Steve Schutz, a postdoctoral researcher in the Bruce Eldridge lab at UC Davis, introduced the Roach Races to the university’s annual Picnic Day event in 1992, according to an April 14 announcement. The event has since become a popular attraction hosted by the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Student Association.
The Roach Races draw crowds each year and are seen as a way to engage visitors with entomology through an interactive activity. The cockroaches used for the races are American cockroaches bred in a campus research lab, and they compete on tracks built specifically for this purpose.
Sharon Lawler, professor emerita at UC Davis, confirmed that Schutz brought the tradition from Rutgers University. “A Cockroach Derby had been a feature of the Rutgers Ag Field Day, now Rutgers Day,” Lawler said. “He brought the tradition here.” Schutz himself wrote: “When I was a postdoc in Bruce Eldridge’s lab, I volunteered for the Picnic Day Committee (would have been 1992) and suggested that we add ‘cockroach races’ to the event. I got the idea from the Rutgers Entomology Department where I did my MS/PhD work…I thought it would also be a hit at UC Davis, although there was initially some scepticism, and apparently I was correct, since they’re still doing it. The SRA (senior staff research associate) from the lab next door built the racetracks based on my description of the design.” That senior staff research associate was Marvin Kinsey.
Kinsey constructed the first racetrack using Schutz’s design description and contributed other innovations during his career at UC Davis. Yao Hua Law, who served as race director while earning his doctorate at UC Davis in 2010, described how participants handle cockroaches with gloved hands and involve volunteers from undergraduate and graduate students: “There are always mixed reactions from the crowd…Some people…are always excited…Others may be disgusted…Surprisingly nobody steps on the runaway roach. We rear these cockroaches ourselves….Yes, roach racing is an integrated part of our annual Picnic Day event.” Forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey provided cockroaches for recent events.
The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources supports such outreach activities by securing funding through public contributions according to its official website. It promotes sustainable practices aimed at resilient ecosystems and economic vitality according to its official website, utilizing nine research centers representing California’s diverse environments according to its official website. The organization is recognized for connecting research with community needs according to its official website as part of managing Cooperative Extension services within California’s university system according to its official website. Each year it conducts over thirty-three thousand educational events with more than eighteen thousand volunteers involved according to its official website.
The continued popularity of Roach Races reflects ongoing efforts by university programs like those supported by University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources to make science accessible while fostering engagement between researchers and local communities.
