The Bruce Museum invites visitors to explore the hidden world of ants in new science exhibition
‘Ants: Tiny Creatures, Big Lives’ debuts Nov. 13
GREENWICH, Conn. — For every person on Earth, there are about 2.5 million ants. The Bruce Museum brings visitors eye to eye with their ubiquitous insect neighbors in “Ants: Tiny Creatures, Big Lives” on view Nov. 13, 2025-May 17, 2026. The exhibition examines the complex ecologies of these tiny dynamos, revealing how ants form sophisticated societies, construct elaborate nests, stockpile and cultivate food and go to war with other colonies.
“Ants are all around us, under our sidewalks, in our trees, even in our homes. But their astounding activities – building, warring, farming – usually go unnoticed,” said Daniel Ksepka, Ph.D., curator of science at the Bruce Museum. “‘Ants: Tiny Creatures, Big Lives’ magnifies these fascinating insects and gives visitors the chance to broaden their understanding of the incredible diversity of ants, their remarkably complex behaviors and their importance to natural ecosystems and human society.”
Visitors enter the exhibition through a scaled-up replica of an ant tunnel, then immediately encounter a five-foot-long model of the largest living ant species, Dinoponera gigantea, built at more than 35 times the ant’s actual size. The display allows viewers to examine the fine details of an ant’s anatomy, including compound eyes, serrated mandibles and venomous stingers. Carebara atoma, the world’s smallest ant species, measures less than a millimeter in real life. The Bruce’s replica, sized up to the same scale as Dinoponera gigantea, measures only 1 ½ inches. Side by side, this pair illustrates how the size difference between the largest and smallest ants is so vast that they encounter the world in completely different ways.
More than 70 smaller scaled up ant replicas visualize features from various species, such as the scissor-like mandibles of leaf-cutter ants; the alien-like appearance of Martialis heureka, dubbed the “ant from Mars;” the loss of eyes in some subterranean ant species; and the spring-loaded mandibles of the subterranean trap-jaw ant that are used for catching and consuming centipedes. Visitors can learn about the specialized behaviors of these six-legged wonders, from a turtle ant soldier’s role of protecting its colony by using its plate-like head to block the entrance of the nest to the dirt ant’s practice of collecting particles of soil and dead plant matter to fashion its own camouflage. The exhibition also illuminates the role ants play to keep their environments in balance, from pollinating crops and dispersing seeds to aerating the soil and aiding in decomposing organic material.
A highlight of the exhibition is an “Ant Architecture” display that reveals the complexity of subterranean nests and how they differ based on soil type, colony size and the ecologies of different species. The section features intricate casts created by pouring molten aluminum into ant nests. Once cooled, the excavated casts resemble abstract art. Created by Walter Tschinkel, Ph.D., the scientist who invented the poured aluminum technique, the three-dimensional creations offer a unique perspective on the sometimes simple and sometimes byzantine networks of tunnels and chambers that would otherwise be impossible to visualize.
“Ants” features 24 large macrophotographs by world-renowned entomologist Alex Wild, Ph.D., allowing close-up viewing of real ants in their habitats, from forest canopies to desert ecosystems. Wild’s images show ants creating nests, transporting eggs, quarrelling with enemies and other rarely seen interactions. Complementing the photos and models, high frame-rate video footage by entomologist Adrian Smith, Ph.D., of Ant Lab fame provides fascinating examples of ant behaviors in slow motion, demonstrating actions that occur so rapidly they can’t be appreciated in real time, such as a trap-jaw ant slamming its mandibles shut.
Family-friendly interactive elements throughout the galleries offer opportunities to experiment and reflect. Young visitors can enjoy creating their own ant species using an oversized slot machine-style spinner to select front, middle and rear sections (heads, mesosomas and gasters), choosing features like seed-crushing mandibles, protective spines or venomous stingers to help their ant survive in different environments. A smell-based activity highlights the importance of chemical communication in ants with scents ranging from chocolate to citronella to rotten eggs. Similar odors are used by ants to identify pathways, raise alarms and ward off enemies. A towering “Sting Meter” invites guests to visually explore the pain level of various ant stings, from the mild heat of the fire ant to the debilitating punch of the bullet ant.
“Fostering a greater appreciation of the world around us, ‘Ants: Tiny Creatures, Big Lives’ offers our visitors a peek into the captivating lives of these miniscule creatures,” said Mary-Kate O’Hare, director and CEO of the Bruce. “Cultivating discovery and wonder is central to the Bruce Museum’s mission. We hope the exhibition prompts visitors of all ages to view ants in a new light.”
“Ants: Tiny Creatures, Big Lives” is organized by the Bruce Museum and curated by Daniel Ksepka, Ph.D., curator of science at the Bruce. Support for the exhibition is generously provided by CT Department of Economic and Community Development, CT Humanities and the Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund.
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About the Bruce Museum
Located in Bruce Park and overlooking Greenwich Harbor, the Bruce Museum is a world-class institution that offers a changing array of exceptional exhibitions and educational programs that cultivate discovery and wonder through the power of art and science. Ahead of its time for taking this multidisciplinary approach over a century ago, the Bruce Museum is at the heart of contemporary efforts to bring together art, science and education to spark conversation, connection and creativity. The Museum welcomes over 100,000 visitors annually, playing an integral role in the area’s cultural life.
The first exhibition at the Bruce Museum took place in 1912 and featured works by the Greenwich Society of Artists, several of whom were members of the Cos Cob art colony. Their works formed the nucleus of the Museum’s holdings of American Impressionism and continue to be a strength of the collection, along with Native American art and American photography. The focus of the Museum’s collection has since expanded to include modern and contemporary art from the 1870s to the present day, with a special focus on the art of the Americas.
The natural science collections include extensive holdings of regional vertebrates and insects, one of the most comprehensive collections of Connecticut Valley fossils from the Triassic and Jurassic Periods, and an exceptional collection of minerals from around the globe. In all, the community, through its generosity, has built the Museum’s varied collections of art and natural science to over 30,000 objects.
The Museum, which is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, opened a new building in 2023 that doubled the size of the museum and tripled the exhibition spaces. The new Bruce features state-of-the-art exhibition, education and community spaces, including: a changing gallery for art and five new permanent galleries in the William L. Richter Art Wing; a changing gallery for science; a permanent science exhibition, Natural Cycles Shape Our Land; three classrooms in the Cohen Education Wing; and a café, auditorium and grand hall. When the outdoor spaces are completed the Bruce campus will feature a landscaped sculpture meadow and inviting spaces for relaxation and contemplation — natural enhancements to Bruce Park and an anchoring connection to Greenwich Avenue.
For more information, visit brucemuseum.org.
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