Carnivorous Plant Show Leiden: compare snap, glue and pitcher traps

Hortus botanicus Leiden hosts the Carnivorous Plant Show from 21 to 30 August. The show is included in regular admission, while selected tours and workshops cost extra or require booking. It suits nature fans, families and prospective plant buyers; check the daily programme before choosing between expert talks, the plant market and creative sessions. The temporary concentration of international expertise makes this a chance to compare several trapping systems, rather than simply seeing another familiar Venus flytrap in a greenhouse.

• Why these ten days are different: the show surrounds the International Carnivorous Plant Society conference. Researchers, growers and enthusiasts arrive from around the world on 21-23 August, bringing knowledge and collections that put more unusual species on view.
• Look beyond the Venus flytrap: displays include colourful pitcher plants, fast-closing flytraps and sticky sundews in settings that explain how they grow in the wild. Comparing three trap mechanisms reveals adaptation rather than just spectacle.
• The choice and trade-off: storytellers, a plant market, tours, botanical drawing, phone photography and pot painting all have different ages, fees and booking rules. Arriving only because the show is open may mean missing the session you wanted.

Hokimi field note: Ask children to sort each plant into snap, glue or pitcher before reading the label; the prediction turns a collection of curiosities into a lesson about survival.