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Small Wonders Exhibition Expanded

The Bishop Expands Special Exhibition of Small Wonders: Insects in Focus with New Photos

Plus: Our newest Pathways tour investigates the world of insects

Several new images are on view for the first time at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature as part of its special exhibition, Small Wonders: Insects in Focus. In addition to the photos that have been on display in the Museum’s second-floor galleries since Small Wonders opened in June, the expansion includes eight new images now on display in the West Hall, located on the Museum’s first floor just north of the Planetarium lobby.

In the exhibition’s series of images, photographer and artist Bob Sober used cutting-edge technology and custom methods to put tiny insects on a human scale, allowing visitors to see the patterns, textures, colors and details that have always been present in these animals, but often-times too small for us to appreciate.

Sober uses extreme macro photography and focus stacking to allow us to see insects in new ways. Focus stacking is a digital image processing technique that combines multiple images of a subject taken at different focus distances to give the resulting image a greater depth of field than would be possible in just a single image. The interpretive panels for each picture quantify the number of photographs that Sober used to create the final images — from 450 to more than 1,000!

The expansion of the special exhibition also includes a new digital experience called Insects Investigated. Available via a QR code at the Museum or through The Bishop’s own free Pathways digital app, guests can learn more about insects and the roles they play in our daily lives. Pathways is a digital tour guide tailored to The Bishop’s collections that helps guests learn about the fun and fascinating connections among history, science and nature. The app is free in Google Play and Apple’s App Store. (Search for Bishop Pathways.)

“We’re offering these new images for people who enjoy visiting The Bishop in person, and the Insects Investigated digital experience can enhance the Small Wonders special exhibition for our visitors. For those who are not yet comfortable leaving their homes for anything except necessities, Insects Investigated can also stand as its own exploration of the fascinating world of insects,” said Matthew D. Woodside, Chief Curator and Director of Exhibitions at The Bishop. “We are striving to meet the educational and entertainment needs of everyone — whether they’re able to visit us at The Bishop in person or not.”

Small Wonders: Insects in Focus is sponsored at the Museum by Dr. Chet and Elena Baran and will be open through Oct. 18. Visiting is included in the price of admission. Small Wonders: Insects in Focus is organized by ExhibitsUSA, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance.