Facilities

The Department of Entomology has access to highly sophisticated research facilities. The Plant Sciences Building, located on the College Park campus, houses most of the Department's activity. Its offices, laboratories, environmental chambers, multimedia classrooms, video-conferencing rooms, teaching theatre, and lecture halls provide an excellent environment for research, teaching, and learning.

Faculty and students also have access to a state-of-the-art greenhouse on campus. Completed in 2003, the greenhouse/nursery area is a 2-acre site with 45,000 square feet in greenhouse space and an outdoor nursery area.

Plants grown in the greenhouse are used for research by faculty and students. Research projects are either conducted on-site, or plants are raised for studies in laboratories.

Many courses in the Department have laboratory sections taught by faculty and graduate student teaching assistants in their field of expertise. Facilities include microscopes, wireless laptops, and a teaching insect collection of more than 5,000 specimens.        

The University has a number of farms, organized as Research and Education Centers, scattered around the state. These locations are useful not only for field/fruit crop and green industry research, but also for research that requires access to wetland, stream, and forest habitats.

The Entomology Department is involved in outreach to educate the general public through science education. One aspect of the program focuses on teaching young children how insects can be beneficial to humans. Graduate students in the Department often volunteer to participate in the outreach activities in various locations across Maryland.