Las Vegas locals learn there’s more to creepy crawlers at arachnid exhibit

Ava Sturtsman’s favorite animal is the frog, but on Saturday afternoon an assortment of scorpions at the Las Vegas Science &Natural History Museum piqued her interest.

The 7-year-old — at the museum with her mother, aunt and cousin — was among the dozens who stopped by to check out the first day of the museum’s traveling exhibit of arachnids, those creepy-crawlers that tend to invoke fascination, fear, or both.

“I don’t think scorpions are scary, but my mom’s scared of them,” Sturtsman said. “I might pick up a spider, only if it wouldn’t hurt me, but I don’t think I’d pick up a scorpion. I like scorpions, but they might sting me.”

Look, but don’t touch

Alas, all the spiders and scorpions on Saturday were behind glass, so there would be no handling of them, which was just fine with Lorraine Sturtsman, Ava’s mother.

“Yes, it’s kind of creepy to be in here, but I know they’re not going to escape,” Lorraine said with a laugh.

As parents and children filtered in and out of the exhibit — at the museum’s Las Vegas Boulevard location, north of Cashman Center — some of the most popular spiders included the Mexican red-legged tarantula, the blonde tarantula and the tailless whip scorpion.

Some were shy, hiding among vegetation and sticks in their cases, but some were quite active, like the blonde tarantula. That one was a favorite of Alex Velasquez, Ava’s 9-year-old cousin.

Velasquez, well known in his family to be a spider buff, said he was excited to walk around the entire museum on Saturday. He hadn’t been there in a while, he said.

Las Vegas Valley locals, like the cousins and their mothers, are the bread and butter clientele base for the museum. In a city where competition for entertainment dollars is high, museum executive director Laurie Thomas said that having different programming is key.

“We do a traveling exhibit every year,” Thomas said. “We like to do it during the summer, so we can expand our educational opportunities during those months. We know that tourists, when they come here, want to be down on the Strip, but there are also family-friendly things for them to do here in Las Vegas.”

Misunderstood creatures

Thomas said she hoped for well over 100 attendees on Saturday, though it seemed that estimate was easily reached by early afternoon.

Ashley Glenn, marketing manager for the museum, said arachnids can be some of the most misunderstood animals the world over.

“By showing guests how they contribute to ecosystems, scientific research, and even inspire innovations in modern medicine and technology, we hope families walk away realizing these creatures are far more fascinating than frightening,” Glenn said. “When people hear the word ‘arachnid,’ they automatically think of spiders, but they don’t realize all the animals that fall under that category.”

The exhibit, called the “Art &Science of Arachnids,” runs through Aug. 23 at the museum and is produced by Little Ray’s Exhibitions. The annual traveling exhibits are put on with help from the Englestad Foundation.

The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Nevada resident discounts are available. Children 2 and under are free.