Expeditions always work better with a buddy — even the virtual ones.
That’s the idea behind Expedition Health, the new, tech-savvy, permanent exhibit opening Saturday at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Visitors check in at kiosks to begin a virtual expedition up the lofty Mount Evans, accompanied by a personalized “guide” and an access card that tracks vital statistics along the way.
It’s an inspired — and very Colorado — way to engage minds of any age, literally making the visitor’s own body the focus through hands-on activity stations, experiments, films and more. The approach cleverly flips the pedantic notion of health education on its ear, and relatability is the key.
“Your buddies are virtual peers — not experts or teachers,” said Nancy Walsh, the museum’s coordinator for Health Gallery programs.
The $8.7 million Expedition Health replaces the Hall of Life exhibit, which drew 2 million visitors over its 20 years. Expedition Health recasts the idea of health science in a more personal, interactive and brilliantly effective way by making every bit of it about you.
We toured the 10,000-square-foot exhibit, which took three years to plan and construct, to bring you the five coolest features.
The core exhibits
Making up the bulk of Expedition Health, these 21 interactive exhibits offer peeks inside our bodies in ways most of us never see. Sure, there’s the usual measuring devices (Your Heart’s Electricity, BioRide, etc.) but these exhibits take the concept of biofeedback a step beyond.
Want to see the network of veins in your arm as blood pulses through them? The Vein Viewer gives you a real-time visual reading. The Full Body Viewer does the same with your skeletal system. Want a big-picture view of how you move? Size Up Your Stride records your silhouette and plays it back on a big screen. You can also watch the digestion of a granola bar, grow microbes from your feet, age yourself digitally and use your brainwaves to move a ball across a table (seriously).
Kids will also love the can’t-look-away quality of the human specimens (frostbitten toes!) and everyone’s egos will appreciate the printout you get at the end that tracks your performance.
BodyTrek Theater
The Mount Evans theme comes to big, colorful life in BodyTrek, with a 130-degree panoramic screen and personalized in-seat sensors that read your heart rate, oxygen saturation and more.
A larger-than-life layout of the body demonstrates graphically what happens to us during our trip up Mount Evans as we adapt to different conditions, and a weather station shows the effects of the environment.
Get ready for a few surprises, too, as the weather is dramatically re-created inside the theater (snow and wind? You bet) and infrared cameras literally bring you onto the screen.
Biology Base Camp
You’ll need the “three G’s” — gowns, gloves and goggles — to step into this array of fun experiments. As luck would have it, they’re provided.
Computer screens lead you step-by-step through a series of real science experiments as you extract DNA, test microbes or even measure sugar content in cereal (you’ll be shocked at how much you consume in some brand names).
If you’ve ever wanted to play scientist, Biology Base Camp lets you do it in a safe, easy-to-understand environment. Perfect for kids who have more fun arranging their toys than destroying them.
Tykes Peak
If you think it’s impossible to engage the littlest ones in health education, think again. Tykes Peak is designed for kids ages 1 through 5 with pieces that let them feel their heartbeat on a drum, pack their own lunch and demonstrate the virtues of repetitive play in a mock forest.
Some adults may even want to take part in the activities, such as the giant red “pin screen” that allows you to make full impressions of your body in a plastic wall. Freaky — and very cool.
Summit Science Stage
If the Hall of Life was a “dated educational platform,” as health curator Bridget Couglin says, the Summit Science Stage is its 21st century counterpart.
Shows and activities move in and out regularly, taking an interactive approach toward exploring our inner workings. The educator-driven sessions offer SuperFood Hero characters for the kiddies (lifesize and in costume), sheep heart dissections on a big-screen display and more.
If you can stomach it, you can even slap on some gloves and take part.
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
Expedition Health
Permanent museum exhibit. Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd. Opens Saturday. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $6-$11. Reservations highly recommended. 303-322-7009 or
