Great Lakes Bat Festival | |
---|---|
Genre | Festival |
Frequency | Annually in September or October |
Location(s) | Great Lakes region |
Years active | 21–22 |
Inaugurated | 2002 |
Founder | Organization for Bat Conservation |
Attendance | Est. 2,000-3,000 |
Executive Director | Rob Mies |
Sponsor | Critter Catchers |
The Great Lakes Bat Festival is an annual two-day event that started in 2002 and began in the Great Lakes region.[1] The festival later expanded to different state divisions such as the Illinois Bat Festival,[2] the Indiana State University Bat Festival,[3][4][5] the Minnesota Bat Festival,[6] and the Wisconsin Bat Festival.[3] It was founded and organized by the Organization for Bat Conservation until the organization's dissolution in 2018.
The Great Lakes Bat Festival aims to bring attention to the diversity of life on earth, teach people about the importance of bats, debunk myths, explain the need for conservation, and give people tools to make a positive change in their local environment.[7] The festival includes live bat programs presented by the Organization for Bat Conservation, featuring bats from around the world, including North American insect-eating bats, South American leaf-nosed bats, and giant Asian fruit bats.[8]
Events
Great Lakes Region experts present the benefits of bats, bat houses, bat research, bat conservation, public health, and endangered species.[9][7] The festival hosts films, authors, bat house and bat detector building workshops, educational exhibits, mine tours, children's activities, and live animal programs.
Evening events include bat researchers erecting a mist net to catch local bats,[10] bat detection devices, research techniques, radio-tagging and/or light-tagging.
Locations
The festival has been held at the Cranbrook Institute of Science Bat Zone in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan,[11] at the Indiana State University Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation in Terre Haute, Indiana,[12] at the Milwaukee County Zoo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,[13] and at Iron Mountain, Michigan near Millie Hill Mine.[14][15]
No. | Year | Venue | Location | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2002 | Millie Hill bat cave | Iron Mountain, Michigan | [16] |
2 | 2003 | Cranbrook Institute of Science | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | [17] |
3 | 2004 | Cranbrook Institute of Science | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | [18] |
4 | 2005 | Iron Mountain, Michigan | [19] | |
5 | 2006 | |||
6 | 2007 | Indiana State University | [20] | |
7 | 2008 | |||
8 | 2009 | Milwaukee Zoo | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | [21] |
9 | 2010 | Cranbrook Institute of Science | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | [22] |
10 | 2011 | Cranbrook Institute of Science | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | [23][24][25] |
11 | 2012 | Southfield Civic Center Arena | Southfield, Michigan | [26] |
12 | 2013 | Southfield Pavilion | Southfield, Michigan | [27][28] |
13 | 2014 | Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum | Ann Arbor, Michigan | [29] |
14 | 2015 | Cranbrook Institute of Science | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | [30][3] |
15 | 2016 | Macomb Intermediate School District | Clinton Township, Michigan | [31][32] |
16 | 2017 | Michigan Science Center | Detroit, Michigan | [33] |
17 | 2018 | Potter Park Zoo | Lansing, Michigan | [34] |
18 | 2019 | Belle Isle Nature Center (Detroit Zoo) | Detroit, Michigan | [35][36] |
Notable speakers and guests
- Jannell Cannon (Artist & Author of award-winning book Stellaluna)
- Fiona Reid (Artist & Author)[22]
- Bill Schutt (author of the critically acclaimed book Dark Banquet)[22]
- Dr. John Whitaker, Jr. (Indiana State University)
- Dr. Al Kurta (Eastern Michigan University)
- Dr. Tim Carter (Ball State University)
- Rob Mies (Organization for Bat Conservation)
- Bill Scullon (Michigan Department of Natural Resources)
- Mike Frayer (Milwaukee County Zoo)
References
- ↑ "Organization for Bat Conservation". Bat Conservation Journal (Spring 2008).
- ↑ Kording, Nan (2017-07-06). "Batty for bats". Illinois Times. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- 1 2 3 Linn, Morgan (2016-09-29). "Great Lakes festival crowd goes batty over bats | Great Lakes Echo". greatlakesecho.org. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ Price, Will (2022-09-17). "Bat Festival makes return to Indiana State". MyWabashValley.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ "ISUBatCenter | College of Arts and Sciences". www.indstate.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ Blanchette, Aimee (2017-08-10). "Minnesota's first bat festival aims to prove that these flying critters aren't so creepy". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- 1 2 Hoffmaster, Eric; Vonk, Jennifer; Mies, Rob (2016-01-15). "Education to Action: Improving Public Perception of Bats". Animals. 6 (1): 6. doi:10.3390/ani6010006. ISSN 2076-2615. PMC 4730123. PMID 26784239.
- ↑ "Want a Dream Pet? Join Pets 'n' Friends Today!". Pets 'n' Friends. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
- ↑ "Forest Service waives fees in support of the nation's largest volunteer effort on public lands". US Forest Service. 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ "Bat Week Highlights with Amy Wray – Gratton Lab". gratton.entomology.wisc.edu. 2016-11-09. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ Cranbrook Institute of Science, www.PureMichigan.org/Things-to-Do/Events "Great Lakes Bat Festival at Cranbrook Institute of Science."
- ↑ "Great Lakes Bat Festival To Take Place at ISU in August". Indiana State University - ISU Newsroom. 2007-05-21.
- ↑ "8th Annual Great Lakes Bat Festival Flying Into The Milwaukee County Zoo". Archived from the original on 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
- ↑ Morscheck, Richard (2005-07-25). "E-M:/Fourth Annual Great Lakes Bat Festival". Enviro-Mich.
- ↑ "Thousands Gather for 2005 Bat Festivals". The Spotting Scope. 11 (1). Fall 2005 – via Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
- ↑ "Bats get a wingding". News-Press. 2002-04-04. p. 6.
- ↑ "Future Meetings and Events" (PDF). Bat Research News. 44 (1): 81. 2003.
- ↑ "Future Meetings and Events" (PDF). Bat Research News. 45 (1): 84. 2004.
- ↑ Blake, Erica (2005-08-07). "Holy bat conservation!". The Blade. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ "Bat Conservation Efforts | Critter Catchers, Inc". www.crittercatchersinc.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ Zoological Society of Milwaukee (2013-07-26). "September/October 2009 Wild Things". issuu.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- 1 2 3 "Critter Catchers winging way into Great Lakes Bat Festival". www.crittercatchersinc.com. 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ "Cranbrook Institute of Science's 10th annual Great Lakes Bat Festival features 12 species of bats". Mayuri Munot's ePortfolio. 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ "Critter Catchers at Great Lakes Bat Festival". www.crittercatchersinc.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ "Great Lakes Bat Festival returns to Mich. museum". The Victoria Advocate. 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ "OBC'S Annual Bat Festival". One Brick. 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ Proxmire, Crystal (2013-10-02). "Bat Festival Brings Fun & Learning to Southfield (video)". Oakland County Times. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ Proxmire, Crystal (2013-09-21). "Annual Bat Festival at Southfield Pavillion Sept. 28". Oakland County Times. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ DeVito, Lee (2014-09-26). "13th Annual Great Lakes Bat Festival comes to Ann Arbor". Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ Dunn, Patrick (2015-09-24). "Bat festival studies a species that used to be uncool". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ "15th annual Great Lakes Bat Festival Sept. 17". FOX 2 Detroit. 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ Devlin, Eamon (2016-07-07). "Conservation in the bat zone | Great Lakes Echo". greatlakesecho.org. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ Brennan, Mike (2017-09-08). "Michigan Science Center Offers Great Lakes Bat Festival Sept. 23". MITechNews. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ "Great Lakes Bat Festival – Bat Association of MSU". 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ "Great Lakes Bat Festival". Belle Isle Nature Center. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ↑ "Great Lakes Bat Festival Comes to the Belle Isle Nature Center October 5". Detroit Zoo. 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2023-11-07.