# Crickets, roach races and fossils in Mantua

> Edelman Fossil Park's first GreenFest hands you a cricket cookie, a roach race and a moth hunt after dark.
- Title: Crickets, roach races and fossils in Mantua · PhillyVoice
- Summary: Edelman Fossil Park's first GreenFest hands you a cricket cookie, a roach race and a moth hunt after dark. Sept. 18-20 at Edelman Fossil Park, most of…
- Keywords: events, south jersey, insects, family, sustainability, news, local, Crickets, roach, races, fossils, Mantua
- Source: PhillyVoice — https://phillyvoice.com/edelman-fossil-park-greenfest-world-bugs-edible-insects-roach-races-south-jersey-2026
- Published: 2026-09-12T10:59:13.729+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: events, south jersey, insects, family, sustainability, news, local
## Eat a cricket this weekend
Visitors to Edelman Fossil Park & Museum can sample crickets, watch cockroaches race and meet live insects and arachnids during South Jersey GreenFest on Sept. 19-20.
## The museum's first GreenFest
The Mantua Township museum is pairing bugs, fossils, citizen science and sustainability programming for the first time, built around biodiversity and ecosystems.
## Studying the past for the future
Activities are framed around one idea: what we learn from deep time can shape decisions about the planet ahead.
## World of Bugs, all weekend
The centerpiece runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and is included with museum admission. No separate ticket needed.
## Bug walks and ancient invertebrates
Inside the program: live bug encounters, roach races, guided bug walks, specimen investigations, hands-on crafts and fossils of prehistoric invertebrates.
## The Bug Chef cooks
Entomologist Zack Lemann, known as the "Bug Chef," leads insect-cooking demos and hands out samples.

> Entomologist and educator Zack Lemann, known as the "Bug Chef"
## Chocolate Chirp Cookies and more
The menu runs to cricket cookies, crispy Cajun crickets, red beans with poached caterpillar instead of rice, and fried dragonflies with mushrooms and Dijon-soy butter.
## Count bugs for science
A free BioBlitz sends you across the grounds, gardens and Nature Trail to find and document plants, insects and animals. Rowan's Flight Club runs a bird edition Saturday noon to 4 p.m.
## Free electric vehicle show
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., local owners, dealerships and sustainability groups bring EVs, plus activities for kids.
## Friday night, moths and the moon
The weekend opens Friday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. with entomologist Dan Duran, an after-dark hunt for moths and beetles, and telescope views of the moon. Free.
## Key takeaway

Sept. 18-20 at Edelman Fossil Park, most of GreenFest is free and World of Bugs comes with museum admission.