we are inviting the UC Davis community to submit designs for use on volunteer t-shirts, fliers, websites, etc. The criteria:
- It is open only to UC Davis staff, faculty and students. "You have to input your UC Davis email to submit.
- The deadline for the contest is Oct. 11, 2025
- Design submissions and guidelines are on this Google Form https://forms.gle/8cwk9mxRVkHncqir7
- For questions, emails "Contact-BioDivDay@ucdavis.edu."