Live weta trick wins crowd (+video)

TV and radio personality "Bug Man" Ruud Kleinpaste entertains young and old alike at the Rotorua Museum. Photo / Ben Fraser

Hundreds of locals and visitors flocked to the museum for a day packed with native chicks, creepy crawlies and aerodynamics.

The Rotorua Museum hosted its free interactive family day on Saturday, organised to raise awareness of the plight of native falcons and to show how their eco-system works.

TV and radio personality "Bug Man" Ruud Kleinpaste was one of the big draws for the event, who encouraged people to bring along a critter from the backyard to show him.

Wingspan director Debbie Stewart gave talks about the native birds and people had the opportunity to view two new chicks at their home on the museum's roof via live video in the foyer.

Rotorua Museum event co-ordinator Kathy Nicholls said museum staff were pleased with how the day went.

"The turnout was great for all the events throughout the day. Debbie had to run two separate talks because the first talk filled up so quickly.

"We had a lot of people commenting on the good things about the event so all in all I think it was a success."

Carol Carr took a group of children to the museum to make the most of the talks and exhibitions on offer.

"The whole day was really good. The children I took were between the ages of eight and nine and all the talks were really engaging and interactive.

"The kids found the Bug Man hilarious, he had them in fits of laughter and the kids were squirming when he put a live weta in his mouth."

She said everyone had a good time and it was important to support the local museum.

Ms Carr's son Jeremy, 9, said he really enjoyed his day out.

"One of my favourite things was the falcon show because you got to see the actual baby falcons.

"I also really liked the Bug Man because he put the weta in his mouth and it was hilarious."

- For video of "Bug Man" Ruud Kleinpaste, go to www.dailypost.co.nz