Get Up Close With Roaches, Tarantulas And Scorpions At ‘Fantastic Bugs’ Exhibit

By Meha Ahmad
Tarantula.
WBEZ
Tarantula.
WBEZ

Get Up Close With Roaches, Tarantulas And Scorpions At ‘Fantastic Bugs’ Exhibit

By Meha Ahmad
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If you’ve ever been to a petting zoo, you probably know the stars of the show are usually real cute baby mammals, like goats and lambs, or some cuddly bunnies—just a glorious abundance of cuteness and fluff. 

Well, there’s a new sort of petting zoo around, but it’s pretty low on cuteness and there’s even less fluff. 

The Field Museum’s latest special exhibit won’t feature baby goats but there will be a chance to get up-close and personal with a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. And that’s just one of the creatures you can interact with at the Field’s latest attraction “Fantastic Bug Encounters,” which brings visitors into the diverse world of insects.

Field Museum Fantastic Bugs exhibit
In one of several hands-on adaptation stations, follow the example of Japanese honeybees and work together as a swarm to defeat a menacing hornet. Field Museum / Mike O’Neill © Te Papa 2016

GUEST: Robin Delapena, Collections Assistant at Field Museum’s Integrative Research Center

Emily Parr, exhibition’s project manager

LEARN MORE: Fantastic Bug Encounters! exhibit