Bugs Can Dream, Too: New to the Education Studio

New to the Education Studio is an immersive installation titled Bugs Can Dream, Too by artist Phil Roach. This piece is inspired by Henri Rousseau's lush Jungles (1844–1910) and Vittorio Costantini's Entomological Specimens, the biologically accurate glass insects featured in Field Notes: Artists Observe Nature.

Also featured in the Studio are vintage insect specimens from the Museum of Natural History at University of Puget Sound, which stress that nature cannot thrive without insects. The advent of great sweeps of grass replacing native plants in almost every culture has seriously depleted the ability of bugs to thrive, limiting their decisive contributions to our natural world. Therefore, these Education Studio installations ask the viewer to reflect on the meaning of nature today. Do we want insects to be part of nature for future generations? What is nature without insects? What will artists be inspired by in the Anthropocene, with nature now increasingly shaped by human activity?

When Field Notes opens in the galleries, Museum guests will be invited to explore these questions through the creation of their very own one-of-a-kind bug species in the Ed Studio’s new craft project, Trash Bugs. Under the guidance of Education Studio Artist Shannon Eakins, visitors to the Studio will use a variety of found and repurposed materials in this bug-based craft.

We look forward to seeing you and your creativity in the newly revitalized Education Studio soon! To learn more about the opening celebration for Field Notes, click here.