Ohio Bat Festival

2024 Ohio Bat Festival

12 - 5 pm, Oct 19, 2024

Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center

(2201 Fred Taylor Dr, Columbus, OH 43210)

We are excited to invite you to the 3rd annual Ohio Bat Festival!

On October 19, 2024 we will come together to celebrate our bat neighbors. Learn about the astounding diversity of the >1,400 bat species with which we share the Earth, dispel popular misconceptions about bats, and explore the ways that bats and humans can help each other!

The Ohio Bat Fest is a FREE event for all ages. We'll have multimedia presentations, a kids activity room, and interesting exhibits highlighting the ecology, diversity, and conservation of bats in Ohio and worldwide. We look forward to seeing you there!

Sponsors:

Carter Lab at The Ohio State University
The Ohio State University Ecology and Evolution Club
Photos courtesy of MerlinTuttle.org
National Science Foundation

Photo by Teagan McMahon

Multimedia presentations by invited bat biologists:

12:30 - Bats around the world
12:45 - Q&A with Dr. Bryan Carstens, OSU
1:00 - Meet Ohio's bats
1:30 - Q&A with Dr. Joe Johnson, University of Cincinnati
1:45 - The invasive fungus ravaging North American bats
2:00 - Q&A with Haley Gmutza, Princeton University
2:15 - Protecting Ohio's bats
2:30 - Q&A with Dr. Missy Meierhofer, University of Cincinnati
2:45 - What is it like to be a bat?
3:15 - The real story of the vampire bat
3:30 - Q&A with Dr. Gerry Carter, Princeton University

Family friendly activities:

Color your own bat
Learn to fold bat origami
Compare your hand to a bat's
Experience a night in the life of a bat biologist
And more!

Photo by Imran Razik

Photo by Gregg Cohen

Interesting exhibits highlighting the ecology, diversity, and conservation of bats:

Meet a live bat!
Specimens from the OSU museum collection
Learn how to set up a bat box
Enjoy bat artwork
And more, including tables from:
- Bat Conservation International
- Ohio Division of Wildlife
- Columbus Metro Parks
- Ohio Wildlife Rehabilitation Association
- Discover Bats Ohio
- US Fish & Wildlife