PHILADELPHIA, July 13, 2020

Summertime at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University usually means the lively voices of summer camp kids and the hissing and buzzing of insects at Bug Fest. This summer the museum will be quieter, but the action is moving to kitchens and living rooms for plenty of online fun and learning.

Academy Science Camp From Home has moved online for the first time in the Academy’s long history — and is free at ansp.org/camp. The camp consists of intriguing weekly themed activities and videos that allow campers to engage at their own pace. Thought-provoking hands-on investigations revolve around weekly topics including Dinosaur Detectives, Ferocious Fossils, Secrets of the Museum, and Engineering Nature.

The activities are geared to ages 7 to 10. The webpage will be populated with more videos and surprises as the weeks progress. Have to spill the beans on one surprise now: the Slug Cam illustrates the leisurely life of a cornucopia of slugs.

The museum reopens to the public Friday, July 31, with a weekly schedule of Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. reserved for members only. Survival of the Slowest, with Lulu the two-toed sloth now grown to be a year old since the museum closed in March, is the featured exhibit and will be on view through Oct. 25.

Bug Fest, the Academy’s most popular annual festival, moves online to Zoom, Facebook and Instagram starting Monday, Aug 3, and running through Sunday, Aug. 9. It’s all free and will be available at ansp.org/bugfest. The Zoom programs require free registration and may be limited in the number of attendees.

Bug Fest features downloadable activities and exclusive videos; opportunities to talk with Academy scientists and learn about insects from all over the world. And there will be plenty of insect specimens from the Academy’s Entomology Collection to see up close.

Coming up in the museum on Saturday, Sept. 5 is the exhibit Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Developed and produced by the Natural History Museum in London, Wildlife Photographer of the Year is one of the world’s longest running and most prestigious photography competitions. The exhibit features 100 winning images that relate thought-provoking stories about the natural world and the future we want to create. The exhibit will be on view through Feb. 15, 2021.

Details about the Academy’s new health and safety protocols are available at www.ansp.org/reopening