Kids of all ages can experience bodily functions in museum exhibit

The grossest and crudest exhibit on the human body has invaded the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and will not leave until September.

Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body is based on a children’s book by teacher and microbiologist Sylvia Branzei. In this interactive exhibit, visitors of all ages can learn about the slimy, crusty and stinky things the body produces and why. Though Grossology is directed toward children, there are enough factoids and definitions to wow any brainer.

As visitors walk through, they see a blend of colors and sounds. Characters like Nigel Nose-It-All tell facts about runny noses, mucus and sinuses.

At each station, interactive machines show the process of many bodily functions, like Burp Man, a machine that mimics the buildup of acid indigestion to make him belch loudly.

Each station includes banners and posters defining each function with numerous health, cultural and scientific factoids.

Over 2 million bacteria are living on your chin, cheeks and nose,” one station says. “No matter how hard you scrub your face, you can never get rid of them.”

The exhibit does a great job of disguising science. Overactive children can touch, climb and grab at numerous computer and arcade games without getting yelled at by parents.

Because this exhibit is geared toward children, the format may not work as well as parents would like. With so many facts and information to soak in, it might be hard for some children to stand and listen to the definition of projectile vomiting when nearby sits an allergy skeeball game, where balls of “pollen and dust” are shot into a giant nose.

Though some of the levers and pulleys on the machines are hard to maneuver, the facts are disgustingly interesting. (In some cultures, it is customary for mothers to suck out the mucus from their baby’s noses and spit it on the ground.) And the enlarged models are bizarre (Skin Climbing Wall: Large-scale skin that includes pimples, warts, hair, wounds and moles for kids to climb).

Grossology teaches the science of everything society shuns and lets kids know it is OK ­— that being gross is normal.