[PCT on the Road] Infested with Fun

Ten years in the making, the largest free-standing museum dedicated entirely to insects is set to open next summer in New Orleans, thanks in part to support from the pest management industry.

The Insectarium — housed in the U.S. Custom House on Canal Street — has been on the drawing board for years, and will offer the public a chance to explore the world of insects beyond cockroaches, ants and mosquitoes.

“Supporting the Audubon Insectarium is a natural fit for BASF,” said Bill Baxter, business manager, BASF Professional Pest Control. “BASF has consistently sought to educate consumers about both the good and the bad of pests like termites, ants and roaches, and the Insectarium does a terrific job of doing this, too.”

BASF sponsors two areas of the museum: a section profiling insects of New Orleans and the Termidor Tiny Termite Cafe. The company’s foam mascot — Timmy the Termite — also will appear periodically.

Attendees of the RISE meeting in September toured the 23,000-square-foot museum and met with its entomologists. The Insectarium features a theater with guest voices of Brad Garrett, Jay Leno and Joan Rivers, and exhibits on insect biology, cooking with bugs and how to study insects in the field.

The Audubon Nature Institute operates several other parks and facilities throughout New Orleans — including a zoo, an aquarium and an IMAX theater — designed to bring families into closer contact with the natural world.

“We’ve been working on this museum for at least 10 years,” said Ron Forman, the institute’s president and CEO. “We’re interested in bringing all aspects of nature to children and families.”

The $28 million museum, pushed back by the storms that ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005, is part of a larger plan to bring people back to the city, and its riverfront district. “We’re excited about expanding our family of parks and museums, especially as we open the region’s first major family attraction post-Katrina,” Forman said.

Baxter cited BASF’s other education efforts — such as its termite and ant institutes and the Termite Defense Towering Termite Tour — and said the Insectarium was a perfect fit. “The entire Gulf Coast suffered myriad setbacks from recent storms and floods, and we are proud to play a part in the rebuilding effort,” he said. “Our partners in the industry will benefit greatly from having a top-quality, high-profile cultural destination dedicated to our craft, and the BASF tradition of industry stewardship was a big driver in our decision to sponsor the Insectarium at this level.”

The author is assistant editor of PCT magazine.