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Pinktoe tarantula
Rosie is a pinktoe tarantula. Spiders like Rosie have pink on the tips of their eight legs!
Rosie lives at a museum in Chicago. She is calm and her venom isn’t strong. In fact, it is only as strong as a bee sting.
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Rosie's Great Escape
A tarantula escaped in a museum. Here is the true story of what happened.
By Amanda Miller
From the October/November 2026 Issue
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Students will compare fiction and nonfiction.
Lexile® measure: 480L
Featured Skill: Fiction and nonfiction
Standards
Meet Rosie
Rosie Escapes!
iStockPhoto/Getty Images
Pinktoe tarantula climbing glass
One day, Rosie’s handler left the lid off her tank. He left it off for only a few minutes.
But Rosie is a great climber. A few minutes was enough time to climb out without anyone noticing.
The Search for Rosie
Richard T. Nowitz/Getty Images
The Chicago Field Museum
When the museum workers finally noticed Rosie was gone, they were frantic. They were not worried she would hurt someone. They were worried about her safety!
They searched for her everywhere. But the museum was huge, and Rosie was small. Was she gone forever?
Rosie Is Found!
Julien McRoberts/Tetra images RF/Getty Images (Library); Dorling Kindersley ltd/Alamy Stock Photo (Tarantula in Library)
Three months after her great escape, Rosie was found! She was in the museum’s library. No one had fed her for three months. Still, she was plump and healthy. She was not hurt.
Workers put her back in her tank. They put the lid on tight! She was safe.
How Did Rosie Survive?
Don Farrall/Getty Images
Tarantulas like Rosie can go for three months without eating. But Rosie may have hunted for insects at night. She probably was busy exploring the library after dark!
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