Explore the science behind Robert Ripley’s legendary collection of oddities, anomalies and fantastic feats when the travelling exhibition opens at Telus World of Science later this month.
Featuring the curious collections of the extraordinary explorer, the exhibition reveals how science can unlock secrets and explain the unexplainable. Described as an adventure through the remarkable realms of scientific discoveries, the Science of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! includes real artifacts, experiments and touchable specimens, along with interactive and multimedia experiences. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about some of the most extreme animals to ever live, dive into the complexities of human biology and marvel at the seemingly impossible collection of remarkable objects that Mr. Ripley collected as he travelled the world in the 1920s and ‘30s.
Some of the highlights of the exhibit include:
• Crawl through a life-size replica of Titanoboa, the largest species of snake to have ever lived. At 50 meters long, this prehistoric snake was as long as a school bus and as heavy as a car. Hear the snake breathe and be immersed in the sounds of its digestive system as you learn about its anatomy.
• See the world from the perspective of the world’s tallest man, Robert Wadlow, who grew to eight-feet, 11 inches (2.7 m) tall. Believe it or not, when Mr. Wadlow died at the age of 22, he was still growing. Explore the science behind the unusual growth in people such as Wadlow.
• Listen to Ripley’s popular Believe It or Not! radio show broadcasts from the 1930s and 1940s and hear an amazing story of survival from the Titanic disaster, listen as a man plays his head like a xylophone and learn the true story behind the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme.
• Check out the jaw of a megalodon, the largest species of shark to ever live. Growing up to 15-metres long, this prehistoric species was the top marine predator of its time.
• Examine a real meteorite from Mars and learn what makes meteorites different from typical rocks on Earth.
• Discover the science behind body modification techniques from different cultures and examine the neck-elongating effect of wearing neck coils by looking at a replica figure of a Kayan woman, and inspect authentic shrunken human heads and learn how and why they were created.
• Order up a virtual bug dish at the Bug Bistro and discover the practice of eating insects and why creepy crawlers are a tremendous potential food source for a nutritious, environmentally responsible diet.
• Experience the microscopic sculptures of Willard Wigan. His intricately detailed art is so small, it fits inside the eye of a needle. The artist has used human hair and even pieces of dust as parts of his sculptures.
• Check out the extraordinary Rolls Royce made entirely from matchsticks. The two-third size 1907 Silver Ghost Rolls Royce is made from 1,016,711 matchsticks and 63 pints of glue. It took the artist 4,609 hours over 450 days to build.
The Science of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! exhibition is presented by Save-On-Foods and runs until April 22.
@sthomas10
