Five Things to Know Today: Fri, March 4

1. Beetles and scorpions and spiders, oh my! Insects (and relatives) make up nearly 80 percent of all the animals on Earth. And the Harvard Museum of Natural History will be buzzing with many of these creatures on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can get up close and personal with live bugs, listen to the sounds of insects communicating, experiment with robots that mimic bugs, and meet the Harvard scientists who collect and study them all. Free with museum admission.  

2. Berklee kicks off its annual High School Jazz Festival, only the best of the best for the pre-college crowd, and the largest of its kind in the United States. Big bands, combos, and vocal jazz ensembles will perform and compete throughout the day. The top performances will recive a written critique, some will be awarded partial scholarships to Berklee's Five Week Summer Performance Program, and a few lucky, talented students will have the chance to audition for a full scholarship. 

3. Berklee interns are also busy going through nearly 100 years worth of music clips from films like Star Trek, Forrest Gump, Chinatown, Mission Impossible, Love Story, Airplane, and more. Eventually, they’ll create an online database with detailed descriptions of the clips, music and audio notes, keywords to enhance search functionality, and everything else you’ll need sort through the Paramount Pictures archives. The music library will make it easier for filmmakers and, whoever, to access music and obtain rights from the Paramount catalogue. I think it’s fair to call this a music win.

4. The words “discount" and “chervil-encrusted Mahi-Mahi” don’t tend to wind up in the same sentence often--unless it’s Restaurant Week, when more than 200 area fine dining spots offer once-a-year specials. This year’s Week runs March 6-11 and 13-18 and reservations go fast, so call now. Back Bay restaurants to try: Asana, Atlantic Fish, Back Bay Social Club, Charley's, Da Vinci, and Lucca. All will offer prix-fixe meals: 2-course lunch for $15.11, 3-course lunch for $20.11 or 3-course dinner for $33.11. A complete list of participating Greater Boston restaurants (with Restaurant Week menus) can be found here.

5. The offers hotels, shopping, dining, and now -- iceskating. Skate on The Rink from noon - 8 p.m. (10 p.m. on Friday and Saturdays) from now until March 30. Admission is $7, and $3 to rent skates.