Animal Grossology

Looking for the inside scoop on everything there is to know about the digestive system and its by-products? Then by all means, check out the number one exhibition for cringe-inducing moments, Animal Grossology, at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. Sixteen game-like interactive displays, many using sophisticated animatronics and video, regale kids of all ages with scientific insights into the stinkiest, yuckiest, slimiest—well, grossest—aspects of nature.

 

Based on animated characters from the best-selling Grossology children’s book series by science teacher Sylvia Branzei, the displays invite youngsters to guide a beetle as it rolls a dung-ball up a hill, vote for the slimiest creature on earth Dating Game-style, belch a baby frog into its new home, and match piles of poop to their party-pooping guests. Other displays, with colorful names like Tapeworm Tug, Sense the Scent, and Blood Sucker Blow-up, further entice visitors to delve into the more curious aspects of nature that normally aren’t brought up in polite dinner conversation.

 

As much as the exhibition is rife with fun and games, there’s a lot of good science to be learned, such as the fact that flies pee every 4.5 minutes wherever they land (can you say Depends?), and that cows are the gassiest creatures on the planet (and you thought it was your uncle Louie).