If you have a brave little learner at home, be sure to bring them to the July 4th opening of the American Museum of Natural History’s thrilling exhibit Spiders Alive!, which is returning for the second time since its stunning success in 2012.
Here visitors will explore the anatomy, behavior, and unique characteristics of all kinds of arachnids. The exhibit aims to debunk commonly-held myths about spiders and convey the importance of spiders in our world, without whom our insect populations would explode!
While city-goers are familiar with small household spiders, this exhibit will feature spider fossils, as well as about 20 species of live arachnids, both spiders and scorpions, from different areas of the world. Visitors will meet live spiders like the goliath bird eater, one of the largest spiders in the world at 12 inches, and African whip spiders, whose whip-like feelers can stretch as long as 10 inches.
Despite prevailing irrational fear of spiders, most of them are harmless. At this exhibit only two of the 20 featured species are venemous spiders, the western black widow and brown recluse spider. “So our visitors will learn how to recognize the very two spiders that they need to pay some attention to and steer clear of,” said Curator Norman Platnick.
Museum staff will also be presenting a live Chilean rose hair tarantula and emperor scorpion for visitors to see up close in the cozy presentation area, for a personal, hands-on lesson on spider anatomy, signature traits like venom and silk-making, and more. Demonstrations will include Q&A, so that staff will be able to answer questions from inquisitive young minds.
“The demonstration aspect of this exhibition is certainly my favorite part of it,” said Platnick. “There are more one-to-one, person-to-person interactions, not just walking around and looking at things on the wall.”
Children can see eye-to-eye with larger-than-life models, including a climbable model of a trapdoor spider 50 times life size, and a 70 times life size model of a golden orb-web spider clinging to the ceiling. There are also feature videos around the exhibition that document not only Platnick’s field expedition to study goblin spiders in Ecuador, but also footage of various spiders in action.
“We very much hope that our visitors take away a sense not only of how diverse and fascinating spiders are,” Platnick said, “but of how little we actually know about spiders and many other groups of relatively small organisms with which we share this planet.”
There will be a gift shop at the end of the exhibit, which will offer a variety of spider-related gifts, such as spider-themed clothing, toys, books, and even real framed arachnids and mounted webs.
The exhibition will run from July 4 to November 2 of this year. For more information on the exhibit, and for a full list of featured spider species, click here.
