NORWICH – Join the Chenango Arts Council (CAC) and Friends of Rogers (FOR) for “Bat Appreciation!” during the 19th annual Pumpkin Fest.

Beginning at 6 p.m. on October 27, this interactive presentation will take place in the Mariea Brown and Raymond Loft Galleries, where a unique bat exhibit will be on display through November 3.

New York State is home to at least nine species of bats, an unusual order of winged mammals, often nocturnal and generally insectivores. Contrary to popular belief, they are not blind. Bats have eyes and can see, just not very well. Flying insects are more abundant at night, when light is scarce, so bats use echolocation - the ability to create high-pitched sounds, which bounce off objects and return to the mammal’s highly sensitive ears. Bats play an important role in the control of insects, especially mosquitos. A single bat can devour as many as a thousand insects in one night, and a family of bats can help control insect populations for a whole neighborhood.

In an effort to offer an immersive visual learning experience, the CAC has sourced a collection of taxidermied bats. The bats on display at the event were collected over 50 years ago by Professor Emeritus Robert Goodwin of Colgate University’s Biology Department, and are now on loan to the CAC with the assistance of Timothy McCay, Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at Colgate University.