Theme your Visit is your guide to discovering hidden gems in the museum — all themed on a certain subject. Whether you’re a seasoned museum visitor looking for new ways to explore or a first-timer with a penchant for in-depth knowledge, a themed visit provides the framework for you to experience the museum in a whole new way.
Emily, the Two-Headed Turtle – Level 5
Sure, this snapping turtle specimen is two-faced, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give her a chance! Brought to the museum in 1973, Emily’s biological abnormalities limited her ability to find food and evade predators in the wild. Her connected craniums can be found preserved in formaldehyde and on display in the Collectors’ Corner.
Anubis Automatons – Level 4
Anubis, the Egyptian jackal-headed god of mummification, graves, and the afterlife can be found overlooking the Level 3 galleries, near the entrance to the We Move and We Stay exhibit. Part of the Cabaret Mechanical Theater display, these Anubis automatons feature wheels, levers, and linkages working in tandem to both tell a story and show engineering concepts in action.
Head-measuring Device – Level 4
From the mid-1800s to early 1900s, anthropologists used tools like these to measure and classify people’s bodies. They applied pseudoscientific practices to human skulls in an attempt to justify racism for decades, using their findings to rank races by intelligence and morality. Learn more about this misapplication of research methods in the Human (Mis)measure section of the Race: Are We So Different? exhibit.
Blood Highway- Level 4
Get a hands-on understanding of the difference between an artery and a vein. Feel the pulse of a heart pumping oxygenated blood to the body and contrast that with the weaker pressure as it travels further away. Don’t forget to look above you to see all of the moving blood circulating through the Human Body Gallery.
Cockroach in Amber – Level 3
Take in one of the ultimate survivors of the insect world — the cockroach. These creepy crawly insects have earned a reputation for persistence, withstanding extreme radiation, weeks without food or water, and even lack of a head — all because of their slow cell division. On display in the Dinosaurs and Fossils Gallery, you’ll find the golden-yellow glow of a prehistoric cockroach fossilized within amber, a hardened tree resin that preserves insects and other small animals.
