Creepy-crawly sideshow opens at theNAT

Scorpions that glow! Millipedes that secrete cyanide from their skin! Bugs that disappear into their surroundings, right before your eyes!

The newest exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum is an "ewww"-inducing spectacle under colorful circus flags. Opening on Friday, February 22, the traveling circus sideshow, “Dr. Entomo’s Palace of Exotic Wonders,” has theatrical bug displays alongside cases of live bugs like hissing cockroaches, scorpions, and giant mealworms. An adjacent exhibit created in-house by staff of theNAT’s Department of Entomology features unusual butterflies, spiders, and other specimens from the San Diego region. 

While parents may find the upstairs exhibitions on chocolate and nature photography a little more palatable, “Dr. Entomo’s” is geared to little ones; several of the cases are kid’s-eye level and designed to spark curiosity about the most bizarre insects among us.

From March 10 to June 2, theNAT will host “Six-Legged Sundays” with meet-and-greets with museum entomologists, screenings of films like “A Bug’s Life” and other family activities.

Welcome to Dr. Entomo's

Scorpions glow under a black light

Live cockroaches inside a mummy case

Preserved butterflies from the Department of Entomology

Sideshow art

Sumo-wrestling beetles
 

“Dr. Entomo’s Palace of Exotic Wonders” will be on view from February 22 – June 2, 2013. Entry is included with general museum admission. Details are available on theNAT’s website, www.sdnhm.org.