Exhibit Offers Glimpse Into Your Future

Have you ever been curious to see what you might look like 30 years from today? Ever wonder how your thoughts and emotions can affect your health? Want to know what’s really in your favorite packaged foods?

You can find out the answers to these questions and more through a 15,000-square-foot permanent exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry.

The interactive exhibit, You! The Experience, offers a glimpse into the wonders of human development and complexities of the human body.

“This is the kind of exhibit that will empower children and young adults to look at their own health behaviors today, and begin to understand that the lifestyle choices they make now will have a profound influence on the rest of their lives,” said Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences S. Jay Olshansky.

“The MSI exhibit does this in a fun and interactive way, and I am excited to be part of a science exhibit that will positively influence the health of generations to come, and perhaps help to nurture a new generation of scientists, as I was, decades ago, when I first visited the museum,” he added.

Dr. Olshansky participated in the making of the exhibition, which is one of the first and largest to showcase the connection between the human mind, body and spirit in the 21st century.

“About three years ago, I was contacted by Dr. Patricia Ward at the Museum of Science and Industry about a new exhibit they were thinking about,” he said. “It involved public health and a focus on aging. They asked me to give a talk at the MSI, which I did, and then asked if I could help them with the content of the exhibit.”

From the beginning, to the end and into the future, the exhibition’s approach is multi-faceted. Visitors begin their journey of self-exploration walking through the various installations – Your Beginning, Your Appetite, Your Vitality, Your Movement, Your Heart, Your Future and more.

At the portrait gallery of centenarians, known as The Century Club, participants can hear thoughts on life from people who have lived 100 years and listen to Olshansky discussing the science behind human longevity.

“I did a lengthy video interview, parts of which appear in the section of the exhibit devoted to surviving to extreme old age, and parts of which appear in the section devoted to childhood obesity,” Olshansky said.

Other interactive portions of the exhibit include games like testing your basketball skills with a virtual coach, catching a digital glimpse of how you might look in 25 years and examining real human embryos and fetuses that were originally donated to the museum in 1939.

Kids and adults alike can play Mind Ball, a game described as competitive relaxation, in which players win by controlling their brainwaves, or they can interact with the Giant Heart by sending their pulse and making the 13-foot heart beat in time with their own.

The exhibition also features Medical Innovations celebrating some of the latest, innovative breakthroughs in medical research and technology. Participants can also explore virtual surgery on the Human Patient Simulator, iStan®, a computerized mannequin designed to exhibit the realistic symptoms of medical crises.

Olshansky said the exhibition is a one-of-a-kind experience that will make a profound impact on youth.

Find out more about the exhibit at You! The Experience.

>> Tina Daniel