Attack of the Bloodsuckers Opens!

ATTACK OF THE BLOODSUCKERS!
September 24 – January 22

Stinky feet can make you more attractive… to a hungry mosquito, that is!  Take cover because the invasion has begun.  Bloodsuckers are lurking everywhere for a chance to take a bite of you. Explore the science of what’s eating you with Attack of the Bloodsuckers!, a new, skin-crawling exhibit opening Sept. 24, 2011 – Jan. 22, 2012 at the Museum. You’re invited to discover the biological wonders of sanguinivores (creatures that eat blood) through encounters with live species and interactive exhibits.

• Look at live loathsome leeches and their mouths.
• Feel a giant tick “grow” on you.
• Get in the diver’s seat and cruise the skies in search of dinner in the “mosquito cockpit.”
• Pull off your socks and test your bug-appealing foot odor.
• Get itchy and knotty with the life-size game of "Twitcher" — a buggy variation on Twister™!

 
Attack of the Bloodsuckers! zooms in on the famished critters that raid your personal space when you’re not looking.  It offers fascinating facts about creatures most of us never take a second look at, even if we do take a second swat.  The exhibit also provides you with helpful hints for avoiding these sometimes annoying creatures. 

With about 20 grams of protein in every drop, human blood is high-energy fuel for the animals who’ve adapted to eating it—and they have adapted in some pretty amazing ways: Our regional black fly, for example, uses its scissor-like jaws to create a wound in the skin, then licks up the resulting pool of blood.  Ticks, also native to our area, can swell up to 600 times their original size!
 
The incredible biodiversity of bloodsuckers is sure to amaze and impress. While we can’t guarantee you’ll want to make friends with these critters, you’re sure to respect them after surviving the Attack of the Bloodsuckers!