For Immediate Release
Contact: Diane LaFollette
Arkansas Discovery Network
500 President Clinton Avenue, Suite 150
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 396-7050, ext. 119
dlafollette@amod.org
What’s stinky and rude and fun? Grossology!
Arkansas Discovery Network, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation,
hosts first collaborative exhibit.
Little Rock, AR (August 1, 2007) – Gross Anatomy? You bet!
Imagine sitting in a crowded, but quiet room and your six year old suddenly asks, very loudly, “Why does my body make noises when I pass gas?” Perhaps you have been on the phone discussing business when your sweet daughter cries out, “Why did I burp, Daddy?” Kids are naturally curious about how their bodies work and sometimes it is difficult for adults to satisfy their curiosity.
This unique exhibit, Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body, will be touring Arkansas until 2009 thanks to the Arkansas Discovery Network and the generous grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. Based on the best-selling book of the same name, Grossology is highly interactive and uses animatronics and imaginative play to explore the good, the bad and the ugly about runny noses, body odor and much more.
Adults can now teach children about regurgitation without embarrassment at Grossology’s “Vomit Center,” which demonstrates how and why we vomit. Everyone thinks “tooting” is funny, and at the “Toot Toot” exhibit visitors can learn why passing gas makes noise. Next time little Johnny burps in church, he will remember the “Burp Machine” exhibit that explained the reaction of acids in the stomach. The whole family can say “Peeeeeee Yuuuuuuu” together when they explore the not-so-funny smells a body can create at the “Sniff Sniff” exhibit.
“This is a nationally recognized exhibit,” said Nan Selz, executive director of the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock. “And we are very excited to bring this exhibit to Arkansas. People around the nation have raved about how fun and educational it is. This is just one of the many high quality educational experiences we will share with our community as a partner in the Arkansas Discovery Network.”
Grossology’s appearance in Arkansas is made possible by a new collaboration among seven Arkansas museums, and is funded by a generous grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. The first of its kind in the nation, the Arkansas Discovery Network is dedicated to bringing innovative educational experiences to all parts of the state through the sharing of exhibits and educational programming. To achieve this goal the Network is creating a mobile exhibit truck to reach rural school students, it is bringing some of the best national traveling exhibitions and programs to the partners and it is creating one-of-a-kind traveling exhibitions. In addition, the most powerful and effective science learning methods in the country are now available through workshops for the partner museums and area teachers, improving the way science is taught in the state.
Grossology is the combined effort of Science World; Advanced Exhibits, LLC; and Grossology author Sylvia Branzei. As a teacher, writer, curriculum designer and microbiologist, Branzei designed Grossology as a tool that would make learning fun. “This is science in disguise,” she says. “If we teach students in their own words, they’ll understand better and actually learn something.”
This exhibit is sponsored by Arkansas Children’s Hospital and will be appearing at the following museums:
April 28 — August 26, 2007
Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, Pine Bluff
September 3, 2007 — January 6, 2008
Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources, Smackover
January 12, 2008 — May 11, 2008
Texarkana Museums System
May 17, 2008 — September 7, 2008
Mid America Science Museum
September 13, 2008 — January 4, 2009
Arkansas State University Museum, Jonesboro
About Arkansas Discovery Network
The Arkansas Discovery Network, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, works to strengthen partner museums by sharing resources and expanding discovery learning opportunities across the state. Member museums include the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs, Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas in Pine Bluff, Texarkana Museum System in Texarkana, Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover, Arkansas State University Museum in Jonesboro and the University of Arkansas Center for Mathematics and Science Education in Fayetteville. For more information, visit www.arkansasdiscoverynetwork.org.
About The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation
The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, headquartered in Las Vegas, is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. The Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the United States.
For more information about the exhibit’s developers, contact:
Advanced Exhibits (A division of Advanced Animations, LLC.)
Jan Shoener
Janshoener@advancedanimations.com.
###