Nature

Buzz by the world-famous ‘Bug Fair' at the Natural History Museum

Lots of legs, lots of eyes, oodles of wings, so much cool: The huge fest is marking its 39th outing.

Natural History Museum

What to Know

  • "39th Annual Bug Fair"
  • Natural History Museum
  • May 17 and 18, 2025
  • $18 adult; other ticketing options are available

How many bugs did you pass as you headed to your car this morning, or strolled for the school bus, or stepped outside to walk your dog?

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It's a number that is surely uncountable, for a vast array of tiny critters, insects hidden in trees, and cool crawlers do thrive on our planet, even if we can't instantly detect their presence.

Some insects, however, do have quite a presence — we might even describe it as "critter-isma," which is what critters with charisma have — and many of them will be on view at one of the best-known bug-outs around.

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It's "Bug Fair," a science-splendid celebration that is scurrying toward its 39th outing at the Natural History Museum.

The staying power of this learn-a-lot lark is no mystery: Humans are fascinated by the eight-legged, wing-rocking, eye-wild earthlings that live in our rafters, plants, the ground, and all around.

And while some might think of some bugs as "creepy-crawlies" — some species do creep and crawl to move about, it is true — insects do so much important heavy lifting, ecology-wise, for our home planet. (If you just visualized a spider holding barbells with all eight legs, well, so did we, but you know the heavy lifting we mean.)

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Stop by the Exposition Park museum May 17 and/or 18 to bask in the bugginess of it all, and be assured that there is a bounty of bug-a-tude to spare.

Opportunities to observe a crawly guest of honor from a close-up vantage point?

These memory-making moments have long been favorites of kids and adults alike, but so are the puppets (a giant bee will make a cameo), display tables, craft-making stations, and snackable bugs.

Yes, we said "snackable" followed by "bugs": Aly Moore of Bugible will visit the fair to talk about "entomophagy" or the eating of bugs.

Spread your wings and fly by this site for ticket and time information.

So how many bugs will you pass on the route to the Natural History Museum?

Again, we'll save the counting for those easy-to-quantify topics and instead marvel at the amazing world of insects, those busy, buzzy, do-so-much beings that kindly share our planetary address.

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