Let’s take a tour through the human body. But let’s skip over the brain, heart and lungs and get right down to the gross stuff.
A traveling exhibition is back at the Arizona Science Center. It’s called Grossology: The Impolite Science of the Human Body.
"It really is kind of all about the icky and sticky of the human body," said David Rock, the director of exhibits and collections management at the Science Center. "You know there is just something about the gross nature of the human body that kids really cling on to."
He means this literally. There’s a skin climbing wall, where kids can climb using different things found on the skin. But we’re not here to just cover surface-level stuff. Let’s dig a little deeper… into the nose.
"You can kind of turn yourself into a dust particle and walk through a giant nose and get sneezed out," Rock said. "Most people don’t have a giant nose at home I would think."
After you’ve been sneezed out as a dust particle, you can try being a food particle and slide through the stomach and intestines.
"That’s a real all-encompassing, you’re pretty much completely involved, type of experience," he said.
The goal is to engage all the senses, even smell. Rock said immersion into the grossology of the body isn’t just about eliciting “Ews” and “Yucks.” It teaches people about those bodily functions.
"It’s amazing how just that interaction does promote the learning," Rock said. "A lot of times, almost before you realize it, you walk away with more knowledge than you had."
Grossology will be at the Arizona Science Center until Sept. 7.
