Offering Consulting Services for Live Invertebrate Exhibits for Zoos, Museums, Botanical Gardens, and Stand-Alone Insect Centers.
Kallima Consultants, Inc. was established in June 1998 in response to numerous inquiries from around the world for advice on invertebrate exhibits.
Traditional zoos have emphasized “charismatic megafauna” such as mammals, birds, and reptiles. Invertebrates, however, represent more than 75% of all species on earth. Recently, many zoos, museums, botanical gardens, and science centers have incorporated live arthropods within their facilities. These highly popular displays continue to expand in scope and number, educating the public about these often misunderstood and under-appreciated animals.
For example, live butterfly exhibits are popular attractions around the world. Most people who claim to dislike insects make an exception for butterflies, making them ideal ambassadors for the invertebrate world.
The delicate nature of these animals makes exhibiting them a complex endeavor. Facilities housing living invertebrates for public display must take into account government regulatory issues, containment needs, horticultural needs, lighting, temperature, humidity, and many other factors.
The staff of Kallima Consultants, Inc., through their experience in founding the Butterfly Pavilion and Insect Center in Westminster, Colorado, and through continued association with similar facilities and colleagues worldwide, remains on the leading edge of invertebrate exhibit technology.
In addition to regular consulting work for new and established invertebrate exhibits, Kallima Consultants, Inc. served the industry by managing the International Association of Butterfly Exhibitors and Suppliers during its startup years from September 2001 to December 2005. We continue to remain active in the organization through sponsorship and serving on several committees (visit the IABES website at http://iabes.org for more information).
We specialize in:
- start-up, design, fabrication, and initial operation of live invertebrate displays
- working closely with the client to develop custom exhibits that fit their specific needs and budget
- preventing costly architectural mistakes commonly encountered by inexperienced exhibit designers
- compliance with government regulatory agencies, ever-changing containment guidelines, and import permit regulations
Since 1988, the principals at Kallima Consultants, Inc. have visited more than 100 butterfly houses, butterfly farms, and insect zoos worldwide, giving us a broad perspective of the industry as a whole. Adding our experience to your project team can save you time and money, preventing costly mistakes made by others in the past.
E-mail us at AskArtie@aol.com for more information, and for a list of our clients, past and present, including the scope of our work with them.