See creepy-crawlies up close during Bug Fest at Drexel's Academy of Natural Sciences

The events this weekend include nature walks, scientist meet-and-greets and lots of live specimens

The Academy of Natural Sciences is hosting its annual Bug Fest on Saturday, Aug. 12 and Sunday, Aug. 13.
Provided Image/Academy of Natural Sciences

This weekend is all about insects at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.

On Saturday, Aug. 12 and Sunday, Aug. 13, the natural history museum is hosting its annual Bug Fest. Each day, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., visitors can enjoy a variety of educational insect-themed events and a curated selection of the Academy's 4 million bug specimens. 


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Attendees will have the chance to view and interact with live bugs through live insect displays and even cockroach races. There will be plenty of opportunities to chat with fellow bug enthusiasts, bug experts and current Drexel students studying entomology. 

Guests can also embark on outdoor nature walks, happening each day at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. (weather permitting). Walkers will be equipped with nets and containers as they search for backyard bugs that live outside the Academy.

Hungry Bug Fest attendees with adventurous palates can partake in entomophagy (eating bugs). Unique snack offerings include sour-cream-and-onion-flavored crickets and chocolate-covered mealworms.

For those who don't want to dine on insects, there will also be lunch available for purchase between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day in the museum's Dino Hall.

Bug Fest tickets, which cost $21 for children and $25 for adults, can be purchased in advance online.


Bug Fest

Saturday, Aug. 12 and Sunday, Aug. 13
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | $25
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19103


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