A wildlife biologist from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will be among the many experts participating in the 8th annual Great Lakes Bat Festival Aug. 28-29 at the Milwaukee County Zoo in Milwaukee, Wis.

Bill Scullon, a DNR wildlife biologist at the Escanaba Field Office, will be on hand at the festival with bat experts from around the region to highlight the importance of bat conservation.

The festival will kick off with a special "Bat Encounter" presentation by author and bat expert Rob Mies, director of the Organization for Bat Conservation, at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28. Also on hand will be the world's largest bat - the Malayan flying fox, a giant fruit bat with a six-foot wingspan.

Activities run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Karen Peck Katz Conservation Education Center at the zoo. The festival includes presentations about the benefits of bats, bat houses, bat research, bat conservation, public health and much more. The event will feature live bat programs by the Organization for Bat Conservation, and will include small Great Lakes insect-eating bats and large flying bats from Africa. There will be talks by leading bat experts, conservation exhibits, activities for children, author signings and zoo bat colony feeding times. An evening family-style barbeque is planned from 5 to 7 p.m. on the grounds of the zoo, immediately followed by demonstrations on bat research from 7 to 9 p.m. During the "Bat Science Night" experience, bat researchers will show bat netting, radio-tagging, bat detectors and light tagging.

Scullon will be joined by other bat experts, including Dave Redell from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Dr. Al Kurta from Eastern Michigan University, Kim Williams from the Organization for Bat Conservation, Dr. Tim Carter from Ball State University, Rhonda Crenshaw from the Milwaukee County Zoo, Rod Foster from Stevenson High School and Mike Frayer from the Milwaukee County Zoo.

The event is for all ages and is free with zoo admission.