Science North's new exhibit is ready to entice your children over the March Break, but as with all things science -- it has a layer of intrigue that should interest adults, as well.
Beyond Human Limits is an exploration of the phenomenon known to psychologists, extreme sports athletes and weekend Tough Mudders as 'thrill seeking'.
"Whether or not it's an Olympic athlete or it's a parkour person or even a sort of weekend person that does mud runs, they're going to learn a little bit about themselves here at Science North," said Dr. Ken Carter, whose work from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia informed Science North's new exhibit.
Featuring a climbing wall, parkour courses, white water rafting simulation and even a wing-suit simulation, the exhibit is very interactive and hands-on. For the most part, there's a lot of play involved as one works their way through out. However, scattered throughout the space visitors will find a number of computers.
One of those stations will tell a person a lot about their personality.
Dr. Carter explained: "When you first come into the exhibit you can take a questionnaire to find our your sensation seeking score and you can compare your score with a lot of these extreme athletes," Carter said.
"There's a personality trait called high sensation seeking personality and it really helps explain why thrill seekers do the things they do."
Three-time Olympian Rebecca Johnston was one of the first people to get a sneak peak of the exhibit before today's unveiling.
"It's really cool to get the science behind it and just to learn a lot from it," said Johnston.
The new exhibit will run until summer before touring North America for an impressive five years.
