PlantBot Genetics ArtLab tour

All-ages are invited to tour PlantBot Genetics' ArtLab and explore beetles on July 11 at Augustana College's Viking Plaza, 820 38th St., Rock Island. The event will be set up by 7 p.m., and the insect lights will be turned on around 8 p.m.

PlantBot Genetics was co-founded by artists Wendy DesChene and Jeff Schmuki, who are traveling nationally in the off-grid ArtLab trailer to celebrate local biodiversity with a focus on beetles, which represent a fifth of all living multicellular organisms. The Augustana event is co-hosted by Augustana biology professor Dr. Tierney Brosius.

Attendees can see live beetles collected from the surrounding area in the ArtLab and join organizers in setting up lights along Augustana's Slough Path to discover more beetles and night-flying insects on campus. Attendees will learn why beetles are essential in the world and enjoy a solar-powered environment featuring singing and dancing robotic plants.