Feb 6, 2026 - Things to Do

Name a cockroach after your ex

Shafaq Patel

Model of a dollhouse with clear walls showing rooms with furniture, next to a retro neon style sign reading Heartbreak Motel with details like 'Honeymoon Suites Available' and 'Vacancy'. — You can visit Heartbreak Motel anytime. Photo: Courtesy of Houston Museum of Natural Science

Heartbroken? The Houston Museum of Natural Science offers a humorous form of catharsis: Name a hissing cockroach after your ex.

The big picture: HMNS' annual "Endless Love" runs through Feb. 14, inviting visitors to name a cockroach housed at the Heartbreak Motel — because, as the museum puts it, "nothing makes a heartbeat faster than a roach."

How it works: Name the crawly creature online here for $10. It'll include a digital certificate.

If you want an Endless Love pin along with the certificate, name the cockroach in person for $15.
Roaches live at the Heartbreak Motel inside the Museum Store, where a few dozen are staying.
Proceeds support conservation efforts at the Cockrell Butterfly Center.

Flashback: The promotion has been running since about 2014.

By the numbers: Over 100 were named in January, the museum tells Axios. One year, more than 500 cockroaches were named.

About 30 are being named daily as Valentine's Day approaches.

Worthy of a watch: HMNS' funny hissing cockroach video, which invites participants to "honor your loved one by naming one of Earth's most resilient and passionate creatures after them."

The bottom line: Add a little humor to the healing. We dare you to forward that certificate to your ex.

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Name a cockroach after your ex

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