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JANUARY 18 2007

For more information:

Todd Scott - Himmelrich, Inc.
410-528-5400
Todd@Himmelrich.com

Grossology Exhibition Opens at Maryland Science Center

Sometimes it's stinky; sometimes it's crusty; and sometimes it's slimy - but it's always a part of you. Beginning January 27, 2007, the Maryland Science Center will let you explore the science behind the mushy, oozy, crusty, scaly and stinky gunk the human body produces in its new exhibition: Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body.

Based on the best-selling book, Grossology guides visitors' instinctive interest in "gross" substances to inform them about the incredible processes of the human body. Sophisticated animatronics and imaginative hands-on activities show the good, the bad and the downright ugly about runny noses, body odor, bad breath, pimples, the digestive system and many other functions.

Grossology incorporates virtual reality, video technology, and life-like models into 18 interactive displays, which allow visitors to experience the human body in a unique and fun way, such as the "Tour du Nose" which asks guests to step inside an eight-foot tall nose to explore nasal features. It's no surprise that when they do, they're greeted by a blast of air as the nose lets out a loud "sneeze" to demonstrate how the nose acts as an air filter, a smell sensor and a mucus producer all at the same time.

Kids can take a ride on the "GI Slide" and simulate the route that food takes from the mouth to large intestine in this 30-foot 3D model of the digestive system. Similarly, "Urine: The Game," explains renal functions by encouraging visitors to don virtual reality gloves and goggles to act like a kidney and "grab" harmful waste materials to remove them from the virtual blood stream.

Other activities allow visitors to uncover more mysterious and gross ways your body's biology does what it needs to keep you healthy, such as they human skin climbing wall - complete with scabs, warts and blisters as foot-holds - and the "Burp Machine" which mimics the build up of acid indigestion before releasing a giant belch.

Grossology also offers a fresh spin on traditional games. In the pinball game, "Gas Attack," bumpers are dressed up as food items that cause gas; and visitors can become surgeons in "Patients Please," a 7-foot long version of the classic game Operation. Other games take a less traditional approach, such as "Up Your Nose" where guests can learn how boogers are formed by launching "dirt balls" into a larger-than-life nose.

Grossology will be on display from January 27 through April 29, 2007, in the Legg Mason Gallery on level two of the Maryland Science Center.

The Maryland Science Center is located at 601 Light Street at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. For information and tickets, visit www.marylandsciencecenter.org or call the 24-Hour Information Line at 410-685-5225, TDD: 410-962-0223.

The Maryland Science Center at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is visited by more than 550,000 people each year. Popular exhibits include: Dinosaur Mysteries which features more than a dozen full-size dinosaurs and interactive paleontology activities, an exploration of the day in the life of the human body in Your Body: The Inside Story, and add... dozens of interactive experiments in Newton’s Alley. Other popular attractions in the museum include the Kids Room, the five-story St. John Properties IMAX Theater, and the world-famous Davis Planetarium.