Mark your calendars now for one of the coolest events in Ohio natural history – the annual Open House at OSU’s Museum of Biological Diversity! With a title like “Venoms, poisons, and the organisms that make them” who can resist attending!? It will held be a week from Saturday, on Feb. 7, 2015 from 10 AM – 4 PM. The Museum is located at 1315 Kinnear Rd. The event is free! Parking is free!

Here’s a blurb from their website:

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,
— For a charm of powerful trouble.

(Wm Shakespeare, Macbeth)

“Shakespeare’s recipe for the witches in Macbeth is fiction, but plants and animals are in fact the source and inspiration for the most potent poisons and medicines. The complexity of these chemicals is matched only by the complexity of behaviors, anatomies, and biologies that organisms have evolved to deploy these natural weapons.

On February 7, 2015, join us at the Museum of Biological Diversity’s annual Open House as we explore venoms, poisons, and the organisms that make them. Come explore nature indoors at the Museum Open House! Hands-on activities for kids and adults. Live animals. Treasure Hunt. Special displays. Tours of the collections. Lots and lots of fun!”

Last year’s Open House saw a visitation of 2,240 people in just 6 hours! This is a testament to how popular their collections are and to how fascinated people are with natural history. It’s a good way to enjoy seeing lots of unusual specimens on a cold winter day!