Austin Nature & Science Center

09/02/2026

⁉️ WHAT IS IT WEDNESDAY ⁉️

And we're back! And our last mystery immediately had a correct response of a HEAD LOUSE! Luckily this dreaded creature is just on our microscope slide, so we can appreciate it's weirdness without the itch or the ick!

Head lice are insects - six legs, three body parts, antennae - that are parasitic, feeding on human blood. They usually live on the scalp, with females laying eggs that attach to hairs with a gluey substance. The adults live for a few weeks, biting their hosts, causing the itching that is the most common symptom of lice. And that's usually the worst of it -- lice infestations are pretty easy to treat with special shampoos, lice do not spread disease, and they are usually only spread through head-to-head contact. And they do NOT indicate anything about cleanliness or hygiene - unfortunately, they can infect anyone they come into close contact with!

Lice have been feasting on humans for millions of years and are seen worldwide. Scientists have even used the study of lice to study human evolution, migration, and behavior.

This week's mystery might not cause quivers and itches just looking at it, but maybe it will if you know what it is...what is it?

07/08/2026

⁉️ WHAT IS IT WEDNESDAY ⁉️

Last week's mystery was quite a stumper - it appears to be an EEL SKULL, but determining which species is difficult: there are about 1000 species of eels worldwide, with well over 100 living in Mexican waters where this one was found (we don't know exactly where). Eels range in adult size from a few inches (we know it's not this one!) to over eight feet (also not this one!), and have quite a range of skull and jaw shapes, although many different species are also very similar-looking. From the biggest to the smallest, they all start out as tiny, clear, flat-shaped larva called leptocephali.

This one could be one of our favorites here at the ANSC, the American eel! The size of this skull is about the size of our own resident American eel Houdini, but is is broken on both sides and missing the lower jaw. We'll keep investigating, and you can visit Houdini in our Small Wonders building!

This week's mystery is on a new slide loaded onto our microscope in the Naturalist Workshop - so hint: it's really, really tiny! What is it?

06/24/2026

⁉️ WHAT IS IT WEDNESDAY ⁉️

We're back! It's been a little while, but take a look back at our last mystery - a gooey, funky-looking jar of SEA CUCUMBERS! While obviously named for their lookalike fruit, these animals are related to starfish, sea urchins, and other ECHINODERMS. But unlike their relatives, sea cucumbers have evolved reduced skeletons (yes, starfish and sea urchins have skeletons!), so they have wobblier, blobbier bodies with only small (microscopic) calcified ossicles making up their bony parts.

They display an incredible amount of beautiful, colorful, otherworldly-looking forms, and are super important to the health of the world's oceans: they act as cleaners of their environments, feeding on waste, decaying carcasses, and other organic matter that needs to be broken down and recycled for healthy oceans. Thanks, sea cucumbers!

Summer crowds are here, and we've been getting lots of fun things from all over the world brought in to our Trade Counter, including today's treasure: what is it?

04/29/2026

⁉️ WHAT IS IT WEDNESDAY ⁉️

We're back! Our last beautiful mystery crystal was a DUMORTIERITE QUARTZ! The rare blue dumortierite is a mineral made of aluminum, boron, and silicate elements, with some other minerals that give it different colors from blue to pink and violet. It forms often as inclusions within quartz, such as in our examples, where it gives a light blue tip to the crystals that really shines and "flashes" over a bright flashlight. Under a microscope, we can see that the blue dumortierite is actually fibrous, glassy little blue prisms inside the quartz. Beautiful!

Today we have something beautiful in a different way! What is it?

04/25/2026

🦞CREEK CREATURES TODAY! 🪱

Learn all about arthropods, amphibians, and more with hands-on microscope activities, slime-making, and plenty of cool animals and artifacts to touch and learn about! Free, drop-in programs going on today until 2:00pm today. See you there!

04/09/2026

🪲 SATURDAY PROGRAMMING! 🪁

Coming up THIS Saturday, April 11th -

You can find ANSC at ABC Kite Fest in Zilker Park from 10:00 - 5:00 hosting an interactive nature activity for all ages!

You can also visit us here at ANSC for Meet the Animals: Arthropod Edition. Stop by the Green Earth classroom any time from 10:00 - 2:00 to meet some of ANSC's tiniest resident creatures.

Please note that our site's accessibility and parking will be affected by road closures for ABC Kite Fest. View road closures here, and visit https://abckitefest.org/ for more information about ABC Kite Fest, including how to get to Zilker Park and its surrounding areas this Saturday, April 11th.

Join Austin’s beloved ABC Kite Fest! This free spring tradition features kite flying contests, kite making, MossFest concert, and family fun since 1929.