Okay, we admit it: A few of our exhibits make people squirm. But we've noticed something: lots of people like to squirm. So if your tastes run to the rotting, gooey, moldy, creepy-crawly, foul-smelling, or just plain nauseating, this walk’s for you. Good luck.
To start, take the stairs just beyond the entrance up to the mezzanine level. (Or take the elevator.)
Chick Embryo
On the mezzanine level, in the Life Sciences section
Begin at the beginning, with the miracle of life, as you peer inside fertilized chicken eggs that are just days old. You'll see wing buds, blood vessels, and big black eyes—but be warned: The sight of a tiny red heart beating in an egg yolk may put you off omelets indefinitely.
Cow’s Eye Dissection
On the mezzanine level, in the Life Sciences section
Check the daily schedule on arrival for dissection times.
You haven't really seen the world until you’ve looked at it through the lens of a cow’s eye. For starters, it’s upside down. But awe turns to “eww” when an intrepid Explainer squashes the lens to extrude the waxy goop inside. The adventure continues as you encounter the shiny blue tapetum lucidum (for low-light vision), the retina.
Energy from Death
On the mezzanine level, in the Life Sciences section, near Cow’s Eye Dissection
Life leads to death leads to . . . flesh-eating beetles, of course. This ever-changing assortment of dead critters in various states of decay is squirming with life. Watch as creepy-crawly insects make a hearty meal of rodents, snakes, turtles, birds, opossums, bullfrogs—anything that fits in the tank. We dare you to sniff the vent at the top of the exhibit.
Living Color
On the mezzanine level, in the Life Sciences section, near the Microscope Imaging Station
Marvel at the many-colored hues and textures of this living mural, a wall of thriving bacterial colonies. Red, green, brown, white, fuzzy, lumpy, soupy—it brings to mind that leftover half of a burrito you forgot way in the back of the fridge.
Hot Pile
On the mezzanine level, in the Life Sciences section, near the elevator
Dig your (gloved) hands into a steaming pile of decay and feel the heat generated as bacteria, fungi, and microscopic worms do the dirty work of decomposition. Who knows, some day this may become a fancy spa treatment. Get in now while it’s still affordable.
Blood Cells in the Eye
On the main level, beyond the skylight area, in the Seeing section
Gaze into the blue light. See those moving sparkles? Those are the cells of your own blood as it moves through the capillaries at the back of your eye. Look carefully and you can even see them surging in response to the beating of your heart. It’s Cow’s Eye Dissection and Chick Embryo rolled into one—except this time it’s you.
Moving Stripes
On the main level, beyond the skylight area, in the Seeing section
If nothing so far has managed to make you queasy, then it’s time for something a little more visceral. Step inside the swirling cylinder of orange and white stripes and stare out at the moving stripes. Give it time. You’ll feel yourself—and possibly your stomach—start to turn.
