With a history dating back more than 100 years, the May Natural History Museum attracts curious kids, tourists and trained entomologists from all over the world to investigate the 7,000-plus insects on display. Started by James Frederick May, a naturalist who collected insects over his lifetime, the museum is one of the largest private collections of tropical insects in the United States.
Set on Golden Eagle Ranch, the May Museum is a family-owned and operated business located in Colorado Springs since the 1950s. Families and visitors of all ages visit the museum and picnic on the grounds, which are home to hiking trails and wildlife.
A Family History
“Folks love our family history because it’s so crazy unique,” says Diana Fruh, the current director of the May Museum.
Currently, the museum is co-operated by some of James Frederick May’s great-grandchildren including Fruh and her cousins R.J. Steer and Carrie Woolf. May collected insects from all over the world including Brazil, Africa, Canada and North and South America. He also traded with other bug collectors to acquire new species from areas where he hadn’t traveled.
James May’s son, John May, then took the collection that was stored in the family home and turned it into a traveling show business. John May built all the cases for the insects using skills he learned from a German cabinet maker in order to keep the insects in airtight storage displays for preservation.
The traveling show toured state and county fairs back in the 1930s and 1940s. The family originally opened a museum in Florida, but found that the location wasn’t ideal. Luckily, the family fell in love with the front range of Colorado and the dry climate was perfect for preserving the specimens.
Looking Toward the Future
Fruh says one of their hopes is that the museum will foster kids’ interest in bugs and the natural world so they will grow up wanting to make a difference in the environment.
“The collection is a serious scientific collection from an entomology perspective,” Fruh says.
Many visitors go to the May Museum for the nostalgia of returning to a place they remember visiting as a child. The museum is an educational opportunity to learn about a large variety of insects including butterflies, moths, spiders and beetles. Visitors can also marvel at Herkimer, a statue replica of one of the world’s largest beetles. The statue is 48 times larger than the actual Dynastes Hercules beetle. One of the favorite displays for kids is a flying fox, one of the largest bats in the world.
The museum is open daily from 9 am-6 pm May 1 through October 1 and continues to host school groups and by-appointment showings throughout the year. This fall, the May Museum is planning to host a Halloween event called Boo with the Bugs.
Fruh notes, “Our very unique little venue is one of a kind.”
“How many cities can say they have a bug museum, right?” she says, laughing.
Website: https://www.coloradospringsbugmuseum.com
Facebook: @MayBugMuseum
Instagram: @May.Museum