Kids will love the Big Bugs + Pollinators exhibit at the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden

Photos by Anna Pinto.

Ever wonder what it feels like to be an ant? At Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens in Oakdale, you can experience the life of an insect firsthand. The Big Bug exhibit highlights the importance of pollinators in our ecosystem by bringing art into nature. In this peaceful sanctuary, you will find a variety of fascinating, giant handmade bug sculptures. These pollinators, insects, and bugs have been magnified so that visitors of all ages can see them the way they see humans.

The exhibit is open to the public from June 15th – Sept. 15th and is free to members and children under 3. Beyond giving visitors a bugs’ eye view, the exhibit is also a great reminder to care about the creatures who share our backyards.

“We are using it to share the message of how important it is to do ecological landscaping and to make sure you are planting plants that are in partnership with these critters,” says the Garden’s development director Beth Exton. We need the plants and animals working together to help create a healthy planet.”

The Big Bug exhibit is the perfect outdoor activity for kids on a nice day. Starting from the parking lot, you’re engulfed in beautiful landscaping and greenery.

A five-foot butterfly statue greets you at the entrance.

Artist David Rogers, who created all of the sculptures you’ll encounter at Big Bugs + Pollinators, captures the details of butterfly wings by layering thin pieces of plate fungi to achieve a scale-like effect.

“It’s a role reversal of who is the pest,” Rogers explains. Rogers is a mostly self-taught artist who grew up on Long Island, New York.

From a young age, he struggled with the traditional school learning style and often found himself doodling in class to pass the time.

He sought refuge in his imagination by building things and eventually began exploring woodworking by using tools from his father’s garage. At age 25, Rogers created sculptures from scraps of willow saplings.

Suddenly, things clicked: “There was so much room for expression, there weren’t any rules for what I could or couldn’t do. So, I flew.”

While staying at a friend’s house in Vermont, Rogers noticed a bent over maple sapling and had an idea. Carefully cutting, rearranging, and shaping the sapling, he formed a large dinosaur which remains one of his favorite pieces to this day.

Rogers continues to harvest sustainable material for his creations, including the ones you’ll see at Big Bugs + Pollinators. Over the years, he has worked with botanical gardens around the country including Longwood Gardens and Disney’s EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival.

Your final destination in this exhibit is the breathtaking lotus pond filled with lilypads, stepping stones, and a giant dragonfly statue as the centerpiece.

Using wind animation by securing the dragonfly to a floating pad, Rogers strives to capture movement in his pieces. As the dragonfly slowly glides across the pond, it calls attention to the tiny size of the real dragonflies below it.

When little visitors get hungry, you can check out Canopy Café, which offers refreshing drinks and food, as well as Forage Finds, a gift shop filled with nature-themed items.

There are 10 sculptures in total, each marking different sections of the trail. Wandering through the wide paths, you are serenaded by the gentle stir of windchimes, chirping birds, flowing water, and the hum of insects.

Being an insect lover myself, I jumped at the chance to review the Big Big exhibit. My mother, a former entomologist, visited along with me. We both had a really relaxing time in the secluded premises.

Even if you are not particularly fascinated by bugs, it’s a nice opportunity to take a break from our busy lives and soak up the great outdoors. Perhaps this may change or even challenge your perspective. After all, we are all just humans living in a bug’s world.

Click here to learn more about Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens. If you do plan to visit, make sure to wear sunscreen, sun hats, sunglasses, and comfortable walking shoes.