Bug man brings show to Sycamore

Hissing cockroaches, bird-eating spiders, tarantulas and giant millipedes are a few of the bugs Ruud Kleinpaste comes into contact with on a regular basis.

Next week, the star of Animal Planet's "Buggin' with Ruud" will bring his vast knowledge of all things creepy and crawly to Sycamore.

"This is going to be a marvelous event," said Chris Brodnicki, executive director of the Midwest Museum of Natural History.

Brodnicki is a fan of the show, and has been e-mailing Kleinpaste, a New Zealand native, for about a year asking him to make a stop at the museum if he was ever in the United States.

Kleinpaste, called "the Steve Irwin of bugs," was in New York recently to do some filming, and was scheduled on several late-night talk shows, Brodnicki said.

But with the Hollywood writers strike, those appearances were canceled and the events in Sycamore were scheduled.

He will give a presentation at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Sycamore High School, 555 Spartan Trail.

Kleinpaste has been working with local vendor Jansen Exotics to get the "biggest" bugs possible for his shows, Brodnicki said. Millipedes, scorpions and tarantulas are expected.

A large projector screen will be there so everyone can see what Kleinpaste is working with, Brodnicki said.

A few hundred tickets are still left at a price of $20.

Kleinpaste also will be available to talk to people at a showing at the museum, 425 W. State Street in Sycamore, from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday. The price of admission is $5.

To order tickets, call the Midwest Museum of Natural History at (815) 895-9777 or (815) 895-4366.