This week we have been visiting family in South Florida. One of my favorite places to visit is the South Florida Science Center. This has always been a favorite place of mine. I even volunteered here 15 years ago.
Their current exhibit is called Our Body: The Universe Within, and is an exhibit of real life bodies. The bodies are preserved using a special process called polymer impregnation. The exhibit is very interesting and great for all ages. It is in no way morbid or gruesome, but they do show ALL body parts including the breast and penis. So this might be something you would want to talk about with your children before going.
We took about an hour to walk through the exhibit taking our time to examine the different types of models they had. Some were full skeletons, some were the muscles, some were veins, organs, arteries and nerves. Chief asked many questions about each item, and each area had a list of what we were looking at. This made answering his questions accurately very easy. I would have loved to share some pictures with you, but it was against the rules to take photos. I can not explain how truly amazing, and fascinating the exhibit was.
This exhibit would be perfect for any student currently learning about the human anatomy. They can actually see everything they are reading about, in person and in real life. No diagrams, no artificial pictures, or old draw pictures in a school book.
We went on a Tuesday, which lucky for us happened to also be their homeschool day. Check out their homeschool classes here. We signed up for a class to learn about the Florida Everglades and the importance of Alligators to the ecosystem. Not only was it very informative, there was a hands on section where we got to meet and pet a baby alligator that was rescued. This was Chief’s favorite part, because come on what kid doesn’t want to pet a baby alligator!
Did you know that alligators have 5 toes on their front feet, and only 4 toes on their back feet? This was one of Chief’s favorite facts that he learned during class. We also learned that alligators lay eggs, and the temperature the eggs are at determine the sex of the baby alligators. Warm areas produce male alligators, and cool areas produce female alligators. I found this super fascinating as I just always thought the sex was determined when the egg was laid.
We also learned that without Alligators that the ecosystem in the everglades be in danger. Alligators are the largest most dangerous animal in the everglades and they help keep everything in check.
If you are ever in West Palm Beach, I highly recommend a visit to the Science Center. So much has changed over the years and they are opening up new areas every year and exhibits change every few months.
❤️ Brittny
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