Take a tour through the nose. Walk, climb, slide and crawl through the digestive system. Enter through a giant mouth into the "grossest" exhibit of the human body.
With the opening of the Florida Museum of Natural History's latest exhibition on Saturday, visitors can delve deeper into the human body in an interactive playground for adults and children alike.
"Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body" opened Saturday. The exhibit is based on the bestselling book "Grossology," written by Sylvia Branzei. Highly colorful, noisy and, in some cases, totally rude, it offers something different to every visitor, taking things that are usually taboo and making them fun.
One visitor, Suzanne Stapleton, brought her children to the museum to see the butterflies. After waiting more than 45 minutes in line and at the insistence of her two boys, Stapleton visited the exhibit. She liked how the hands-on activities kept children entertained.
For 6-year-old Wyatt Dyke, it was all about the snot display.
He said he liked it best because it grossed his mom out. He also liked the tooting station that explained why people fart.
The exhibit is not reserved for children. People over the age of six can still learn new information about their bodies.
Mike Arena, a UF student, learned that the nostrils take turns inhaling, switching sides every three to four hours from one of the signs around the room.
The exhibit even provided an answer to an intriguing question: Why do women usually have to wait longer for the bathroom than men? "Grossology" showed that it takes women an average of 79 seconds to use the bathroom. On the other hand, men only take an average of 45 seconds.
Douglas Noble, the head of exhibits and public programs at the museum, described the exhibition as wildly popular. "Grossology" has traveled to over 75 major museums in the U.S. and abroad.
Noble said that it is highly engaging and interactive, in spite of being very child-oriented.
"It's sort of like walking into a cartoon world, a carnival," Noble said. "Instead of playing games of chance for a stuffed dog, you walk away more informed about your body and how it works."
