Exhibition Overview

Explore the emotion of fear in a totally safe and fun learning environment. Discover interactive fear challenges, learn how our bodies respond to fear and understand the science behind this universal emotion.

Fear Challenge Course

Fear of Animals
Can you reach inside an opaque box connected to terrariums filled with snakes and other creatures? It’s easier said than done!

Fear of Electric Shock
Think you can handle it? Feel your heart beat faster and your muscles tense as you anticipate a mild electric shock.

Fear of Loud Noises
Get startled by a sudden loud noise and find out how the startle facial expression differs from that of fear.

Fear of Falling
Can you stay cool as a cucumber as you wait to fall backwards without warning? See how fear registers on your face.

Face of Fear

Faces of Emotion
Identify which facial expressions correspond to our basic emotions and learn about how we communicate our feelings to others.

Measuring Fear
Objectively measure the fear response by experimenting with a heart rate and skin conductance monitor.

Fear Lab

Triggering Fear
Fear signals follow two paths on their way to the amygdala, the brain’s threat center. Set up dominoes to represent the branching pathways in the brain and start the chain reaction to see which path triggers the fear response quickest by reaching the amygdala first.

Mr. Goose Bumps
Meet Mr. Goose Bumps, a larger-than-life figure that comes alive through cartoon animations to show how the brain and body work together. Look for changes in his body when he gets scared.

Danger or No Danger?
Play a computer game to learn about the trade-offs the brain makes between reaction time and image resolution in the fear response.

The Amygdala
Watch a video that introduces the amygdala, the brain’s threat center, which examines incoming sensory information for signs of threat and orchestrates an appropriate response involving the entire body.

Brain Activity Bench
Use a magnifying glass to get an up-close look at real brain slices from different animals and compare the size of the amygdala. Younger children will enjoy the brain coloring station.

Fear and Memory
Watch a video about research on the relationship between fear and memory and the effects of traumatic events.

Fear in the Wild

Freeze Game
Can you outsmart a leopard? Play an immersive video game and collect fruit without being seen by the leopard. Be careful! If he sees you move, he’ll pounce!

The Survival Game
Chose the level of fearfulness of virtual prey animals and see how each fares once virtual predators are introduced into the environment.

Flight and Fight Videos
Watch footage of animals in the wild as they use their fight and flight responses in dangerous situations.

Fear Theater

Live Demonstration
Can you learn fear? Participate in a live demonstration by Science Center staff, experience fear conditioning first-hand and see how scientists measure fear in the lab.

Fear Revue
Watch a brief documentary-style video that shows how popular culture reflects and shapes our collective fears.

Fear and Society

Make a Scary Movie
Like to be scared? Experiment with different soundtracks and frightening sound effects to create your own scary movie!

Moral Panics
See a display of news coverage that shows different moral panics that have surfaced and spread in recent history.

Coping with Fear

Fear over a Lifetime
Read illustrated panels about common fears for different stages of human development and learn how to help children cope with their fears.

Anxiety Disorders
View engaging interviews with patients who suffer from different anxiety disorders and get an insider’s view of their struggle with these diseases of fear.

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