While much of the Eastern seaboard is getting prepared for the coming of the 17-year periodical cicadas, Manhattanites may miss the show. (The cicadas have virtually never been recorded on this urban island.) But starting Wednesday, May 22, you can see periodical cicadas on the Upper West Side, here at the Museum.

The Museum's Youth Initiatives group has been developing a new Youth Advisory, a group to help us think about how to expand digital programs that teach science here at the Museum. The Youth Advisory's recent mission: to write a Want Ad that telegraphs what you want from digital-media infused science programs at the American Museum of Natural History.

Frogs: A Chorus of Colors is now open at the Museum, with more than 200 live amphibians representing more than 20 species from around the world. Among the largest animals on display: two types of bullfrogs.

When the Irma and Paul Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life re-opened to the public in 2003—ten years ago this month—the newly renovated gallery was transformed: 14 dioramas, some first built in the 1930s, had been restored, and brand-new ecosystem displays highlighted the diversity of ocean habitats and the species that lived together within them. The blue-whale model, on display since 1969, was renovated, too.

On Thursday, May 30, at the Museum, a bevy of explorers and researchers will explain the connection between Arctic whales and climate-change research at a special event, World Science Festival: How Whales are Unlocking Arctic Secrets.