Opening end of October, 2016

IF YOU’RE SQUEAMISH, this exhibit may not be for you. But if you’re fascinated by nature, evolution and everything that creeps and crawls, you’ll love getting upclose and personal with Spiders.

Bring the kids for a nail-biting experience that immerses you in a world of cunning hunters and visionary architects.

With potent venoms and powerful jaws, spiders are among the deadliest hunters in the world. Researchers believe the Australian Karaops spider, for example, may be the fastest terrestrial ambush predator on Earth.

The fibres that spiders weave into intricate webs are so strong scientists are trying to recreate them at nano-scale to engineer advanced materials. And then there are the hungry female spiders that eat their non-suspecting partners after they mate.

At this exhibition, learn about spider behaviour and anatomy through largerthan-life models and use microscopes to check out preserved specimens. See what they see and find out what they feel through their amazing senses, which allow them to search for mates and food in the world around them with incredible precision. And bring your dancing shoes along to act out the exotic wiggle of the peacock spider’s courtship jive.

You’ll learn just how many spiders are around – there are more than you think – and find out which species are found where.

And if that leaves you itching for more, meet living specimens of some of Australia’s most famous eight-legged critters – housed in secured habitats, of course.

Spiders is a joint exhibition between Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre and the Australian Museum.