Lincoln, Nebraska, July 12-16, 2026

We are thrilled to announce that AAS 2026 will be held on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus in Lincoln, Nebraska, July 12-16th, hosted by the Hebets Lab.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), a public land-grant research university, is the state's oldest university. The beautiful City Campus, situated in the heart of downtown, includes the University of Nebraska State Museum, located in Morrill Hall, which is the state’s premier museum of natural history, and the Sheldon Museum of Art, which houses a comprehensive collection of nearly 13,000 artworks. East Campus (just 3.5 distance away) hosts the International Quilt Museum and the Lester F. Larsen Tractor Museum. Other nearby destinations include the Museum of American Speed for automotive history, the beautiful Sunken Gardens, the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, and Wilderness Park.

Arrival and check-in Sunday, July 12 – (early arrival may be necessary if volunteering in Eight-Legged Encounters).

Eight-Legged Encounters – The meeting will kick off with this community science festival from around noon to 3 pm on July 12 at the University of Nebraska State Museum's Morrill Hall. Everyone is welcome to participate as a volunteer or a participant.

Opening Reception – will be the evening of July 12 in Morrill Hall from about 6pm to 8 pm (appetizers provided), with the graduate student social to follow at a location TBD.

Panel luncheon – There will be a Science Communication/Public Engagement panel luncheon Monday July 13 (lunch provided).

Soccer game – First-ever AAS soccer match: Mygalomorphs vs. Araneomorphs!  Monday July 13.

Tallgrass praire evening - Enjoy several hours in the scenic prairie nature preserve  on Monday July 13, with collecing allowed and dinner and drinks provided.

Talks and poster sessions – Monday to Wednesday, July 13, 14, 15. Talks, breaks, and poster sessions in the Nebraska Union on City Campus.

Post-meeting excursions – Chooseone of two post-conference excursions for Thursday July 16 - a daylong trip to Omaha’s world-famous Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium or a half-day BioBlitz at UNL’s field station, Reller Prairie. See details below. (extra cost)

Some details of meeting highlights are below.

Eight-Legged Encounters (ELE) is an interactive, hands-on science-learning event created for families and participants of all ages focused on the amazing biodiversity of arachnids. The event will run from noon to 3 pm on Sunday July 12. Those intending to volunteer will likely need to arrive Saturday evening (July 11). Volunteers will receive a t-shirt, water bottle, and lunch; limited stipends are available. See full event details

The Science Communication panel will bring together voices from across the discipline to discuss effective strategies, challenges, and emerging trends. Lunch will be provided (must register for the lunch).

In honor of the men’s soccer world cup which will be happening in North America during our meeting (semi-final games July 14-15), we will host our first ever AAS meeting soccer match. We have reserved a field on campus close to the dorms and will have an official referee for Monday, July 13, from 8 to 9:45 pm. If you sign up to play, you will be assigned a team – Araneomorphs Vs. Mygalomorphs – and will receive an associated "dry-fit" style T-shirt. Everyone registered for the meeting is encouraged to play, regardless of your skill level! 

Tuesday evening, July 14, we will bus everyone out to Spring Creek Audubon Center, a 1,160-acre tallgrass prairie nature preserve located 20 minutes southwest of Lincoln, Nebraska. Once there, you will be free to explore miles of walking trails, nearly 850 acres of native tallgrass prairie, ponds and wetlands, wildflowers and grasses, a diverse assortment of birds and other wildlife, historic nineteenth-century wagon ruts, peaceful surroundings, and beautiful scenic vistas.  We will provide dinner and drinks at Spring Creek Audubon Center and buses to and from campus. 

Spring Creek has generously offered us access to all the trials after dark. They are also happy to allow arachnid collecting.  

If you plan to explore after dark and/or collect species, please bring your own headlamps/flashlights, vials, insect repellent, etc. It would also be a good idea to bring a water bottle and sunscreen, as July evenings can be quite warm in Nebraska. 

Early registration will open in February, with member fees set at $400, $250 for student and retired, $500 and $300 for nonmembers. Family members and UNL-faculty/student pricing will also be available. Prices will rise sharply as the date grows near.  The last day to register is June 19.

Registration will include all presentations, the opening reception, closing banquet and auction, and some meeting swag, as well as the AAS soccer match, tallgrass prairie evening and dinner, and the pre-meeting Eight-Legged Encounters festival for early arrivals.

Attendees will pay for their own dorm housing, T-shirts, and post-meeting excursion costs.

Affordable dorm housing is available in the University’s suite-style halls University Suites, about 0.3 miles from the Nebraska Union. Both shared double rooms and single rooms and will be available. Dorm rooms come with a pillow, sheets,  pillowcase and blanket (bed pre-made), and fresh towels provided daily. Children are welcome in the dorms, but may require some extra paperwork. Also, if you have a preferred roommate, note that both of you will need to request each other at registration.

We also have blocks of discounted rooms at the Embassy Suites and Drury Inn (both ~0.5 miles to Nebraska Union), and there are several other hotels in downtown Lincoln as well as Airbnb Lincoln. 

Both hotels and dorms include breakfast. 

We will provide plentiful appetizers at the opening reception Sunday and dinner at the tallgrass prairie outing Tuesday and closing banquet Wednesday. There will be scheduled breaktime snacks during talks and poster sessions. Lunch will also be included for those who sign up for the Science Communication panel event Monday July 13 (no extra charge). All other lunches are on your own.

For those choosing the  post-meeting excursion to Renner Prairie Thursday July 16, lunch will also be included ($50 for the excursion).

Fly into Lincoln Airport (LNK), about 8 miles away from campus, or Omaha's Eppley Airfield (OMA), about an hour’s drive. For train travelers, the Amtrak station is located in downtown Lincoln, minutes from UNL's City Campus. Driving, Lincoln is about 1 hour from Omaha, 2.5-3 hours from Kansas City, and around 3 hours from Des Moines.

Monday, July 13 - Opening Keynote by Alfredo V. Peretti, Professor at National University of Córdoba

Tuesday, July 14 - Plenary by Leticia Aviles, Professor, Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia

Wednesday, July 15 - Plenary by Muhammad Irfan, Postdoctoral Fellow, Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, winner of the 2025 Norman Platnick Award

Also Wednesday - Early Career Symposium highlighting five early career scientists invited through a collaboration between the scientific committee and the graduate student executive committee.

The scientific committee consists of meeting host Eileen Hebets with 2027 and 2028 hosts Marshal Hedin and Marc Milne.

Presentations. Attendees may give only one oral presentation (regular talk or lightning talk) at the meeting; they may also present a one poster. They can be an author on multiple talks or posters.

The program organizers have the discretion to limit the number of oral presentations. If necessary, we may ask that oral presentation abstracts be transferred to a poster presentation.. We hope to accommodate everyone who wants to present. Please consult these guidelines for giving an excellent research presentation.

Abstracts should be no more than 250 words in length. The deadline for submitting abstracts is Friday, May 15

Plenary/keynote speakers will have 45-50 minutes for their presentation with an additional 10-15 for Q&A.

Early Career Symposium speakers will have 25 minutes for their presentation with an additional 5 minutes for Q&A.

Oral presenters will have 15 minutes total (12-13 minutes for the presentation with 2-3 minutes for Q&A). To keep on schedule, moderators will welcome the next speaker to the podium at the 15 minute mark. We may have some concurrent sessions so staying on time is imperative.

Lightning talks This year, we are offering the opportunity to present 5-minute lightning talks. Lightning talks are meant for early career students and/or other participants who have a short story to tell or preliminary results to share. They will be limited to 5 minutes without questions (but will be right before a break where discussions can follow). These are a great way to practice science communication skills.

Posters must be no more than 40 inches wide and no more than 48 inches tall.

Sunday, July 12 – Opening reception (appetizers provided) and graduate student social
Monday, July 13 – AAS soccer match: Mygalomorphs vs. Araneomorphs
Tuesday, July 14 – An evening in the Tallgrass Prairie at Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center (dinner provided)
Wednesday, July 15 – Banquet and auction (dinner provided)

Take home a gorgeous amblypygid-themed unisex shirt (zoom in) and/or timeless T-shirt showcasing the Society's logo (zoom in) in your choice of style - $20 each, sizes S to 3XL.

Don’t forget to bring you arachnid-themed books, shirts, trinkets, and memorabilia for the auction, to help raise funds for student research!

We will have space for 50 individuals on a bus that will take you to Omaha’s world-famous Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. The cost will be $100 for bus and ticket costs. Depending on the number who sign up, we may also be able to arrange a behind the scenes experience. Individuals will be responsible for their own food and drink throughout the day. 

We’ll head out by university vans for an exciting field excursion to Reller Prairie, a beautiful natural site southwest of Lincoln, Nebraska. Nestled in a scenic watershed at the junction of three stream branches at the headwaters of Salt Creek, Reller Prairie offers a unique chance to explore Nebraska’s landscape up close. The $50 fee includes round-trip transportation and lunch. To keep things comfortable during Nebraska’s summer heat, the outing will last 3–4 hours total, including travel, with about 2 hours spent exploring in the field.

Dietary requirements. We will do our best to accommodate dietary restrictions but will not be using caterers who specialize in any specific dietary requirements. If you have a strict dietary requirement (e.g., certified gluten free) you may need to organize alternative meals. Please contact the organizer if you have any questions.

Mobility restrictions. The dorms are all within walking distance of the meeting venue and social venue. Please indicate if you have mobility challenges and will require assistance getting from place to place. 

The registration form will include a place to flag such issues.

Read the code of conduct

Questions? Contact the meeting host
 

Eight-Legged Encounters (ELE) is an interactive, hands-on, art-infused informal science-learning event created for families and participants of all ages focused on the amazing biodiversity of arachnids. More than 40 interactive modules blend unique original artwork, engaging volunteers (you!), and numerous creative games, crafts, and activities to provide hours of fun as participants unwittingly learn about the biology of spiders and their lesser-known arachnid relatives.

• Watch a video of Eight Legged Encounters filmed at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, featuring AAS secretary Paula Cushing or view some online training videos for specific stations from the ELE Playlist.
• Read in the National Library of Medicine how Eight-Legged Encounters-Arachnids, Volunteers, and Art help to Bridge the Gap between Informal and Formal Science Learning.
• Learn more about the ELE story.

ELE has already reached more than 35,000 participants. It has been hosted by the USA Science & Engineering Festival (Washington DC), the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (CO), The Toledo Zoo (OH), the Butterfly Pavilion (CO), the Crane Trust Nature and Visitor’s Center (NE); the University of Nebraska State Museum’s Morrill Hall (NE), and Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo (NE). We also offered ELE prior to the 2022 AAS meeting, hosted at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California Davis.

The event will run from noon to 3 pm on July 12.

Volunteering Those intending to volunteer will likely need to arrive Saturday evening (July 11), as set-up and training will begin at 10 am the 12th. Volunteers will receive a t-shirt, water bottle, and lunch. The first 20 students or post-docs who sign up for an optional 2-hour online science-communication training prior to the event will be eligible for a $100 stipend. Prior volunteers, we would love to have you participate again!