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Group tours.

Mizzou’s Group Tour program welcomes in-person visits for students in grades 8-12. Visits are available Tuesday-Thursday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Requests are limited by staff and space availability.

Group visits typically include an Admissions presentation (tailored to the age of the group) and a campus tour. Please allow at least two and a half hours for group visits. No transportation is provided for in-person visits, so please plan accordingly.

Mizzou requires that a chaperone accompany every ten students visiting and chaperones must attend all sessions with their students, including the campus tour. Visits are limited to 55 total people, including chaperones.

To request a date from our Group Visit calendar, please follow the link below and submit the request form. Your visit is not considered confirmed until you receive an email to confirm your date and time. Please do not book transportation or consider the visit confirmed until you have received an email from the Office of Admissions that your visit is scheduled.

Once the Office of Admissions has confirmed the date and time with you, Admissions staff will provide the chaperones with further instructions for that specific date.

For questions or more information about a virtual visit option, please contact [email protected] .

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Missouri S&T Missouri S&T

Future students.

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• futurestudents.mst.edu
• Visit S&T
• 205 Centennial Hall, 300 W. 12th Street, Rolla, MO 65409
• (573) 341-6731
• [email protected]

Visit Missouri S&T

On-campus visits.

Connect with the S&T team in-person at an on-campus special event or daily visit.

Learn more  

Virtual visits.

Connect with the S&T team virtually through one of our Zoom events. There are many options available.

Undergraduate Student Visits

Graduate student events, virtual tours, virtual campus tour.

Get a general, guided tour of campus and see all the popular locations - where you'll eat, live and learn as part of the Miner family.

Virtual Graduate Student Experience

Discover what it's like as a graduate student at S&T with this graduate focused tour - see the labs, facilities and common buildings you'll be using.

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Discover MORE at the University of Missouri-St. Louis

Imagine yourself thriving at UMSL, where more is what moves us . Here, you'll join a bustling crowd of dedicated students, staff and faculty, all driven to make a difference in their lives, communities, and the world.

During your personalized tour, you'll be paired with a friendly student ambassador who will become your campus compass and your window into the vibrant world of a Triton . Together, you will journey through the winding paths of campus, stopping to visit key buildings such as the Millennium Student Center, Recreation and Wellness Center, Residence Halls, Mercantile and Thomas Jefferson libraries, dining areas and much more. This isn't just a tour; it's a glimpse into your future – a future brimming with possibilities.

• Weekday Daily Campus Visits , Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday - every 2 hours available
• Academic Specialty Tours , Mondays or Wednesdays
• Saturday Tours , select Saturday mornings

Group Tour offerings available

Are you a middle or high school, TRIO or outside group looking to schedule a tour? Please contact our UMSL Welcome Center at  [email protected]  or call (314) 516-4104 to discuss visit options for your group.

Connect with Our Academic Programs

Many UMSL degree programs host information sessions and virtual chats that allow you to explore majors, discover research and involvement options, and connect with faculty. These insightful UMSL events provide an excellent opportunity to learn more about academic offerings that align with your interests.

Academic Information Sessions

Visitor Information

One of the best ways to learn about the University of Missouri–St. Louis is to explore our campus in person. View our campus map and find directions and transportation information. Enjoy your time on campus! 

UMSL is located on I-70 , Exit 240, Florissant Rd. toward University Blvd. 20 minutes from Downtown St. Louis

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From downtown, the riverfront and the Gateway Arch to St. Louis Cardinal baseball, toasted ravioli and gooey butter cake, discover everything our city has to offer as you earn your UMSL degree.

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Wondering if the University of Central Missouri is the ideal place for you? When you visit, you’ll see for yourself what it's like to be part of our campus community. You can take a tour, meet with your future professors, talk with current students and even have lunch on us! Your campus visit will help you make an informed decision about your college future.

On-Campus Tours & Visits

While UCM offers several ways to view our beautiful campus, nothing is quite like being here. Seeing the buildings in person and feeling the energy on campus is the best way to experience what UCM has to offer you. Contact us today and we'll work together with you to create a tour tailored to you.

Our on-campus tours and visits are great for h igh school and transfer students of all levels.

Schedule an On-Campus Tour!

Additional campus visit options

Open House and Junior Day

UCM has several Open House options that are a great way to come to campus and learn more about what UCM has to offer you. Types of open houses you can choose from:

• Junior Preview Day
• College Showcase Day
• Discover Central Open House
• Transfer Visit Day
• Saturday Visit Day

Open Houses are ideal for high school and transfer students.

Open House Options

Admitted Senior Day

High school Senior who is admitted to UCM? This day is just the day for you! Admitted Senior Day is your day to come meet other students, find your roommate, learn more about what's next to become a UCM student, and have fun!

Missouri Innovation Campus / UCM Lee's Summit Visits

UCM Lee’s Summit is housed in The Missouri Innovation Campus, our state-of-the-art 137,000 square foot facility.  

Missouri Innovation Campus tours are great for transfer students or prospective students looking to take classes with UCM Lee's Summit.

To visit, email [email protected] or call 816-347-1612 and ask for Rick Smetana or Laura Emery.

Two ways to virtually view UCM

Additional Information

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• Graduate School Tours
• Group Tours of Campus

If you are interested in participating in NCAA athletics at UCM, we recommend that you contact a UCM Athletics  staff member. Undergraduate Admissions and the campus visit office is unable to set up any meetings with athletic coaches.

GPS address for campus visits: Ward Edwards Building   108 W. South St.   Warrensburg, MO 64093

Visitor parking   is located east of the Ward Edwards Building on South St. There is a parking lot attendant at the entrance.

For questions, contact the Campus Visit Office at [email protected] or call 660-543-8501.

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ON-CAMPUS VISIT OPPORTUNITIES

EXPERIENCE CAMPUS WHEREVER YOU ARE

Virtual One-On-Ones

College Planning Webinars

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Virtual Tour

Take a virtual tour

Customize your visit.

Summer Visit Days

Admitted Student Mondays

Mark your calendar.

View our upcoming visit events, learn how to register and more.

Narrow down your options

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Plan your trip

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Missouri Western is committed to providing a fulfilling, safe on-campus experience. Please visit our COVID-19 website for more information.

Schedule a Visit

The best way to learn about life as a Griffon is to see it for yourself! We invite you to visit our beautiful campus in person or virtually and see what possibilities await you at Missouri Western. Select from the following visit options:

Can’t make it to campus? Take our virtual tour! See our academic buildings, residence halls, athletics facilities and the community of St. Joseph, and envision your life as a Griffon!

Information Session & Campus Tour

9:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. | Monday through Friday 10 a.m. | On select Saturdays On Campus

Enjoy an admissions presentation and walking tour through our beautiful campus.

Individual Visit

9 a.m. & 1 p.m. | Monday through Friday On Campus

Griffon Experience

Saturday, October 12, 2024 Saturday, March 1, 2025

Explore everything Missouri Western has to offer at our Spring Griffon Experience (Open House) event.

More Information Coming Soon!

Group Visits

High schools and community organizations can request a special group visit. Group visits typically include a presentation about our university and a campus tour.

Faculty Meetings (Summer Hours)

If you are interested in meeting with faculty, please schedule your visit on a Monday through Friday. We will attempt to accommodate all requests during summer visit days, but faculty members may not be available to meet during your trip to campus.

Inclement Weather

During the winter months, inclement weather may cause the university to start late or close. Weather-related notices will be posted on Missouri Western’s website and social media accounts.

University of Missouri-St. Louis

Campus tours, the welcome center at umsl is the tour headquarters for the campus:.

Let our welcome team show you all that UMSL has to offer. Your visit to campus will include a walking tour of campus with an optional tour of university housing. If you would like to speak to an admissions representative to learn more about UMSL, virtual one-on-one meetings are available by appointment. While graduate students are welcome to attend a tour, they should also reach out to their graduate program of interest to schedule a program-specific visit with faculty and advisors. Cannot visit campus in-person? Experience UMSL by taking our virtual tour ! TOURS SCHEDULE Monday – Friday: 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

University of Missouri

Spring awakening

Exploring the campus canopy through the Mizzou Botanic Garden’s tree trails.

Published on Show Me Mizzou April 30, 2024 Story by Jack Wax, BS Ed ’73, MS ’76, MA ’87 

The trees on campus are hiding a secret. Actually, three secrets. With the right maps, three self-guided tree trails through the Mizzou Botanic Garden reveal themselves. 

Each path winds through picture-perfect areas of the 1,252-acre campus garden and offers its own floral settings and varieties of trees. The magnolia butterflies along the Memorial Union route, the golden rain tree along the Jesse Hall trail and the common eastern red cedar growing along the Lowry Mall route add color to trails that include exotic as well as Missouri native trees.

“It’s a great way for people to enjoy the garden and to get a feel for it,” says Chris Starbuck, associate professor emeritus, plant science and technology. “It’s a little intimidating at first to walk through the campus and wonder just what it is that you’re looking at.” 

Tree huggers, plant geeks and anyone who enjoys the outdoors can learn more about their favorite trees or find a new favorite by taking a 30-minute stroll along the paths. “Although fall and spring are favorite times to explore the garden, there’s something beautiful to see every season,” Starbuck says.

A map is a must. Maps of each trail and descriptive factsheets are available to download at the Mizzou Botanic Garden website. By following the paths, stopping to read the plaques that identify the trees and reading the accompanying descriptive fact sheets, visitors learn more about the ecosystem that is the Mizzou campus and gain a deeper appreciation of the natural world. 

Of the three tree trails, the Jesse Hall Loop is the longest, with 50 identified trees. Starbuck recommends the Memorial Union Loop for first-timers. It’s the shortest trail and is most accessible for people who rely on wheelchairs or have limited mobility. The Lowry Mall Loop (Ellis Library) has fewer labeled trees but does identify 29 of them embedded among an extensive assortment of colorful plants. 

Looking for a deeper dive into the garden? In addition to the self-guided trails, visitors can explore on their own the 18 specialty gardens tucked into the Mizzou Botanic Garden or arrange for small-group guided walking tours led by garden volunteers, such as Starbuck, who select routes based on what’s in bloom. This year, a new guided tour is being added to the guides’ repertoire: the Discovery route, which starts across from the student center at the Thomas and Alice Payne Plaza and showcases herbs used in pharmaceuticals. 

To read more articles like this, become a Mizzou Alumni Association member and receive MIZZOU magazine in your mailbox.  Click here to join.

MIZZOU magazine Spring 2024

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Nothing can compare to an in-person visit of Southeast Missouri State University.

When we ask our students why they chose Southeast, they always say, "when I visited, I just fell in love." A campus tour is the perfect way to see the beauty of the campus that overlooks the Mississippi from atop the hill. With a mix of history and modern amenities, Southeast is the place to build a home. You have to see it. 

Schedule a Tour  

Show Me Day

It's our premier visit day held a few times each fall and spring. You'll get to meet individually with your admission counselor, tour campus, see residence halls, walk through our campus life fair, see classes and labs in college open houses, and sample the dining. It's all here to help you discover if SEMO feels right for your future.

Visit Friday

This fall, we'd like to invite you to campus and give you a sneak peek at what SEMO has to offer you! Join us for Visit Days for a mini-college fair, a tour of campus with a current student, get questions answered, all from our iconic Academic Hall.

Explore Virtually

We learned that you can get a pretty good look at our campus from the comfort of your own home. So whether you’re not ready for in-person or you just can’t fit a trip to campus into you’re schedule, we’ve got you covered.

Special Events

In addition to personal tours, we often host a variety of special events on campus and virtually, and you’re always invited. Check out what’s coming up.

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Your Complete Guide to Campus Tours

Explore colleges, plan a visit, and envision yourself on campus.

✦ For Parents: How to Plan a College Visit with BigFuture Live ✦

Campus visit checklist.

The academics, the facilities, the campus life. So much to see! This checklist can help you decide if the college is right for you.

Campus Visits: Know Before You Go

Exploring campuses is well worth your while. These visits are a great way to get a feel for what college is like and decide which school is right for you.

For Parents: How to Plan a College Visit

Do you want to know how to make a college list? A list can help you find colleges that will fit you best once you understand your options, needs, and goals.

10 Ways to Learn About Colleges Virtually

Discover without limits: Learn about colleges virtually from the comfort of your home

Create Your College List to Qualify for a $40k Scholarship

How to qualify.

Earn entries in monthly drawings for $500 and $40,000 scholarships by completing the six qualifying steps on BigFuture. If you don’t win, your entry rolls over for the next month. To enter without creating an account, see official rules.

Increase Chances to Win

Students whose families earn less than $60,000 a year have more chances to earn scholarships. Don’t wait, create your college list and secure your future.

History, Geography and EDM Visit Day

Monday, october 14, 2024 9:00 a.m. - 1:45 p.m..

Registration is required. To reserve a spot, register online or call 800.633.1175.

Trouble submitting the registration form? Scroll up and ensure all required fields have been completed.

Registration coming soon!

Registration is closed.

Schedule of Events

* Schedule subject to change *

All activities are held in the J.W. Jones Student Union unless otherwise specified.

Individual academic appointments are not available during Discover Your Major visit days. If interested in scheduling an appointment, please refer to our Daily Visit .

Description

Explore majors in Emergency & Disaster Management , Geography , History , GIS , and Social Studies: History Education . This day includes interacting with current Northwest faculty and students. The event will highlight Northwest with a campus tour and information sessions. Students will learn how the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences can further their career goals and will have a chance to explore their major in depth.

Register Online

You will have the opportunity to:

• Talk with the department faculty and students majoring in related fields
• Learn about careers in Humanities and Social Sciences
• Tour our classrooms
• Explore the Northwest Campus
• Financial Assistance
• Campus Housing
• Student Life

Career Ready. Day One.

Northwest ensures students are career ready, day one through internships, field experiences and networking opportunities. Read Sam's story »

Sam Spencer Criminology

Why a major in Humanities and Social Sciences?

• 91% of department majors participate in internships and field experiences
• Innovative classrooms and courses
• Active participation in the Supplemental Instruction program
• Faculty-to-student ratio 15:1
• Criminal Justice
• Criminology
• Data Science: Geographic Information Systems
• Emergency & Disaster Management
• Geographic Information Science
• International Studies
• Liberal Arts & Sciences
• Military Science
• Political Science
• Public History & Museum Studies
• Social Science Education
• Stoa Talks – a public forum for the presentation of student research
• Scholastica – an undergraduate research journal
• Missouri Hope – an emergency and disaster simulation
• Missouri Show Me Gold – the Missouri Army National Guard Officer Leadership program
• History Club
• Criminal Justice Club
• Young Democrats
• College Republicans
• No Labels Political Science Club
• Emergency & Disaster Management Club
• 4 Academic Honor Societies
• 98% of our students are in a career within 6 months of graduation

Most importantly, the faculty and staff of the department—and university—are committed to student success. They make themselves available to assist students in whatever way they can. If we can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to ask.

Have a question about a major or minor in the department? Email us at [email protected]

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It's graduation weekend at the University of Missouri. Here's what to expect.

More than 5,500 degrees will be awarded at the University of Missouri in 14 ceremonies starting Friday and ending Sunday during Commencement Weekend.

Most ceremonies will take place in Mizzou Arena or Jesse Auditorium.

Take note: Traffic will be heavy at times on Stadium Boulevard near campus. Motorists may want to consider alternate routes.

Next weekend is graduation weekend for Columbia Public Schools, with most ceremonies also in Mizzou Arena. There are just four of them.

The graduates come from all 50 states and 44 countries. Nearly 950 will be the first in their families to have graduated college .

There were 634 who completed their degrees online.

“I’m so proud of our graduates for their hard work and commitment to excellence,” said University of Missouri System President Mun Choi in a news release. Here's how MU graduates fared, according to career outcomes survey (columbiatribune.com)

Ashley Cade , of Kansas City, will graduate at 8:30 a.m. Saturday with the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources in Mizzou Arena. Her degree is in environmental studies with an emphasis in atmospheric science.

She has been in the Meteorology Club since her freshman year, the COVID year, she said by phone.

"It's like a family for me," Cade said. "Just a bunch of weirdos who love the weather. It's really fun."

Now, she's the club's vice president and it has a record number of members, she said.

The forecast for her graduation day is 77 and sunny.

After graduation, she will work as a radar meteorologist for the North Dakota Atmospheric Science Board. She also will study cloud seeding and hail suppression.

She's preparing herself for harsh winters in North Dakota, she said.

From the other side of the state in St. Louis, Jamalon Alonso will graduate with the Sinclair School of Nursing at 6 p.m. Friday in Jesse Auditorium.

She was in the first cohort of students to use the nursing school's new, modernized building .

"The facility is absolutely fabulous," Alonso said of the building during a Tuesday phone conversation.

She also is on the Golden Girls dance team and was team captain her senior year. She attended the Cotton Bowl for the Tigers' victory there,

"That was one of my favorite experiences this year," Alonso said.

Another was traveling with Marchin Mizzou for the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland, she said.

Her area of study and career field was influenced by her parents, she said. Her dad is a doctor and her mom is a nurse.

"I have always had a lot of interest in the human body and anatomy and how the body works," Alonso said.

She has landed a job as a nurse on the general medicine floor at Missouri Baptist Hospital in her hometown, St. Louis.

That's not her end goal, she said.

"I have the intent of one day working in intensive care," Alonso said.

Beyond that, she plans to someday achieve another level in nursing by becoming a nurse practitioner, she said.

Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at [email protected] or 573-815-1719. He's on X at @rmckinney9.

College tour season is about to kick off. Here are 10 tips from college tour guides to have a successful campus visit.

• As spring starts, colleges around the country welcome parents and students to campus for tours. 
• College tour guides want people to arrive on time, ask the right questions, and have fun.
• They also recommend students take the tour on their own, without their parents.

Spring break is right around the corner, and for many high school students and their parents, that means many will be hitting the road to tour colleges around the country.

To make the most of your visit, Business Insider spoke with college students and tour guides. They know the campuses like the back of their hands, and they know how to walk backward.

Here are the dos and don'ts of college tours from student guides.

1. Get there with no time to spare, but don't be late

You won't get points for arriving early, so try to arrive on time. But if you do happen to arrive late , there's no need to worry.

"If something comes up and you are late, ask your guide what you missed once the tour finishes," Skyler Kawecki-Muonio, a senior at Sarah Lawrence College, told BI. "They will happily fill you in."

2. Dress to impress, but don't sacrifice comfort

It's important to look nice, but you don't have to don a jacket and tie. Tour-goers should put their best foot forward with a sturdy pair of walking shoes , and don't forget to dress for the weather.

"At Fairleigh Dickinson, tours go out rain or shine, so make sure to wear clothes that will keep you warm," Emily Bone, class of '25, said.

3. Don't forget to sign in, but skip the CV

Most schools have a check-in desk where you'll receive a campus map and other literature. But don't bother furnishing schools with your portfolio.

"Students can leave their resumes at home," Henry Millar, a senior at William & Mary, said. "Tour guides generally do not have any sway in the admissions process whatsoever, so feel free to save the paper."

4. Pay attention on the tour, but do it solo if possible

Some schools offer the option of letting parents and kids take separate tours, which has advantages.

"Get excited about your child's potential future in college, but give them some space to see what they think of that school on their own," Nathan Weisbrod, a junior at Wesleyan University, told BI.

Students can comfortably ask questions without a parent present and compare notes afterward.

5. Ask all your questions, but avoid personal interrogations

This is the time to inquire about any aspect of campus life , and don't feel shy about speaking up.

"Tour guides love getting questions because it allows us to cater the tour, especially in small groups, toward the needs and interests of the families on that specific tour," Halle Spataro, class of '24 at Bucknell University, said.

But some topics are off-limits, so don't ask your tour guide about their SAT/ACT scores or what they wrote about in their essay.

6. Speak up, but let the student take the lead

Parents may be tempted to raise their hand again and again, but this tour is about the student, so there should be space to let them shine.

"Try to take the backseat — or the passenger seat — but refrain from driving all of your child's interactions," Julian Jacklin, class of '25 at Reed College, said. "Students who feel they can own that experience usually ask the most questions and engage with the tour more."

7. Say thanks, but don't leave with questions unanswered

Maybe your guide didn't hear you, or your kid was reluctant to speak up. You can still get the information you want before leaving.

"There's a lot of information students are getting that day and a lot of excitement with being in a new place, which can make people forget to ask certain questions," Lorenzo Mars, a junior at Pepperdine University, said.

Therefore, get your tour guide's email address so that you can follow up afterward.

8. You may know exactly what school is right, but keep an open mind

Don't be surprised if a city-living kid is suddenly intrigued by a small-town setting.

"The college search and college experience are all about getting to know yourself better and growing, so on a tour, students have to trust themselves and their judgment of the 'world' they've just stepped into," Thomas Elias, class of '24 at University of Scranton, said.

9. Take in as much as you can, but remember to have fun

Sure, preparing for the next four years can be scary and stressful. But it's also an exciting milestone, so enjoy the ride.

"These tours serve as great opportunities to learn more about colleges — along with their cities, culture, and people," Connor Gee, a sophomore at the University of Mississippi, said. "Have fun with it!"

10. Weigh the pros and cons of the school, but don't stop there

Your tour may be over, but you can still learn other ways to immerse yourself in college life .

"See if the school offers additional experiences, like eating in the cafeteria or attending a class," Emily Balda, class of '24 at Seton Hall University, said. "Consider it 'food for thought.'"

If you enjoyed this story, be sure to follow Business Insider on Microsoft Start.

Visit Campus

Information session and campus tour.

Learn more about Vanderbilt from an admissions officer before you take a tour of our 340-acre, park-like campus.

Tour campus, get an inside look at our admissions process, participate in an admissions workshop designed to help you strengthen your application, hear from current students about life at VU and more through this half-day visit.

Class Visits

Get a deeper look into Vanderbilt academics by sitting in on a class. Class visits are available in each of our four undergraduate schools. 

Self-Guided Tour Only

Create your own tour: take a tour of campus at your own pace using our interactive Virtual Tour!

Organization Visits

Visiting Vanderbilt University with a group? Information sessions and campus tours are available for groups and organizations by submitting a request.  

Blair School of Music Visit Options

Information sessions and tours, class observation, and private lessons at Blair.

Pre-college Programs

Vanderbilt offers pre-college programs through Programs for Talented Youth, including summer residential programs and weekend courses. 

Parking, Lodging, and Nashville Visitor Information

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions is located at 2305 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN, 37203. 

Parking is at a premium in midtown Nashville. If you need to park on campus, parking is available for admissions visitors at a pay garage, 2525 West End Garage (for GPS directions, use 2550 Kensington Place, Nashville, TN), about a 10-minute walk to your admissions event. For admissions events, validation is available for up to 4 hours if you follow all parking instructions.

• Before leaving your car, you must follow the posted “Scan to Pay and Park” instructions.
• Follow the steps to set up your account by entering your license plate and credit card details to avoid being ticketed.
• After your admission visit, to validate your parking, you must visit the reception desk at the Office of Undergraduate Admissions or the checkout counter at the Vanderbilt Bookstore to scan a QR validation code. You may use this confirmation email as proof of attendance. Please check the bookstore hours before planning your visit.

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions is not responsible for ticketing or towing during your campus visit. Vehicles that need higher than 7-foot clearance are not able to park in the 2525 West End Garage.

Looking for a place to stay in Nashville? Vanderbilt maintains a list of local hotels for visitors. 

Nashville Visitor Information

Learn more about our hometown, Nashville , including food & dining, activities, arts & culture, shopping, and more. 

by Ryan Fagan | May 3, 2024

The teaching collection of cicadas in the UMSL Department of Biology. (Photo by Ryan Fagan)

Less than a month after an incredible natural phenomenon captured everyone’s attention – the solar eclipse on April 8 – another spectacle of nature is about to dominate headlines and fascinate Missourians. The cicadas are ready to emerge .

Billions of periodical cicadas (yes, with a ‘B’) have spent the past decade plus tucked away safely underground, and they’re about to rise and shine. You won’t be able to miss them, visibly or audibly.

University of Missouri–St. Louis Department of Biology entomologists Sara Miller and Aimee Dunlap were kind enough to join UMSL Daily for a conversation about what we all might see over the next month. Neither Miller nor Dunlap specialize in cicadas, but both are excited for this rare event. Miller’s primary area of study is the diversification of wasps, and Dunlap focuses on the foraging habits of insects, especially bees and flies.

It just so happens this is a historic cicada emergence, with two massive broods set to compete for attention at the same time. Brood 19 is on a 13-year cycle, meaning they’ve spent the past 13 years underground. Brood 13 is on a 17-year cycle. The last time these two broods emerged at the same time, in 1803, Thomas Jefferson was president. This will not happen again until 2245.

The broods won’t overlap much, though, mostly just in an area in central Illinois, around Springfield . Brood 19 will dominate Missouri, southern Illinois and Arkansas, along with other states throughout the South. Brood 13 is mostly in northern Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Generally speaking, the concentrations of cicadas will be higher in rural areas than in cities. In some areas, the concentrations of cicadas will be mind-boggling – as many as 1.5 million per acre.

Even in areas with fewer cicadas, the insects will make their presence known. The males “sing” to attract mates, using a special organ called a tymbal , and when there are hundreds signing at the same time, the noise can be rather intense. A cicada’s above-ground lifecycle is short; they’ll emerge, mate, lay eggs and then generally die within three weeks or so.

Dunlap and Miller met with UMSL Daily at the Harris Center in Benton Hall . Miller brought the department’s teaching collection of cicadas, gathered from past emergences (annual cicadas are larger than periodical cicadas) by Robert Marquis, an emeritus professor in biology at UMSL, with help from students in his Entomology class. In the fall, Miller will start teaching the same Entomology class that Marquis used to lead, the first time it’s been offered since 2018.

For the conversation, Miller wore a cicada T-shirt she bought from the Smithsonian to commemorate the event, and Dunlap wore cicada earrings. Inspired by the discussion, the dynamic duo decided to conduct an experiment measuring cicada calls in St. Louis. Andrew Hurley , an UMSL professor of history, will be assisting, and they’re looking for help from the UMSL community. If you’re interested in participating, shoot them an email ( Dunlap / Miller ).

Now, on to the cicada talk. (The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length.)

University of Missouri–St. Louis entomologists Sara Miller (left) and Aimee Dunlap. (Photo by Ryan Fagan)

UMSL DAILY (UD): What are you most looking forward to with this cicada event?

DUNLAP: It’s one of those things where I think everybody, especially entomologists, remembers one of these emergences from when they were a kid. I think that leaves an imprint – of horror for some people, but total curiosity. I don’t think I’ll see very many in my neighborhood, because it’s been developed since the 1800s, and anything in the soil has been disrupted in the years since. I’m planning to drive out. I want to hear all of the calls, the cicadas screaming, and hopefully see how many different species we can spot.

UD: Are there are different species of cicadas within the same brood?

MILLER: There are supposed to be three within St. Louis. I’ve been looking at distribution maps, though, and it’s hard to know exactly where each will be. It’s definitely a complex network. There are different year cycles, there are different brood cycles and there are different species within those combinations of broods.

DUNLAP: And to think they’re all just under the ground all the time, all those years, all the cycles and brood species.

MILLER: I think that’s one of the things we’re most excited about, being able to get an insight into the natural phenomena of all the cool biodiversity that’s in the world all around you but is normally hidden from view.

UD: What about here at UMSL? Do we have any idea of what to expect on campus?

MILLER: Most of the samples we have are from Tyson (Research Park) or out in Kirkwood and away from here. As Aimee was saying, if you have heavy machinery in your neighborhood, that squishes them underground.

DUNLAP: It could be that when this campus was constructed as a golf course – of course, UMSL is on a former golf course – that could have wiped out the cicadas. Once they’re wiped out in a place, they’re not coming back. They’re vulnerable in the 13 or 17 years they’re under the ground. If at any point in that process, if somebody dug a basement or graded the land, they’re gone.

MILLER: Probably in the more naturalistic areas around and outside campus, I would expect to see them. On campus itself, it might be more hit-or-miss.

UD: Do you two have a cicada story you remember?

MILLER: Most of my cicada stories as a kid involving seeing the casings and being chased around the lake, like, ‘what is this terrifying thing?’

DUNLAP: For me, it’s seeing them all stuck to the trees. When I was in the first grade, I didn’t live in Missouri, but I remember seeing those everywhere. It was just so cool.

UD: I remember very specifically being out at Busch Wildlife in St. Charles County when I was a kid, and they were everywhere. You literally couldn’t walk without squishing them.

DUNLAP: I would love that! I’ve seen pictures where they’re all over someone’s screen door. I remember when I was a kid, we were going over a bridge and the bridge was just covered in butterflies. They were migrating, just butterflies everywhere. Of course, we don’t see that amount of monarchs anymore. But it brings me back to something Sarah was saying earlier, about these really cool natural history things that are just spectacular, these migrations or emergences.

UD: Do you have plans to see them?

DUNLAP: I’m going to drive to Springfield.

UD: You’re going to the epicenter!

DUNLAP: Yes! I don’t expect these broods to sound different. Like, nothing I’ve read has said they’ll sound different, but it would be really fun to go right where they’re touching up against each other and be able to say I heard both broods.

MILLER: I’m going to get out to the arboretum or Tyson, something like that.

DUNLAP: Castlewood State Park , I bet that’s going to be a great place.

UD: I was reading that the cicadas are just waiting for the weather to warm up to emerge.

MILLER: The soil temperature has to hit a certain level and they’ll start crawling up.

DUNLAP: They’re usually like 8 to 10 inches underground, so it takes a little bit longer for soil temperature at that level to warm up. That’s where they live, munching on the roots of plants and tree roots.

UD: It should be starting soon, right?

DUNLAP: It should be any day now. There are soil temperature differences across the city and the area, so I’m sure there will be places where they’ll be emerging more quickly than others . They have already emerged further south.

MILLER: I saw they were already in North Carolina.

UD: Are there other types of natural phenomena that are at all similar?

MILLER: One of the hypotheses about why they all emerge at the same time is predator avoidance. This isn’t an insect example, but the wildebeests in eastern Africa, they all give birth within like two or three weeks of each other . They basically flood the system with all these baby wildebeests so there are enough of them, as many as half a million, that the likelihood of any one of them getting picked off by a lion goes down.

DUNLAP: And this is what monarchs do in their overwintering habitat in Mexico. There’s just so many of them. It’s called a dilution effect, because you’re diluting your individual risk of being eaten because there are so many of them.

UD: And these cicadas don’t sting or bite or anything, right?

DUNLAP: No, they don’t bite.

MILLER: They’re true bugs.

UD: What does that mean?

MILLER: We use ‘bugs’ colloquially to mean any insect, but from a taxonomic perspective, true bugs are hemipterans and they’re called that because they have piercing, sucking mouth parts. So, while they seem big and scary to us, they’re really only scary to trees and leaves and things like that. They have almost straw-like mouth parts they shove in and suck up the tree juices. They look kind of creepy if you’re not into insects.

DUNLAP: I think they’re beautiful!

MILLER: I mean, I think they are, too.

DUNLAP: Just the color mix is so beautiful, with the gold and the way it reflects the light. It’s so lovely. And the periodical cicadas with the red eyes and the black bodies? They’re very striking insects.

UD: So their calls, they’re doing that to attract mates, right? And it’s just the males?

MILLER: Just the males, right.

DUNLAP: Of course, they’re super loud. Anybody who’s heard them knows. But some of the cicadas in Asia can get way up on the decibel level, louder than even this (gestures to the lawn mower outside). That’s amazing to me, that something that small can create such a noise.

MILLER: Aimee kind of alluded to this, but the different species sing slightly different songs from each other, so that’s how they tell each other apart.

UD: Very cool. So, what are they doing for the 13 or 17 years they’re underground?

DUNLAP: They’re slowly growing and slowly feeding.

UD: Speaking of feeding, my dog has eaten a couple of the annual ones the past few years. I read they’re pretty nutritious and that’s why pretty much every animal eats them.

DUNLAP: Some people eat the newly emerged ones, too. Supposedly, when they first emerge as adults, before the exoskeleton hardens, they kind of taste like shrimp. I’ve read that any way you cook shrimp, you can cook young cicadas. I’m not sure if I’m going to try that or not.

UD: How long after they crawl out of the ground does it take for the exoskeleton to harden?

DUNLAP: It’ll probably be a matter of hours, a short amount of time if you’re going to do your cicada scampi, or whatever you’re interested in cooking. I would squeeze that in quickly. There’s nothing worse than eating exoskeleton.

UD: You said earlier they’re related to shrimp?

MILLER: They’re distant relatives. They’re all arthropods.

UD: I’m allergic to shrimp so I probably should not eat a cicada.

MILLER: Yeah, if you can’t eat shrimp, don’t eat cicadas. That’s generally a good rule. If you have a reaction to shellfish, they suggest you don’t eat insects or cricket flour or anything.

UD: That’s good to know. This Brood 19, the one that’s emerging in Missouri, how big is this one, relatively speaking? And how many periodical broods are out there, on different 13- and 17-year schedules?

DUNLAP: There’s generally always someplace to go if you want to go see cicadas. Maybe not every year, but it’s not like waiting for Halley’s Comet to come back. We’re not waiting 200 years. There’s generally a brood somewhere. Sometimes it’s a small brood. But this Missouri brood this year? It’s over a huge chunk of the Midwest, and they’re saying billions of cicadas.

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