PHILADELPHIA, December 19, 2012

This spring the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University will present an International Orchid Show and offer fun new exhibits and experiences for both adults and children.

In April, the nation’s oldest natural history museum for the first time will host the International Orchid Show and Sale, filling the museum with thousands of brightly colored orchids from all over the world. In June, the Special Exhibits Gallery will twinkle with Glow: Living Lights, a highly interactive exhibit showcasing the fascinating ability of some animals, plants and minerals to produce their own light. The institution will wind up the spring with Mark Laita: Serpentine, featuring captivating photographs of snakes sure to thrill viewers of all ages.

The following exhibits and programs are free with museum admission, except where noted. Check ansp.org for frequent updates.

Art of Science Gallery Exhibit,
DRAWN TO DINOSAURS: HADROSAURUS FOULKII
February 2–June 9

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.

MEGA-BAD MOVIE NIGHT

Thursday, April 4, 6:30–10 p.m.

Join the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University after hours to watch an “awesomely awful” science fiction movie. Academy experts will be onstage to comment on the movie’s many scientific absurdities, similar to Mystery Science Theater 3000. Mega-Bad Movie Nights feature cash bar and snacks, displays of Academy specimens related to the movie and encounters with the museum’s live animals. You must be at least 18 years old to attend and 21 to drink. Members $10, nonmembers $15. The movie title will be announced on ansp.org.

 THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF DREXEL UNIVERSITY CLOSED

Thursday, April 11

 The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University will be closed on Thursday, April 11, in preparation for the International Orchid Show and Sale, held Friday through Sunday, April 12–14. For more information call 215-299-1000.

INTERNATIONAL ORCHID SHOW AND SALE

Friday, April 12, Noon–8 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday, April 13–14, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

For the first time, an International Orchid Show will transform the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University into a spectacular world of orchids. 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 can learn valuable botanical information during talks and activities. The International Orchid Show is presented in collaboration with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Orchid Society. For more information call 215-299-1000 or visit ansp.org/orchidshow. Free with museum admission.

 Town Square

Green Building: Featuring David ORR

Thursday, April 18, 6:30 p.m.

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University invites you to a discussion of green building featuring David Orr, the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics and Special Assistant to the President of Oberlin College, and a James Marsh Professor at the University of Vermont. More than 25 years ago, Orr organized studies of energy, water and materials use on several college campuses that helped to launch the green campus movement. In 1996 he organized the effort to design the first substantially green building on a U.S. college campus, Oberlin’s Adam Joseph Lewis Center. The Center purifies all of its wastewater and is the first college building in the U.S. powered entirely by sunlight. Members $10, nonmembers $15, Drexel students free with ID. Visit ansp.org/get-involved/cep/ for more information.

 Philadelphia Science Festival Signature Event

GAMING AND NEURODIVERSITY

Friday, April 19, 6–9 p.m.

Join the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University to learn how games can offer a pathway to interaction for some children and adults on the autism spectrum. Local game developer Cipher Prime will share information about gaming for fun and for therapy with game developers, therapists and families at this open- house event. Short talks will be scheduled throughout the night, and attendees will have opportunities to play games. Visit ansp.org for more information. Fee.

 Philadelphia Science Festival

SCIENCE CARNIVAL ON THE PARKWAY

Saturday, April 20, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

On Saturday, April 20, scientists from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University will set up outside the museum along with 100 other exhibitors as part of the Philadelphia Science Festival Science Carnival on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The carnival includes family-friendly experiments, activities and games, and a packed lineup of live entertainment. Academy scientists will showcase their sustainability research and provide information on preserving natural resources. Free.

Saturday, May 4, 6:30 p.m.–Sunday, May 5, 9 a.m.

Experience the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University after dark! Bring your 7- to 14-year-old children to enjoy a night of interactive activities and encounters with live animals. Socialize and enjoy refreshments, then sleep next to the lions, tigers or Tyrannosaurus rex. Awaken to a light breakfast and more exploration. Each child receives a participation patch. Open to the general public and scout groups. For information and to register, call 215-299-1060. Members $40, nonmembers $45.

ADULT FIELD STUDY: CRETACEOUS FOSSILS

Saturday, May 4 (rain date May 11), 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

Ned Gilmore, collection manager of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, will guide adults to the best site in Delaware for fossil collecting. Attendees will uncover fossils from life forms that lived in a shallow sea or along the shore, including clams, oysters, belemnites, brachiopods and sea urchins, and keep the fossils they find. (Scientifically significant specimens may be retained for the Academy’s collections.) For information and to register, call 215-299-1060. Members $35, nonmembers $40.

 Special Exhibit

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.

 Art of Science Gallery Exhibit

MARK LAITA: SERPENTINE

June 15–September 15

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 has fascinated humanity for thousands of years. Free with museum admission.

MEGA-BAD MOVIE NIGHT

Thursday, June 27, 6:30–10 p.m.

Join the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University after hours to watch an “awesomely awful” science fiction movie.  Academy experts will be onstage to comment on the movie’s many scientific absurdities, similar to Mystery Science Theater 3000. Mega-Bad Movie Nights feature cash bar and snacks, displays of Academy specimens related to the movie and encounters with the museum’s live animals. You must be at least 18 years old to attend and 21 to drink. Members $10, nonmembers $15. The movie title will be announced on ansp.org.

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