Digging Into the Past
2025-09-17 11:00 - 2025-09-20 11:30 UTC
🦴 Crazy Science – Digging Into the Past
Grab your explorer hat—this week we’re uncovering the science beneath your feet! ✨
Join us to learn all about fossils and ancient life. We will step into the world of paleontologists as we excavate fossil blocks and even cast our own fossil creations.
Discover how fossils form, what they teach us about Earth’s history, and why they’re key to understanding the creatures of the past.
📅 September 17th–20th, 2025
⏰ 11 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center – St. Augustine, FL
Dig in with us—you never know what amazing discoveries you’ll uncover!

October Upcoming Events 2025
2025-10-01 10:00 - 2025-10-31 17:00
Hi everyone!
The DVEC has an exciting lineup of events for October 2025!
Stay tuned for fun, facts, and hands-on learning you won’t want to miss!
Feel free to share the calendar with friends and family!
Have questions? E-mail DVEC@amcdfl.org!

Crazy Science – Fact or Fear
2025-10-01 11:00 - 2025-10-04 11:30
Crazy Science – Fact or Fear

Is it fact—or just fear?

This week’s Crazy Science is all about busting bug myths. From earwigs crawling into ears to whether daddy longlegs are actually dangerous, we’ll separate truth from tall tales.

💡 Fun Fact: Daddy longlegs is a common name used for many different arthropods, such as crane flies, cellar spiders, and harvestmen. All of which share one common trait, very long spindly legs!

📅 October 1st–4th, 2025
⏰ 11 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center – St. Augustine, FL

Join us as we uncover the real science behind the creepy-crawly stories you’ve heard!

Crazy Science – Fireflies and Friends
2025-10-08 11:00 - 2025-10-11 11:30
⚠️ Notice: Crazy Science – Fireflies and Friends program is paused for October 8, 2025 and will resume tomorrow, October 9. We apologize for the short notice—thank you for your understanding.

Crazy Science – Fireflies and Friends

Get ready to light up the lab! 🔦✨
This week’s Crazy Science dives into the glowing world of bioluminescence and fluorescence. Discover how fireflies, glowworms, and even scorpions create their own natural light and why some creatures shine under UV!

💡 Fun Fact: Scorpions glow under UV light! 🦂 Scientists believe this glow may help them detect light levels, confuse prey, or even communicate with other scorpions. The exact reason is still a mystery researchers are trying to solve!

📅 October 8th–11th, 2025
⏰ 11 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center – St. Augustine, FL

Join us to explore how nature glows and uncover the secrets of bioluminescent bugs and their shining friends!

Crazy Science – Tiny Terrors
2025-10-15 11:00 - 2025-10-18 11:30
Crazy Science – Tiny Terrors

Get ready for a small but mighty adventure! This week’s Crazy Science explores the world of mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, and other little biters that make a big impact.
Learn what makes these arthropods true “tiny terrors,” how they bite, feed, and spread disease—and why understanding them helps us protect ourselves and our pets! 🕷️🦠

🎯 Activity: Join us for a fun trivia challenge to test your bug knowledge and see if you can outsmart nature’s stealthiest biters!

💡 Fun Fact: Some ticks can survive for months—or even years—without a meal! Their incredible ability to go long periods without feeding makes them highly resilient and successful parasites.

📅 October 15th–18th, 2025
⏰ 11 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center – St. Augustine, FL

Do you have what it takes to face the tiny terrors? Come find out!

Crazy Science – Zombie Bugs & Parasitoids
2025-10-29 11:00 - 2025-11-01 11:30
Crazy Science – Zombie Bugs & Parasitoids

This week’s Crazy Science explores how fungi and parasitoids can turn insects into real-life zombies! 🕷️
Discover the eerie world of Cordyceps fungi that control ants’ minds and the wasps that use other insects as living nurseries.
Then put your skills to the test in our Zombie Spore Challenge—a hands-on simulation tracking how infections spread through contact!

📅 October 29th–November 1st, 2025
⏰ 11 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center – St. Augustine, FL

Can you contain the outbreak—or will the spores take over?

Crazy Science – Apple Orchard Allies
2025-11-05 11:00 - 2025-11-08 11:30
Crazy Science – Apple Orchard Allies
This week’s Crazy Science explores how beneficial insects protect our crops! 🐞Discover how ladybugs, lacewings, and parasitic wasps act as natural pest control in apple orchards. Then dive into our Fizzy Apple Volcano experiment to simulate natural reactions in a fun, hands-on way!
📅 November 5th–8th, 2025⏰ 11 AM📍 Disease Vector Education Center – St. Augustine, FL
Fun Fact: A single ladybug can eat up to 5,000 aphids in its lifetime!

Crazy Science – Leaf Litter Critters
2025-11-12 11:00 - 2025-11-15 11:30
Crazy Science – Leaf Litter Critters

This week’s Crazy Science uncovers the hidden world beneath the leaves! 🍂
Use Berlese Funnels and light sources to discover how scientists find insects and arthropods living in decomposing leaf litter.

📅 November 12th–15th, 2025
⏰ 11 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center – St. Augustine, FL

Fun Fact: Some soil mites are smaller than dust but are vital decomposers in healthy ecosystems!

Crazy Science – Chrysanthemums
2025-11-19 11:00 - 2025-11-22 11:30
Crazy Science – Chrysanthemums
This week’s Crazy Science explores how chrysanthemums are used as powerful, plant-based insect control against pests.

Learn how these flowers produce natural insecticides and discover why pyrethrin-based products are widely used in pest management today.

Then join us for a nature walk in the garden as we look for plants with natural defenses and a leaf chromatography demo in the classroom to see the hidden pigments inside real leaves!

Fun Fact: Pyrethrin from chrysanthemums have been used for centuries and are still found in many household repellents today!

📅 November 19th–22nd, 2025
⏰ 11 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center, St. Augustine, FL

See how nature protects itself and how we use those tools today.

Crazy Science – Hibernation
2025-12-03 11:00 - 2025-12-06 11:30
Crazy Science – Hibernation
This week’s Crazy Science dives into how animals survive winter by slowing down, conserving energy, and using special adaptations to stay warm.
Discover how hibernation works in mammals, reptiles, and even insects—and learn why arthropods rely on strategies like diapause, supercooling, and sheltering to make it through the cold months.
Then join us in the classroom for a hands-on activity comparing fur, blubber, and feathers to see which insulates best when you place your hand (safely!) into ice-cold water.
📅 December 3rd–6th, 2025⏰ 11 AM📍 Disease Vector Education Center, St. Augustine, FL
Explore how winter shapes wildlife behavior—from cozy sleepers to cold-hardy critters built for snow.
Fun Fact: Some frogs—like the wood frog—can freeze solid in winter and thaw back to life in spring! They protect their cells with natural antifreeze compounds.

Crazy Science – Snowflake Science
2025-12-10 11:00 - 2025-12-13 11:30
Crazy Science – Snowflake Science
This week’s Crazy Science explores the icy world of snowflakes as we uncover how these winter wonders form!
Learn the science behind crystal growth and compare the symmetry of snowflakes to arthropods.
Then wrap up with a hands-on look at crystal formation and take home your own paper snowflake templates to create frosty designs of your own!

📅 December 10th–13th, 2025
⏰ 11 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center – St. Augustine, FL

Join us as we dive into the science beneath the snow!

Crazy Science: Candy Cane Chemistry
2025-12-17 11:00 - 2025-12-20 11:30
Crazy Science: Candy Cane Chemistry
This week’s Crazy Science gets sweet and scientific as we explore Candy Cane Chemistry! 🍬
Join us for a hands-on activity testing which liquids melt candy canes the fastest while learning about solubility and dissolution.

Participants will observe, predict, and compare how different liquids interact with candy canes and discover why some substances dissolve faster than others.

📅 December 17–20, 2025
⏰ 11 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center, St. Augustine, FL

Will your candy cane disappear in seconds or stand strong?

Crazy Science: Goo, Ice, and Bugs
2026-01-07 11:00 - 2026-01-10 11:30
🧪 Crazy Science is getting chilly! ❄️🐞

Join us for Goo, Ice, and Bugs as we dive into a cool science demo exploring non-Newtonian fluids, how temperature changes texture, and what this can teach us about insect cuticles and winter survival adaptations.

From gooey science to icy surprises, this hands-on demo connects physics and biology in a fun, way—perfect for curious minds of all ages!

📅 January 7–10, 2026
⏰ 11:00 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center

Come learn something new and discover how bugs handle the cold!

Crazy Science – Freeze in a Flash!
2026-01-14 11:00 - 2026-01-17 11:30
Crazy Science – Freeze in a Flash!

This week’s Crazy Science dives into the chilly world of freezing and rapid temperature change!

Explore how freezing affects different materials through icy observations, and learn why rapid freezing plays an important role in science, nature, and the arthropod world.
Get ready to think fast as we experiment, observe, and uncover what happens when things freeze in a flash!

📅 January 14–17, 2026
⏰ 11 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center – St. Augustine, FL

Bundle up your curiosity and join us for some cool science fun!

Crazy Science-Surviving the Winter
2026-01-21 11:00 - 2026-01-24 11:30
Crazy Science-Surviving the Winter
Crazy Science is going winter-wild at the DVEC!
Join us as we explore how animals survive the coldest season of the year, from worms hiding underground to fish swimming beneath frozen lakes. Through hands-on investigations and cool science demos, we’ll uncover the clever adaptations that help critters beat the cold.

📅 January 21–24, 2026
⏰ 11:00 AM
Disease Vector Education Center – St. Augustine, FL

This interactive program is perfect for curious minds of all ages who want to discover how winter biology works, no snow boots required!

February 2026 Upcoming Events
2026-02-01 10:00 - 2026-02-28 17:00
Hi everyone!

The DVEC has a fun and educational lineup of events this February 2026! Join us for hands-on science, creative activities, and fascinating explorations into the amazing senses and survival skills of insects and other arthropods.

From learning how mosquitoes and other vectors use their super senses, to heart-themed and special Valentine’s Day fun, there’s something for curious minds of all ages.

Stay tuned as we spotlight each event throughout the month, and tell us which one you’re most excited to attend! #CommunityEvents #FamilyFun #STEMEducation #February2026 #LearnWithDVEC #StAugustine #STEM #Entomology #DVEC #STEAM

Crazy Science: Super Senses
2026-02-04 11:00 - 2026-02-07 11:30
Crazy Science is sharpening your senses!
Join us for Super Senses as we explore how insects use sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound to find food, avoid danger, and survive in their environments.
Through fun mini-demos and hands-on challenges, this interactive program gives you a bug’s-eye view of the world while testing your own senses along the way. It’s a perfect mix of biology, discovery, and fun science for curious minds of all ages!

📅 February 4–7, 2026
⏰ 11:00 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center

Come experience the world the way bugs do and discover just how powerful tiny senses can be! 🐞✨

2026-02-11 11:00 - 2026-02-13 11:30
Crazy Science is all about Heart and Flow!
Join us as we dive into the amazing world of the circulatory system and explore how blood moves through the body to keep us alive and healthy. We will also uncover the sneaky arthropod vectored diseases that can affect the heart and why understanding vectors matters for public health.

This program features a fun, hands on heart pump demo where you can see how the heart pushes blood through the body, plus an exciting erupting heart activity that shows pressure and flow in action.

📅 February 11–13, 2026
⏰ 11:00 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center

Come learn how your heart keeps things flowing and how tiny vectors can make a big impact!

Crazy Science: HOT or COLD?
2026-02-18 11:00 - 2026-02-21 11:30
Crazy Science: HOT or COLD?

Is a mosquito warm-blooded or cold-blooded? What about birds… or reptiles? Join us as we explore how different animals control their body temperature and why it matters for disease vectors like mosquitoes and ticks.

Through quick challenges and hands-on demos, we’ll discover how temperature affects movement, behavior, and even the spread of disease.

February 18–21, 2026
11 AM
Disease Vector Education Center

Come test your knowledge and feel the heat (or chill)!

Crazy Science: Iridescent Wonders
2026-03-11 11:00 - 2026-03-14 11:30
Crazy Science: Iridescent Wonders 🪲✨
Join us at the Disease Vector Education Center for this week’s Crazy Science as we explore the dazzling colors of the insect world. Many insects shine with brilliant colors not from pigments, but from structural coloration that bends and reflects light.
Discover how these amazing adaptations work and see real insect specimens up close.

📅 March 11–14⏰ 11:00 AM📍 Disease Vector Education Center

Crazy Science: Water Worlds
2026-03-18 11:00 - 2026-03-21 11:30
Crazy Science: Water Worlds
Dive into this week’s Crazy Science at the DVEC as we explore how everyday objects can become mosquito hotspots. Learn how standing water supports mosquito life cycles and what to look for in your own environment.

Become a habitat detective in our interactive game, identify real-world breeding risks, and take part in a hands-on mosquito life cycle activity for all ages to see how these insects grow and develop.

📅 March 18–21, 2026
⏰ 11:00 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center

Join us to explore, investigate, and discover how you can help reduce mosquito habitats in your community.
#CrazyScience #STEMEducation #DVEC #MosquitoScience #PublicHealth #LearnWithDVEC #StAugustine #STEAM

2026-03-25 11:00 - 2026-03-28 11:30
Crazy Science: How Disease Vectors Find a Host 🦟
Join us at the Disease Vector Education Center for this week’s Crazy Science as we uncover the sneaky ways disease vectors track down a host. Learn how mosquitoes and other vectors use cues like smell, heat, and movement to find their next meal.

This fun and educational program helps visitors explore how these behaviors connect to public health and how we can better protect ourselves from bites.

📅 March 25–28, 2026⏰ 11:00 AM📍 Disease Vector Education Center
#CrazyScience #STEMEducation #DVEC #PublicHealth #Entomology #LearnWithDVEC #StAugustine #STEAM

April 2026 Upcoming Events
2026-04-01 10:00 - 2026-04-30 17:00
Hi everyone,

The Disease Vector Education Center has an exciting lineup of events this April with hands on science, creative challenges, and interactive discoveries about insects, ecosystems, and disease vectors. From spotting hidden vectors and testing myths to mystery hunts, there is something for curious learners of all ages.

As we move into this new month, we will also be introducing updates to our daily programming, including new activity times, fun interactive experiences throughout the center, and a refreshed passport and scavenger hunt system. Be sure to check out our previous post for a preview of our new daily program schedule.

Stay tuned as we spotlight each event throughout the month, and let us know which one you are most excited to attend.

Crazy Science: Hidden Vectors
2026-04-08 11:00 - 2026-04-11 11:30
Crazy Science: Hidden Vectors 🕵️‍♂️🦟

How do disease vectors stay hidden in plain sight? Join us as we explore the world of camouflage and discover how mosquitoes, ticks, and other vectors use disguise to avoid predators and sneak up on their hosts.
Through interactive challenges and hands-on activities, we’ll uncover how camouflage helps these tiny organisms survive and spread disease.
📅 April 8–11, 2026
⏰ 11 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center
Can you spot the hidden vector before it spots you?

Crazy Science: Myth Busters
2026-04-15 00:00
Crazy Science: Myth Busters
Test your knowledge and uncover the truth about disease vectors during our Crazy Science session this week. We’ll break down common myths about mosquitoes, ticks, and more.
Learn how these organisms really behave, how they spread disease, and what science says versus what people think. Join us for this fast-paced and engaging program!
📅 April 15–18, 2026
⏰ 10:30 AM
📍 Disease Vector Education Center

New Programming Start
2026-04-15 10:00 - 17:00
Hi, everyone!

The Disease Vector Education Center is getting ready to launch a brand new daily program schedule on the week of April 15th.

We are improving our fun interactive activities and adding exciting new experiences throughout the center, along with a revamped passport and scavenger hunt system designed to make every visit even more engaging for all ages.

We look forward to sharing these updates with you and highlighting each program soon. Let us know which one you are most excited to try.

Crazy Science: Swarm Surge
2026-04-22 10:30 - 2026-04-25 11:00
Crazy Science: Swarm Surge 🌎🦟
What makes mosquito populations explode after certain weather events? Join us as we explore how temperature, rainfall, and climate conditions influence mosquito activity and why these changes can lead to swarms.
Through quick demos and interactive discussion, you will discover how the environment impacts mosquito behavior and learn simple, effective ways to reduce breeding and protect your community.
📅 April 22–25, 2026⏰ 10:30 AM📍 Disease Vector Education Center
Come see how weather shapes the world of mosquitoes and what you can do about it.
#CrazyScience #DVEC #MosquitoControl #STEMEducation #ClimateAndScience #Entomology #LearnWithDVEC #StAugustine
