Special Exhibition
Extreme Animals Alive!
Shape-shifting, mind control, invincibility and more!
Explore the unique adaptations that make Earth’s creatures fearless and fascinating, beautiful and bold. Opening May 23, 2025.
Step into a graphic novel aiming to reveal the strange and wonderful specializations animals exhibit to give them a leg up on the competition or evade predators. Extreme Animals Alive! invites you to get up close with a variety of critters, both familiar and unknown. Consider the unique characteristics that give animals the advantage from super speed to super stealth. Discover animals with “superpowers” that allow them to shape-shift, glow, or control the minds of other animals. Investigate the physical, behavioral and structural adaptations that allow animals to survive in unique environments. Opportunities to interact with live animals will occur daily!
Please Note:
Admission price includes access to all HMNS Permanent Exhibit Halls except certain Special Exhibitions and the Brown Hall of Entomology.
Thank You
Exhibition Highlights
BIOFLUORESCENCE
A surprising number of animals glow under UV light…
Scientists have discovered the presence of biofluorescence in corals, arthropods, insects, fishes, mammals and more. But why do they fluoresce? Communication, camouflage, to attract prey and to avoid predators are all theories, but, in reality, we don’t fully know.
EXTREME HEAT
These animals can beat both the extreme heat the extreme cold of the Sahara desert…
Clever, physical adaptations help animals like the Bactrian camel, the fennec fox and the Savanah monitor cope with blistering days in the desert where the temperatures can reach over 115°F. But when the sun goes down the temperatures drop by about 75 degrees and these same animals must be able to survive the night at near freezing temperatures.
LIVING FOSSILS
Successful for hundreds of millions of years…
“Living fossils” such as the dragonfly and shark, have evolved very slightly, if at all, from their ancient ancestors. They thrive today just as they did in the geologic past – perfectly adapted to both eras.
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