Exhibit

Insect invasion! Clinton Presidential Center overrun with ‘Xtreme Bugs,’ a bigger-than-life educational exhibit

A group of students from North Little Rock’s Crestwood Elementary School search for fossilized bugs in one of the “Xtreme Bugs” interactive stations.
A group of students from North Little Rock’s Crestwood Elementary School search for fossilized bugs in one of the “Xtreme Bugs” interactive stations.

On April 23, former President Bill Clinton used Twitter to make an announcement that, given the current political climate, could have been alarming:

"BREAKING: We just learned that the @ClintonCenter has been bugged."

Of course, the accompanying photo of Clinton standing by a 24-foot katydid was less the stuff of spy novels and more like a classic sci-fi movie.

As it turns out, the entire Clinton Presidential Center has been infested with ants, bees, moths and spiders for its latest temporary exhibit: "Xtreme Bugs."

And they certainly are extreme, as the katydid and two mantises in the fountains at the center entrance indicate.

"It's like, 'Hey! How's it going? Welcome!'" says Ben Thielemier, communications manager with the Clinton Foundation, who is also involved in planning and running the temporary exhibits. "I feel like if they had words, that's what they'd be saying."

And so far, they've been "saying" it a lot. "Xtreme Bugs" has been drawing in the crowds, particularly before school let out.

"We've had scores of kids coming through" on field trips, Thielemier says. And with summer travel and camps, that's expected to continue until the bugs fly off in July.

The exhibit, created by Dinosaurs Unearthed, was in McAllen, Texas, before coming to the Clinton Center and, when it's time to move on, the hives and swarms will make their way up to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Jokes about insects and politicians aside, "Xtreme Bugs" is actually a very good fit for the center, Thielemier explains. While the museum's

primary focus is always on the former president, it also wants to offer some diversity.

"We want to have a mix of exhibits here," he says. "What other interesting topics can we talk about that families are going to be interested in? That kids are going to be interested in?"

It helps, he adds, that "President Clinton is interested in so many different things that we have an opportunity to talk about a wide variety of topics."

One of those topics is, yes, bugs.

Clinton was fascinated by E.O. Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Social Conquest of Earth. According to Wilson, cooperative species such as ants, bees and termites, are among the most successful creatures on earth. Because they work together to build their homes and societies, they thrive and multiply more than loner species.

"That message of cooperation really speaks to President Clinton," Thielemier says. "He talks about bugs in a lot of speeches he gives. We were just looking to see what was out there and this poked its head around and I was like, 'OK, this makes complete sense. He would love this exhibit.' And he does."

In addition to his tweet announcing the exhibit's arrival, Clinton also was present and spoke about his interest in bugs at the exhibit's opening in April.

At the exhibit entrance itself, visitors can watch a taped welcome statement from the former president.

The two mantises and the katydid welcome visitors at the main entrance. Other animatronic bugs are spread out over the rest of the center, most in the two temporary galleries.

For the interior galleries, each large bug is settled in a space that uses props and backdrops to put it in its appropriate landscape, whether that's crops and fields or a dense forest.

All the creatures are built on an enormous scale so visitors can see all their details, from the number of eyes to the lines and segmentation of their many legs. That means a tarantula that's more than 6 feet tall and 10 feet long and a giant Madagascar hissing cockroach that weighs in at more than 575 pounds.

Of course, bugs on such a grand scale could alarm some people but Thielemier says that, so far, even the younger visitors have been handling the creepy crawly exhibit well.

"We haven't had a lot of kids that are really freaked out and scared about coming to see them," he says. "It's good having the butterfly and the moth along with the scary spiders. It's a good balance."

Juxtaposed with a scorpion and two leafcutter ants locked in a battle to the death, there's a huge, beautiful butterfly with soft, colored lighting just a few feet away. And even that big hairy tarantula isn't too threatening.

"He kind of looks like he's reaching out for a handshake," Thielemier says.

Each bug also gets its own information panel. Rather than dry, densely packed text, the panels are brightly colored with large type and lots of facts kids would probably find cool -- explanations for why these particular bugs are "extreme." For instance, that this huge spider spins silk as strong as steel. Or that ladybugs stack together to stay warm. Or that some ants can lift 50 times their body weight.

"You really get the educational component, but it's fun," Thielemier says.

There are also a couple of interactive stations. On the first floor, there's an archaeological dig box where kids can use brushes to clear away the "sand" to reveal insects' fossilized remains. Then the third floor gallery has a touch screen true-false game with facts and myths about insects.

In all, including the outdoor critters, the exhibit hosts 5,000 square feet of bugs: 20 animatronic ones and dozens of smaller, stationary buddies.

It was a lot of work putting the exhibit in place. As Thielemier explains, the displays arrived in crates and packing cases -- not just the big animatronic creatures and their landscapes, but also all their little critter friends that dot the floor and walls, adding that extra bit of creepy crawly character. The antennae and legs were unattached. That means six or eight legs and two antennae for every one of the dozens of ants, bees and spiders had to be reattached with silicone glue before the opening.

The bigger pieces brought their own problems.

Getting the tarantula in the third floor exhibit space required multiple attempts, tilting him on his side and ultimately removing the gallery doors entirely to get him in place.

The cockroach wasn't so lucky. He'll spend the entire exhibit run outside at the back of the building.

"We had to move him there because he wouldn't fit inside the building," Thielemier says. "It didn't work."

Not all the creatures are huge. The gift shop sells ant farms and the center employees have set up a couple of their own to help advertise the exhibit through media visits and live Facebook videos.

"We've got two in our office," Thielemier says. "We're reverting back to 6-year-olds."

Thielemier says the exhibit is aimed primarily at older elementary school-age children but it can be enjoyed by any age: "There are people within any age group, adults included, who are going to find it fascinating to read about how much leafcutter ants can lift."

The center's Super Summer Saturdays, starting this Saturday, will also get buggy with insect-theme activities. The center plans to have live creatures like a tarantula, prickly stick and Madagascar hissing cockroach from the Little Rock Zoo. There will also be a couple of speakers and a movie series with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and A Bug's Life.

The hope is that the variety of exhibits, such as the dinosaur exhibit from 2015 and the African-focused exhibits that will follow "Xtreme Bugs," will present visitors with unique educational opportunities while also drawing them to the center's permanent, president-based exhibits.

According to Thielemier, school groups "say, 'Yes, we want the presidential tour, but we really want to see the bugs too!' Which is the reason why this exhibit's here."

While dinosaurs get fairly regular airings in central Arkansas, with touring exhibits coming through at least once a year, insects rarely take the spotlight.

"It's not something you're going to see really anywhere else around here anytime soon," he says. "Where else can you see 20 larger-than-life bugs set in a presidential library?"

Style on 06/13/2017

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Students from Crestwood Elementary in North Little Rock react to one of the Clinton Presidential Center’s temporary guests. “Xtreme Bugs” features 20 enormous animatronic insects.

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The Clinton Presidential Center’s “Xtreme Bugs” exhibit provides a balance of creepy bugs, like huge spiders, and more charming ones, like this giant butterfly.

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One of the giant mantises offers a friendly welcome at the entrance to the Clinton Presidential Center through July 23.

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A gigantic ladybug greets visitors from North Little Rock’s Crestwood Elementary to “Xtreme Bugs” at the Clinton Presidential Center. Each bug is accompanied by a colorful information panel that explains why the bugs are “extreme.”

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The temporary “Xtreme Bugs” exhibit at the Clinton Presidential Center is part of the center’s plan to offer a variety of learning experiences. Says Ben Thielemier, communications manager: “The mix of exhibits we are bringing here is what makes us a really unique institution with also having this presidential history you don’t have anywhere else.”

Xtreme Bugs

9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday through July 23, Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock

Admission: $10; $8 for students, children 6-17, ages 62 and older, retired U.S. military; free for children under 6 and active U.S. military

(501) 374-4242

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