BodyQuest
Journey through the human body with an interactive exhibit gallery.
MINI MED CENTER AND AMBULANCE
Grab a lab coat and examine Pat the patient, check blood pressure, look over x-rays, take an EKG, and more. And don't forget to explore our new ambulance, generously sponsored by HCA/TriStar.
THE BIG CATCH
It takes teamwork to manipulate a giant robotic hand and wrist to catch a giant baseball. You’ll be surprised at how much activity goes into making the human hand catch a ball. In this sports-themed area, you’ll learn how your bones support and protect your body and why smart athletes wear head protection.
THE HEART OF IT ALL
This area is full of exhibits and activities that demonstrate how the circulatory system works… and sometimes doesn’t. The Big Heart features a ten-foot-tall beating heart that occasionally suffers an “attack” requiring emergency medical attention! The Blood Stream uses water to show how blood flows through the body. See how smoking can cause blood vessels to clog. Then become a cardiologist and insert a stent to send the “blood” along its way.
DOWN THE HATCH
This series of interactive exhibits follow the path of food through your body from Feed Me, where you toss “food” into a giant mouth, then manipulate its course through the mouth into the esophagus, down to the stomach, and finally through the intestines and out the body.
BODY BATTLES
Body Battles is an interactive laser game that demonstrates the ongoing struggle inside all of our bodies between health and illness. Lieutenant Lymphocyte leads a team of “good guys” in battle against Private Pathogen’s soldiers in a laser target gallery that replicates the immune system. Experience how the immune system works for yourself!
THE WIND PIPE
The Wind Pipe invites you to step into an oversized model of the human respiratory system to explore the throat, windpipe and lungs. The interior of this larger-than-life respiratory system will engage your senses with sights and sounds that illustrate the body at work, while hands-on activities direct the way to healthy habits.
BRAINSTORM
An enormous realistic brain offers scenarios that demonstrate what areas of the brain are in control of actions and thoughts. Plus, you can challenge a friend to a round of Mind Ball, which allows you to control a ball by controlling your thoughts. Who has the most relaxed mind?
THE AMAZING AGING MACHINE
The Amazing Aging Machine turns twelve-year-olds into seventy-year-olds in an instant. A face-altering photo booth encourages healthy choices by showing children how factors like smoking affect the aging process.
X-Ray Mirror
Use this magic mirror to see inside your body! Check out how your skeleton and muscles move as you do, thanks to the power of augmented reality. This exhibit is a partnership between Dr. Bennett Landman’s lab in the Department of Engineering at Vanderbilt University and the Interdisciplinary Science and Research Program (ISR) at Hillsboro High School, led by Dr. Joshua Swartz.
BodyQuest is supported in part by the generous contributions of our sponsors:
Dr. and Mrs. William B Wadlington
The Martin Foundation
Nashville Academy of Medicine Alliance