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February 15, 2015
2pm

Great Movie Musicals: Part 2

The Sound of Music (1965)

Starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, the movie won five Academy Awards including Best Picture, and is based on the real life story of the Von Trapp Family singers.  Directed by Robert Wise.

 

February 22, 2015
2pm

Great Movie Musicals: Part 2

Funny Girl (1968)

                                

Starring Barbra Streisand (who won Best Actress) and Omar Sharif, the movie loosely showcases the real life story of Fanny Brice and her rise to stardom with the Ziegfeld Follies.  Directed by William Wyler.

 

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February 12, 2015

"Bee" Our Valentine! 

 

Need a romantic plan for you and your loved one on Valentine's day?  How about a visit to the Museum? Nothing says "I love you" quite like a meander through the Bugs:  Outside the Box exhibit.  You will see the beauty of nature, learn how to stand out (or blend in) and learn how insects attract a mate.

 

Continue your date by reading about Wicked Bugs.  This may not be the most romantic exhibit in the Museum, but Wicked Bugs is sure to make you look at the world around you differently.

Get out of the squeamish mode and relax by looking at the photography of Tony O'Brien in Light in the Desert.  His photography will give you a sense of awe and peace.  The way he plays with light and shadow may even inspire you to pick up your own camera and see what you can create.

Our Museum Store has some great gifts for the last minute Valentine's shopper.

She is sure to love something from our unique selection of jewelry.  We have everything from necklaces to bracelets to earrings to broaches to show your special lady you love her.

She'll look amazing in one of the scarves or shawls for sale in the Museum Store.

Tell your love bug how much you love them with a stuffed bug.  They are cute as a bug!

Finally, some bugs are known aphrodisiacs.  We don't have any of them here but you can share the unique experience of eating larva and crickets with your loved one.  Or maybe you need a subtle way to say "Buzz off!!"  There is something for everyone at the Museum Store.

Wishing you love and happiness this Valentine's Day.

Bugs and You

 

The main character of this story is a praying mantis (mantis religiosa).  The mantis is a carnivorous animal, meaning that it eats other bugs like moths, crickets, grasshoppers and sometimes even its own species.  It is called a praying mantis because its front legs have a shape that makes them look like they are in prayer.  These animals are well camouflaged and are usually green or brown.  Growing up near Chicago, Erin Anderson very rarely saw a praying mantis.  She remembers one summer seeing two of them together on top of their shed in the back yard; they were beautiful.  The supporting characters of the story are her brother (Eric), their neighbors and the school Eric was attending.  Their neighbors were on vacation in Tennessee over Thanksgiving when they discovered a praying mantis nest in a tree.  They cut it down, put it in a mason jar and thought that Eric would like to take it to school since they were studying bugs.  A week before Christmas break, Eric took it into his classroom where they studied it and left it in the room over Christmas break.  When the teachers got back into the school after break, the 4th grade room had been overrun with baby praying mantids.  Yep, the nest hatched.  Each nest contains 100-200 babies.  Not thinking that the nest was still "alive", they didn't have a lid on the jar.  So with oxygen and a warm atmosphere, the nest hatched.  The mantids were everywhere, even falling onto the desks from the ceiling.  The janitors came and vacuumed up the mantids but no vacuum in the world could vacuum up the now infamous story of the praying mantis infestation.

 

Jessica Gibbons-Rauch also has a memory of a praying mantis.  Before a church picnic, her Grandma Irma found a praying mantis and picked it up.  Irma began talking to it, saying how beautiful it was.  She tried to get Jessica to talk to it as well but Jessica refused.

 

Do you have a story about you and a bug/bugs?  We'd love to hear it!  Email us at [email protected] or contact us on Facebook!

 

Bugs:  Outside the Box and Wicked Bugs

The state insect of New Mexico is the tarantula hawk wasp. Explore a variety of insects now through May 10, 2015.
Light in the Desert

This exhibit features 20 photographs that capture the essence and experience of photojournalist Tony O'Brien's year-long residency at Christ in the Desert Monastery. Now through April 19, 2015.

Western Heritage Museum | 575-492-2678 | [email protected] |
www.nmjc.edu/museum
1 Thunderbird Circle
New Mexico Junior College
Hobbs, NM 88240