Exhibit Essentials
- Ages:
- This exhibit is suitable for all ages.
- Location:
- Lower Level, Lower Court East - Lower Level, Lower Court West
Museum Map - Tickets:
- Included with General Admission
Ants dominate the small-scale world. We may seldom notice them, but ants affect their ecosystems as much as humans do. And much like us, ants achieve domination by being social creatures. They must cooperate with each other to meet their basic needs for food, shelter and defense. How they do this can look both strikingly familiar and bizarre—and never more so than through the striking close-up photographs of Mark W. Moffett, author of Adventures Among Ants. Get a look at life from an ant’s point of view. See a cast of an underground ant city and watch video of living ant colonies. And only at MSI, see it all happening live in the in-exhibit ant farm.
Meet the Ants
Fridays through Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Live ants will be available to examine and study. How different or similar are humans and ants? What do they do for the planet? You'll also learn about and discuss current science news about the ant and insect populations. Join us for this exciting "antsillary" feature of the exhibit, hosted by University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners and MSI volunteers.
This exhibit was developed by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.
Photo this page: Mark W. Moffett/Minden Pictures. Photo on Exhibits page: Mark W. Moffett © National Geographic Magazine.
- Museum Hours
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- Open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Except Thanksgiving and Christmas
- Museum Location
- Getting Here
- Happening Now
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MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition
Try your hand at busting or confirming myths in wildly entertaining experiments.
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Rocky Mountain Express
Jump onboard this journey through the Canadian Rockies by train!
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Tornado Alley
Ride along with researchers of VORTEX 2 to hunt for some of nature's most destructive storms.
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- Coming Soon
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Born To Be Wild
Journey to Borneo and Kenya with wildlife teams rescuing endangered elephants and orangutans.
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[SOLD OUT] Member Day Trip: Sidewalks to Skyscrapers
Learn how to design buildings that withstand the forces of wind, fire and earthquakes.
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Family Snoozeum Night
Join us for a special Snoozeum open to families with children ages 6-12.
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can't get enough ants?
- The University of Illinois Extension has created the resource for you: "Everything You Wanted To Know About Ants."
Visit the website