“We are hosting Science North at Science Timmins for a butterfly pinning workshop,” said Antoine Garwah, president and chief executive officer of Science Timmins.

Science Timmins has something fun for grandparents to do with their grandkids (ages six and up) this Saturday.

“We are hosting Science North at Science Timmins for a butterfly pinning workshop,” said Antoine Garwah, president and chief executive officer of Science Timmins.

The workshop involves pinning real butterflies in shadow boxes. Participants will take home the shadow boxes after the workshop. There will also be camouflage games and other activities. Participants will learn about pollinators and experience how pollinators see ultraviolet pollen trails on flowers, using UV flashlights.

The workshop will be offered twice. The first workshop will be from 10 a.m. to noon and the second will run from 1 to 3 p.m.

Working in collaboration and hosting events with the Sudbury-based Science North is not unique for Science Timmins.

In the last month, Science Timmins has been promoting a “nature exchange” program that was initially developed by Science North. The Science Village in Timmins is now one of a number of science centres, libraries and facilities across the North that are now linked in on the same database.

“Northern Nature Trading is a special kind of swap shop,” explained Mason Charbonneau, a science communicator with Science Timmins. “You can bring in the natural things you’ve found and trade them for things in our collection. You can bring rocks, minerals, anything from nature you can take without destroying nature.”

For example, they don’t want people bringing in birds’ nest, eggs, living plants or animals, or even dead animals.

Learn more.