PlantBot Genetics ArtLab tour

All-ages are invited to tour PlantBot Genetics' ArtLab and explore beetles on July 11 at ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø's Viking Plaza, 820 38th St., Rock Island. The event will be set up by 7 p.m., and the insect lights will be turned on around 8 p.m.

PlantBot Genetics was co-founded by artists Wendy DesChene and Jeff Schmuki, who are traveling nationally in the off-grid ArtLab trailer to celebrate local biodiversity with a focus on beetles, which represent a fifth of all living multicellular organisms. The ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø event is co-hosted by ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø biology professor Dr. Tierney Brosius.

Attendees can see live beetles collected from the surrounding area in the ArtLab and join organizers in setting up lights along ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø's Slough Path to discover more beetles and night-flying insects on campus. Attendees will learn why beetles are essential in the world and enjoy a solar-powered environment featuring singing and dancing robotic plants.