PHILADELPHIA, December 7, 2015

Moving, roaring, life-size dinosaurs are stomping into the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in June, hot on the heels of an exhibit of decidedly smaller proportions, Tarantulas: Alive and Up Close.

Back by popular demand, Dinosaurs Unearthed broke attendance records when it first hit the Academy in 2013. Now, with additional hands-on experiences added, the animatronic dinosaurs will roar back to life starting June 25.

Before that, families are invited to enjoy a Safari Overnight at the museum April 16, and adults can enjoy their own sleepover without the kids on April 9. And there’s still time to get up close to an amazing array of live tarantulas: Tarantulas is on view through May 30.

For more details on the following programs and to purchase discounted tickets in advance, visit ansp.org.

Tarantulas: Alive and Up Close

Special Exhibits Gallery

January 30 through May 30

Tarantulas have a reputation that precedes them—terrifying, fast, hairy, scary—the biggest, baddest and most fearsome of all spiders. In the Academy’s newest exhibit, Tarantulas: Alive and Up Close, visitors will come face-to-face with an amazing array of live tarantulas—fangs and all. Interactive activities highlight the unique attributes of some of the 900 known species of tarantulas, which thrive in diverse habitats around the world. Young visitors can try on a spider costume and climb a replica tarantula burrow for a photo op. Every Saturday and Sunday at 11:45 a.m., a keeper will feed the tarantulas and give a short talk.

Tiny Tot Explorers

Wednesdays, April 6, 13, 20 and 27 and May 4, 11 and 18, 11 a.m.–noon

Tiny Tot Explorers is a program for 3- to 5-year-olds and their favorite adults, where the littlest explorers have the biggest fun. Each week participants discover an exciting new theme through games, crafts, songs and museum adventures. Register for a single session or the entire series. For details, visit ansp.org or call 215-299-1060.

Overnight for Adults

Saturday, April 9, 6:30 p.m.

Pack a sleeping bag, put on your pj’s, and leave the kids at home—this overnight is for adults only! Bigfoot, chupacabra, and the Jersey Devil take center stage in this creepy overnight. Collect clues and use your tracking skills to solve a mystery. Navigate the underbelly of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University on behind-the-scenes tours, and see some of the real skeletons in our closet. Stay up late, meet live animals, tip your glass, and then curl up under T-rex. Must be 21 and older. Fee includes dinner, drinks, breakfast, tours, and more: Members $165, nonmembers $190. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/1FDIjLo or call 215-299-1066.

Watery Worlds Day for Boy and Girl Scouts
April 9, all day

If you’re a Boy Scout or Girl Scout, this one’s for you. Splash into science with hands-on water experiments, meet animals that make the water their home, and learn how scientists at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University study our water supply. Have fun while investigating how living creatures such as diatoms and caddis flies help determine the health of an aquatic ecosystem. For more information, visit ansp.org. Fee: Scouts $17.95, Adults: $15.95. Fees include full museum admission and a participation patch.

Friends and Family Safari Overnight

Saturday and Sunday, April 16, 6:30 p.m. to April 17, 9 a.m.

Experience the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University after dark. Bring your kids ages 6–14 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. For information and to register, call 215-299-1060. Fee: Members $50, nonmembers $55, VIP $80.

Dinosaurs Unearthed

Special Exhibits Gallery

June 25–January 16, 2017

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, life-size animatronic dinosaurs, as well as skeletons, skulls, claws and horns, real mosasaur and Spinosaurus teeth, an Oviraptor egg, and the ever-popular coprolite (dino poop). A dig site for young paleontologists, a Dino Detective touch-screen quiz, chances to control dinosaur movements, and other activities encourage exciting hands-on exploration. Dinosaurs Unearthed is back by popular demand and with additional features, after breaking attendance records in 2013.

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