About Travelbugs Mobile Mini-beasts

        Travelbugs Mobile Mini-beasts is a fun 'hands-on' mobile education service that travels all over NSW (and beyond) educating people of all ages about the benefits and wonders of invertebrates or 'mini-beasts' (insects, spiders, snails, millipedes etc) within our environment. Every workshop includes a hands-on mini-beast experience not to be forgotten! Live mini-beasts brought along include large and colourful stick insects, centipedes,  millipedes, giant burrowing cockroaches, preying mantis, spiders, scorpions, beetles, caterpillars and more. A large collection of over 200 specimens of preserved mini-beasts or ‘biofacts’ are also brought along including sea shells, urchins, starfish, sponges, corals, cocoons, eggs, eggs cases, skins, preserved insects etc.

Travelbugs Mobile Mini-beasts were awarded the 'Frater Award for Excellence' in School Performance (Environmental Science Education) by the NSW Department of Education in both 2004 and 2006.

        Travelbugs Mobile Mini-beasts also offers services to the media and has featured on several popular television programs in Australia such as Creature Features, Gardening Australia, Playschool, Burke's Backyard, Sunrise and Better Homes & Gardens.
        Travelbugs Mobile Mini-beasts also sources, breeds and sells live and preserved mini-beasts for displays and research. Travelbugs has supplied services to several pet stores around NSW, as well as media production companies, galleries, artists, museums, expos, zoos and wildlife parks around Australia.

        Travelbugs Mobile Mini-beasts has been operating for over 8 years and is owned and operated by Jacqui Love. For more information about the presenter, see the "About the Presenter and Owner, Jacqui Love" section below.

Keep up to date with what we are doing by checking out the 'News" Section regularly. Here you can find out about upcoming events, breeding news, media appearances and other special events or offers.

How can I organise a visit or something else from Travelbugs Mobile Mini-beasts?

It’s Easy. Go to the Contact Us page and either email or phone us with your requirements and details.
We will need to to know:
- Your School or Centre Name (and/or type of venue)
- Your address (both postal & street location)
- A Contact Name
- Phone Number & / or Email Address
- Approximate No. of attendees
- Age Range or stage of attendees
- Any Preferred dates / times
- The type of workshops or exhibtion you require (ie. Primary school, Pre-school, Fete, Open Day, Library etc).
- Any special topics you would like us to cover or activities you would like us to co-ordinate.

BOOK NOW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT!

SOME VACANCIES STILL AVAILABLE FOR 2010!

Costs vary depending upon number of students, location and type of workshop or exhibion involved. For more information go to Services -> Workshops and look under your type of institution or business for a more accurate estimate. Or contact us directly for a customised quote!

Risk Assessments and Management Plans are now available for these incursions.

About the Presenter and Owner, Jacqui Love

        Jacqui was a Senior Zookeeper at Sydney's Taronga Zoo for almost 10 years. Although she has experience and knowledge of a broad variety of animals, invertebrates and other "mini-beasts" have always been closest to her heart. She developed invertebrate colonies and displays and conducted extensive invertebrate research for Taronga Zoo during her time there. Several years before, she worked at the Sydney Tropical Butterfly House, once located at Dural in Sydney’s northwest where she presented workshops, lectures and tours to schools groups several times per week, as well as cared for and bred a variety of mini-beast species.

        She has kept over 200 different species of LIVE spiders, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, butterflies, grasshoppers, crickets, flies, cockroaches, beetles, worms, preying mantis, stick insects, crayfish, snails, ants and bees and the list continues to grow.

        She possesses a diverse range of qualifications including a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Science from Charles Sturt University, the Zookeeping and Animal Attending Certificates from the Sydney Institute of Technology and an assortment of other specialty courses such as Spider Identification, Herpetological Techniques, Aquarium Science and Beekeeping. She also taught the Invertebrate component of the Zookeeping Certificate through the Sydney Institute of Technology for 3 years and recently taught Animal Studies at Bathurst And Orange TAFE in 2005-2006.

        Jacqui has been operating Travelbugs Mobile Mini-beasts for over 8 years and intends to continue to develop it wherever possible.