More Science

The weather is absolutely atrocious on the South Island this weekend (roads are closed and advisories are out asking people to stay home) - so I ended up volunteering (volunteers are paid here!) at the NZ International Science Fair (http://www.scifest.org.nz).

One of the highlights: The Colossal Colon. This is the entrance to it:
And this is the exit:Luckily we just dealt with Penguins and Antarctic research - nothing too smelly. I did the first shift with Melianie:
And we got to wear some REALLY cool t-shirts:
The kids could climb into a real Antarctic expedition tent:
and try on cold weather clothing:
After my shift I walked around and found some other interesting things:

And Isaac, the poisonous fire-bellied newt:
This is his underside:
She wiped her hand off on her pants after touching him :)

And an interesting-looking worm bin:
And just in case some of you want to try worm-bin NZ-style, here are the instructions:As I write this I hear sirens every few seconds. And the wind is howling....