And another competition from a source we have featured previously. Usually, jewellery is not part of our remit, but the Muse Butterfly Hunt takes you to some amazing sims – including some we’ve featured in Prim Perfect.
As happened last time, a variety of sims are involved, giving you a chance to explore the Second Life grid, as well as finding the most super jewellery prizes.
Let the press release fill in the details:
Over the weekend of May 16-18, 2008, there will be a massive migration of Random Calliope’s Ode Butterflies through Second Life. Commencing on Friday, May 16 from the Science Friday sim, the Ode butterflies will wind their way throughout SL to commemorate the opening of the North American Monarch Butterfly Exhibit at the Science Friday sim and in general raise awareness of the awe-inspiring real life annual North American Monarch Butterfly migration.
Random Calliope is a creator of wearable art. He is a master craftsman and the work that he does with microprims is truly breathtaking. He has been creating jewelry in SL for almost three years and while he has created pieces that have fetched some truly awe inspiring sums for charity, what may be equally impressive are the pieces he creates simply to give away. Ode to Caledon is such a collection.
The Science Friday Group in Second Life are fans of National Public Radio’s Science Friday show, which is broadcast every Friday live in Second Life, from 11 AM to 1 PM SLT. Science Friday is also broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide as part of NPR’s ‘Talk of the Nation’ programming. Each week, Science Friday focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. In Second Life, Science Friday listeners gather for a lively chat discussion of the program. One of the recent segments was on the migration of monarch butterflies.
The butterfly hunts that allow one to obtain Ode jewelry are a homage to the once very popular community butterfly hunts of days gone by, but this time with a science and conservation twist. Proper gentlemen and gentlewomen would pack their picnic baskets in the spring and summer and head off to the nearest flowered field. There they would use their butterfly nets to capture prized butterflies of infinite variety.
The Ode monarch migration hunt is a hunt to see and learn, not to capture. The community gathers in a field to look for butterflies. They may be in trees, floating around, in the grass, or anywhere a butterfly might be found. The hunts work in this way. Pieces of Ode jewelry are put in selected butterflies and then released in a pack of decoy butterflies. There is a script contained in each butterfly that allows it to fly in a random pattern around the sim. When the hunt begins the participants need to find and click on the butterflies to receive a prize.
This special monarch migration will include science elements: a map of the monarch migration in the real world, a sculpted milkweed flower demonstrating the relationship between butterfly pollinated plants and the conservation of species, free milkweed plants so that you can learn to recognize the plants upon which these butterflies survive, an exhibit of butterflies under the microscope, and the conservation measures that you can take at home to conserve these precious insects in real life.
Monarch butterflies ARE living jewels!
Ode is an 8 piece jewelry set (hair piece, earrings, necklace, pendant, brooch, bracelet, ring) which at this moment has 22 color variations. The challenge is to complete full sets of one color for your Ode butterfly collection; however, Ode pieces can only be obtained through participating in Ode Butterfly hunts and/or through trading with other collectors. New varieties of butterflies are occasionally added and some variations such as the Platinum and the Shades of Golden are extremely rare.
To stay informed of when the Ode Butterfly Hunts are beginning please join the Ode Butterfly Collectors Subscription group by clicking on a kiosk at either Random’s WorthWhile Gallery in Ode or the Science Friday sim.
For more information on Science Friday, visit us for a Friday 11 AM broadcast at the landmark below, and join the Science Friday group for updates.
For More Information about the monarch migration event in Second Life Contact:
Bjorlyn Loon, Science Friday
Elizabeth Tinsley, for Random Calliope Second Life
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Ode Migration Schedule
Saturday
Biome Noon slt
Shengri La 6pm SLT with dance following at 7pm
Sunday
Commonwealth 8am slt
La Reve 1pm slt
Vist Mexico Ruta Maya 5pm slt
Prim Perfect 
I attended my first hunt on Biome today. It takes a lot patience and a sharp eye to spy the beautiful creatures.
The hunt organizers provided a wonderful setting and great hospitality. An information sign near the teleport point gave me an entire folder of butterfly hunt items including clothing, wings, my own monarch and milkweed.
Biome is a wonderful sim for those who love science. I plan to return when it isn’t so crowded and explore.
This is definitely recommended for lovers of nature, science, or jewelry, and particularly if you happen to be all three!
Thanks for the complement Qwis. Hope to see you on Biome again soon! Clowey Greenwood, manager of Biome.