Time for creepies and crawlies

The Academy of Natural Sciences will be crawling with insects - some bigger than your hand - Saturday and Sunday for the second annual Bug Fest at the Academy of Natural Sciences. The Bug Fest will include dozens of live insects, bugs to eat, roach races, insect robots, a buggy field trip, and more.

Children can cheer on a favorite bug athlete at Roach Race 500, or participate in master beekeeper Cliff Sunflower's show of music, dance, and storytelling. There also will be lectures by world-renowned scientists on the importance of bugs to our planet. And Cajun chef Zack Lemann will cook up samples of delicious creepy-crawly cuisine to sample.

Visitors will see more than 50 species of live insects, including huge rhino beetles, camel crickets, and toe biters, also known as giant water bugs. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania will demonstrate advances in robotics with insectlike robots.

Founded in 1812, the academy is a world leader in the study of insects and also is the headquarters of the American Entomological Society, this year celebrating its 150th anniversary. The society and the academy will mark that milestone by leading groups of visitors on timed "insect-research expeditions" to the gardens of Logan Square, across the street from the museum.

The ChesMont Astronomical Society will host StarFest 2009, a solar-observing workshop, beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Children can enjoy solar observing and Kids Corner educational activities from 6 to 7 p.m., when they can see the wonders of the Milky Way through many different telescopes. In honor of the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first telescope, the children's program will review Galileo's astronomical discoveries. The featured speaker for the event, Kimberly Weaver, associate director for astrophysics at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, will discuss black holes. After nightfall, families can observe star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae through telescopes operated by experienced amateur astronomers from the ChesMont Astronomical Society and other area clubs. There also will be a raffle of astronomy-related items, including telescopes. Food and beverages will be for sale throughout the afternoon and evening.

On Saturday, children can have fun at the Mill of Anselma. It's Summer Storytime at the Mill from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Stories will be read on the hour throughout the day. There will be readings by staff members from books such as Pancakes, Pancakes!, by Eric Carle, and the folk tale "The Little Red Hen," which illustrate the field-to-table journey of the food we eat every day. The event also will include a milling demonstration and plenty of family-friendly activities celebrating the Mill of Anselma and Pennsylvania agriculture.