It’s Ferocious February featuring Paleopalooza, a two-day festival celebrating prehistoric beasts of all kinds, at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. At Paleopalooza, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 15 and 16, visitors will see rarely displayed fossils from the Academy’s world famous collection, watch fossil casts being made, enjoy high-energy live animal shows, and more. Paleopalooza is free with regular museum admission.

The annual two-day festival is an excellent combination of more advanced paleontological topics and pure family fun. Visitors will meet real Academy scientists, get up close to rare dinosaur remains, learn how 3-D printing is applied to paleontology, and engage in new hands-on activities for all ages.

Besides Paleopalooza, Ferocious February at the Academy offers a Paleo-Illustration class for adults on Feb. 1; Mega-Bad Movie Night with “Jurassic Park III” on Feb. 20; and Dinosaurs Unearthed, an exhibit of moving, roaring, life-size dinosaurs through March 30. There is an additional fee to enter Dinosaurs Unearthed. For more details about these Ferocious February activities, visit ansp.org.

Here are some of the Paleopalooza activities taking place both Saturday and Sunday:

• Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland/Peeling Productions presents “Life in Scales,” a high-energy live-animal show with a dinosaur connection. Shows at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
• Make discoveries on a guided tour of Dinosaur Hall. Tours at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m.
• Learn how Drexel University paleontologist Ken Lacovara and his team are applying the latest technological advances in 3-D printing to the study of dinosaurs and other prehistoric life.
• Watch technicians in the Fossil Prep Lab “prepare” a duck-billed dinosaur fresh from the field.
• Watch as a technician pours casts and pulls molds made from selected fossils right out of the Academy’s research collection. Bring your questions.
• Dance along to the tunes of the Diggity Dudes at noon and 2 p.m.
• How does your skeleton compare to that of a dinosaur? Make connections between all kinds of critters (living and extinct) and complete a skeletal scavenger hunt in Dinosaur Hall.
• Play Dino-opoly on a giant board and test your knowledge of dinosaurs.
• Make a fun craft to take home and get your face painted.