What to Know
- Bug Fair at the Natural History Museum
- May 20 and 21, 2023
- $15 one-day adult admission; other ticketing options are available
Ever seen a person peering down at a patch of grass?
True, they may be searching for an errant contact lens or earring, but something else is often afoot. Or "many afoot," for what you're witnessing is a larger earthling — that would be a human, of course — observing a tiny earthling.
The itsy-bitsy earthling is, of course, a bug. And remaining curious about these sometimes creepy, sometimes crawly, but always cool critters has been a way of life for humans since the start of the human story (bugs, of course, predate us).
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If this is you — if you're the sort of person who'll stop to watch a worm wriggle through the grass or a bee buzz a flower — then you best wriggle for the Natural History Museum on May 20 or 21.
That's the home of Bug Fair, an annual event that's regularly called "the largest insect fair in North America."
That's because oodles of exhibitors show up, with all sorts of spectacular specimens, and live animals make appearances, too, giving bug buffs the opportunity to see amazing arthropods, well, arthopoding.
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Whimsical moments, like a cameo by a giant bee puppet, will add flavor to the day, which will also have actual flavor in the form of crunchable bugs. The cooking portion of Bug Fair is always a bug, er, big hit with attendees, but you'll want to arrive early if you've got an appetite for the insects on the menu.
Crafts, stories, songs, and chances to take a deeper scientific dive into the ancient and vast world of our multi-legged, wing-rocking neighbors are on the schedule, too. And sauntering through the museum's Nature Gardens to find some buggy bliss?
Pop-up insect interludes are also popular diversions during the diverting festival.
Will Bug Fair prompt you to glance down at more patches of grass in the future, all to take note of what is scurrying around our feet?
Getting acquainted with the insect realm is an important way to better understand the critters of our incredible world, those eternal neighbors that are all around us at all times.
