PHILADELPHIA, December 18, 2012

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, the nation’s oldest natural history museum, presents a series of engaging and educational temporary exhibits each year for both adults and children. In 2013 these exhibits will feature roaring, life-size, moving dinosaurs; undersea creatures that project their own light show; delightful photographs of decidedly unnatural science, colorful coils of sublime snakes, and more.

For three days in the spring, the entire museum will be transformed for the International Orchid Show and Sale. Hundreds of gorgeous, as well as bizarre, orchids will fill the exhibit halls as the largest orchid show outside of California and Florida debuts in Philadelphia.

Below is the schedule of upcoming exhibits at the Academy through 2013. Check ansp.org for frequent updates.

 The Academy at 200: The Nature of Discovery

March 24, 2012–March 24, 2013

Special Bicentennial Exhibit

The Academy at 200: The Nature of Discovery celebrates the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University’s groundbreaking discoveries of the past and present and provides a glimpse into the future of one of the world’s great natural history museums. Travel alongside Academy scientists to search for new species and explore how human activity is affecting the environment. See rare and amazing plants and animals from the Academy’s collections, including a toothy freshwater vampire fish skull, a five-foot giant condor,  and a four-billion-year-old meteorite. Experience science in a whole new way by dressing up like a scientist, assembling a skeleton in the bone lab, and learning about climate change. This exhibit was created to celebrate the Academy’s Bicentennial. Free with museum admission.

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James Prosek: Ocean Fishes

October 13, 2012–January 21, 2013

Art of Science Gallery

Dubbed “the Audubon of the fishing world” by The New York Times, Connecticut artist James Prosek is known for his detailed and arresting watercolor paintings, mostly of fish and other ocean creatures. In this Art of Science Gallery exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Prosek showcases his personal impressions of marine beauties, such as a 15-foot-long blue marlin, through life-size paintings from his new book, Ocean Fishes (Rizzoli New York, October 2012). Through direct observation and imagination, Prosek reveals the subtle colors and forms of fishes often hidden from view beneath the water’s surface. Free with museum admission.

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Drawn to Dinosaurs: Hadrosaurus foulkii

February 2–June 9, 2013

Art of Science Gallery

The Academy of Natural Sciences was the first in the world to create a mounted dinosaur skeleton for display, and to this day the Academy is known as “the dinosaur museum.” Drawn to Dinosaurs: Hadrosaurus foulkii is an intimate exhibit that reveals the science and art of visualizing a living animal based on fragmentary fossils. The centerpiece is a full cast of the plant-eating duckbill dinosaur Hadrosaurus foulkii, discovered in 1858 in Haddonfield, N.J., by an Academy member and later reconstructed by the artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins based on Academy research. Free with museum admission.

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International Orchid Show and Sale

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 12, 13 and 14, 2013

Hours: Friday noon–8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

For the first time an International Orchid Show and Sale will transform the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University into a spectacular world of flowers—just in time for spring. See thousands of beautiful, sometimes bizarre, often fragrant, and always interesting orchids from around the globe that will be judged and awarded prizes from the American Orchid Society. Two dozen vendors from as far away as Ecuador, Brazil and Japan will offer orchid plants and giftware. Novices and experts alike will learn valuable botanical information during talks and hands-on family activities. The International Orchid Show, the largest orchid show outside of California and Florida, is presented in collaboration with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Orchid Society. Free with museum admission. For more information, visit ansp.org/orchidshow or call 215-299-1000. For group sales, 215-299-1060.

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Glow: Living Lights

June 1–September 29, 2013

Glow: Living Lights takes visitors on a journey through land and sea in pursuit of creatures with the incredible ability to produce their own light. Fireflies, glow worms, and rarely seen alien-looking creatures from the middle ocean are just a few of the animals lighting up the dark through a mysterious process called bioluminescence. Dramatic video, live organisms, rare preserved specimens, models, and hands-on activities will enlighten and engage families. Visitors can also examine live animals, including mysterious glowing scorpions. Free with museum admission.

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June 15–September 15, 2013

Art of Science Gallery

Fine art photographer Mark Laita has traveled the world to photograph the beauty and danger of the world’s most deadly snakes, from the Honduran milk snake to the black Pakistan cobra. This selection of a dozen colorful and alluring photographs from his latest book, Serpentine, depicts what he calls “the sensual attractiveness” of serpents, whose mystery and symbolism have fascinated humanity for thousands of years.  Free with museum admission.

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 Dinosaurs Unearthed

October 12, 2013–March 30, 2014

Roaring, moving, life-size dinosaurs invade the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University for a multi-sensory experience for the whole family. State-of-the-art and scientifically accurate—down to the feathers on T. rex—Dinosaurs Unearthed features more than a dozen realistic, full-bodied dinosaurs, as well as skeletons, fossil casts of skulls, claws and horns, real specimens of mosasaur teeth, Oviraptor eggs, and the ever-popular coprolite (dino poop). Compelling, fun activities, including dig sites for both adults and kids, encourage exciting hands-on exploration of dinosaur movement, digestion and anatomy. Fee in addition to museum admission.

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