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UC Riverside's roach petting zoo lures students
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More from Education: CollegeRIVERSIDE (AP) — Thinking about UC Riverside for college? Then come pet our cockroaches!
That's the message UC Riverside is using to attract students and parents to an upcoming recruitment fair that will feature a cockroach petting zoo.
The zoo will include several species of roach, including ones that emit a foul, ammonialike scent and the famous, palm-sized Madagascar hissing cockroach.
Also in plentiful supply: rubber gloves for the squeamish.
The Nov. 3 event targets local high school students interested in careers as science teachers or engineers, said Steve Gomez, co-director of Copernicus Project, one of two campus programs sponsoring the event.
It's the second time this year that UC Riverside, which has a well-respected entomology department, has used the cockroach zoo to entice potential recruits.
"Everybody gets grossed out at first," Gomez said. "But then they find out what uses they have in agriculture, like pest elimination." Of course, he wasn't exactly thrilled to pet the bugs. "I held it for about five seconds and I gladly gave it back."
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