FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Allison Dyer (828) 254-6373, Ext. 332
allisond@thehealthadventure.org

EXPLORE THE INNER LIFE OF TOYS AT THE HEALTH ADVENTURE’S SUMMER EXHIBIT

ASHEVILLE – If your parents never let you break open your Etch A Sketch® to find out how it works, or if you’ve been wondering how to stop your toddler’s push toy from making such an infernal racket, you’ll love Toys: The Inside Story!

Visitors to The Health Adventure will be among the first in the country to see this new exhibition, opening June 13. Toys includes 12 different hands-on stations illustrating the simple mechanisms commonly found in toys, and lets visitors create their own toy-like combinations of gears, pulleys, linkages, cams, and circuits.

In Jack Gets Out of His Box, visitors get a close-up view of the cam combination that frees the hero, Jack. Hokey Pokey Elmo® loses his fur to reveal the amazing collection of switches, cams and motors that make him dance. A video shows Mr. Machine®, a classic toy from the 1960’s, in action to illustrate how linkages and cams make him move. Gears at Play illustrates the effects of gear ratios as visitors figure out how to spin ballerinas and a carousel, and in The Magic Behind the Silver Screen, visitors can see an opened Etch a Sketch® to learn how pulleys and wires move the toy’s drawing tip.

“This exhibit appeals to the young and the young-at-heart,” said Paige Johnson, President & CEO of The Health Adventure. “Children and adults alike are curious about how toys do the fun things they do, and this exhibit will allow families to see the science behind classic and current toys.”

Toys: The Inside Story was developed by the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vt., with funding from a National Science Foundation grant awarded to seven museums across the country that comprise TEAMS (Traveling Exhibits at Museums of Science). The exhibit is being presented at The Health Adventure through the support of The Toy Box, and will be on display through September.

But before Toys opens, there’s still time to explore the science behind communication with The Health Adventure’s current traveling exhibit, Get the Message! The exhibit closes on May 25.

From the subtitles of speech to signs and symbols, sending and receiving information from the world around us is second nature. Visitors can play and experiment with all the different ways we “get the message” in this exhibit.
Get the Message was designed through a collaboration of Discovery Center Museum of Rockford, Illinois and the Family Museum of Arts and Sciences of Bettendorf, Iowa and supported by the National Science Foundation. The exhibition is presented at The Health Adventure through the support of AB Emblem and Charlotte Street Computers. For more information, visit www.thehealthadventure.org.

###

he Health Adventure, founded in 1968, is a health and science attraction for children and today’s families, dedicated to improving health awareness, promoting wellness lifestyles, and increasing science literacy through programs and exhibits.