The Art Museum of Southeast Texas will host the “Eat a Bug” Family Arts Day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Oct. 27. Activities include decorating sugar skulls to commemorate the Day of the Dead, and cooked bugs for Halloween.
“We have four different family art days a year, but this particular arts day is really special because it is one of our most popular.” Kara Timberlake, AMSET PR coordinator, said.
The museum will also host a costume contest beginning at noon. Children are encouraged to come dressed in their best costumes for a chance to win prizes.
“It is open to all ages,” Timberlake said.
The event will also feature live entertainment. The Mexican Heritage Society will perform traditional Mexican folk dancing at 11 a.m. and 12:30 pm. Families will also have the chance to win baskets of art supplies. The museum will draw winners throughout the day.
The museum’s current exhibitions — Deborah Luster’s “Passion Play” and “Woven Wonders: Textiles from the John Gaston Fairy Collection of Mexican Folk Art” — inspired the activities, Timberlake said.
“Although we have the bug component, we are celebrating Halloween and teaching kids about Day of the Dead,” she said. “The art museum likes to utilize our current exhibitions to somehow influence the art activities that we do with the kids.”
Throughout the event, families and children will be tempted to eat a bug.
“The bugs are provided by Bill Clark Pest Control,” Timberlake said. “The crickets, and sometimes mealworms also, are fired and covered in TexJoy seasoning. They’re delicious, the kids can’t get enough of them.
“For those brave kids, they get a sticker to proudly wear, letting others know they ate a bug.”
Timberlake said this is her first year at the event and she has yet to try a bug.
“As a part of my initiation, I will have to try one,” she said. “I am very excited but also a bit nervous — I have been told it is actually surprisingly tasty.”
Timberlake said it is important for AMSET to be involved with the community, and offer services to the families in the area.
“We always like to get family participation and have them involved with the museum,” she said. “We have a lot of different educational activities for young children, as well as for high schoolers, which is an amazing opportunity for us to become involved with the community and offer services to families in the area.”
For more information, call 832-3432, or visit amset.org.
Story by Jocelyn Morales, UP contributor