Get Gross At the Museum of Natural History

Pickled snakes in bottles, real shark dissections and owl barf. These are some of the really cool and gross things on display at the Museum of Natural History in Halifax on Friday, Oct. 22, Saturday, Oct. 23 and Sunday, Oct. 24.

Friday, Oct. 22 is a school in-service day and the beginning of a three-day weekend for children. "We've planned lots of fun things for kids to do on their days off," says manager Janet Maltby. "We truly enjoy opportunities to share fascinating aspects of nature and display unique museum specimens which are often not on public display."

Did you know that baby sharks are called pups? Budding biologists will enjoy such information as well as the opportunity to view a dissection of a Spiny Dogfish Shark, the most abundant of all shark species. For some, the up-close and personal experience of seeing what a shark ate for breakfast might easily be considered "totally gross."

As part of the event, museum naturalists will also dissect owl pellets, the non-digested and regurgitate food parts of what an owl has eaten. They will also be cooking up crunchy mealworms and providing taste tests at their Bug Bistro each day. Other "gross" activities include looking at compost under a microscopes, seeing bats, rats and a mummified cat.

The Get Gross at the Museum display takes place on Friday, Oct. 22 and Saturday, Oct. 23 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday, Oct. 24 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The Museum of Natural History is located at 1747 Summer St., Halifax. Regular admission will be charged. For information and dissecting schedule call 902-424- 3563 or visit the website at http://nature.museum.gov.ns.ca .