NEW FORT WORTH MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY
EXHIBIT INVITES YOU TO PUT YOURSELF AT RISK!

Why would you put yourself at risk? For the sheer fun of it, of course! Risk!, a new traveling exhibit gives you a playful and informative look at risk and risk assessment in a way that could change how you view risk in your own life.

Risk!, a new 5000-square foot exhibit developed by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, showcases a variety of interactive, realistic experiences that invite you to explore and understand risk and the part it plays in everyday life. "Life is all about taking risks, and the decisions we make about risk affect the quality and nature of our lives," said Charlie Walter, senior vice president of the Museum and project manager for the exhibit. "Our hope is that Risk! will help Guests better understand and deal with risk using science, mathematics, and critical thinking skills."

Risk! presents some extraordinary, eye-opening situations that emphasize our perception or misperception of risk. Imagine crossing a 7" wide steel beam 17 stories above the ground. A little risky? Now add wind, blaring construction noises, and a noisy flock of birds flying by. Would you go forward or slowly skirt around the perimeter of the structure? Or would you avoid even taking the first step? Find out in your introduction to the Risk! exhibit -- the Beam Walk!

Math, science, and probability can play a significant role in risk assessment. This is best illustrated in the Bed of Nails where you can discover that lying on thousands of nails may not be the sticky situation you expected! As you lie on the Plexiglas bed, a geared system slowly raises nails through the bed, lifting you, too. Will you escape harm or be punctured like a pincushion? Physics can provide the answer!

Ball of Danger combines probability concepts with non-quantitative factors like emotion and intuition. Two containers filled with red and white balls are presented, the red balls representing poison. One contains 100 balls - 91 white, nine red - while the second has ten balls - nine white and one red. Can you tell which container is most dangerous? Other hands-on exhibits in the Gambling and Probability Area further illustrate probability with coin flipping, dice tossing, and visual examples of the odds.

When we're confronted with a self-assessment of our own tolerance for risk, we begin to realize that risk assessment is a highly subjective and personal process. Risk! Cinema - presents engaging and powerful taped interviews with Mt. Everest survivor Beck Weathers, auto racer Johnny Rutherford, astronaut Barbara Morgan, bullfighter Rob Smets, and other risk takers. The 12-minute video puts a personal face on risk and highlights different opinions about risk. What's riskier -- racing around an oval track at 200 miles per hour or driving to the grocery store? The answer depends on whom you ask!

Do you consider yourself a risk taker? You might be surprised to find out you're more or less of a risk taker than you thought in We Dare You To Take This Quiz. Your score in a series of 20 true-false questions such as "I don't like trying exotic foods" will show your comfort level with risk.

The How Old Are You Really? computer program shows us that the lifestyle choices we make - daily risk management decisions - can affect our quality of life. A series of lifestyle questions like "Do you exercise?" and "Do you eat fatty foods?" show that behavior influences our true "health age."

Switches reinforces the highly personal nature of risk assessment. In classic game show fashion, you put yourself in the hot seat and test how far you're willing to go to be a "winner." You pull a series of eight switches to earn points. Flashing lights, cheering, and double points reward "good" switch choices. But watch out! One of the eight switches is a "bad" switch that immediately ends the game and eliminates all earned points. 

In You Judge the Risk, you're given the opportunity to voice your concern about some of the health, economic, and environmental issues we currently face. After reviewing current media stories, you can post your opinion of a selected issue for others to see. The Museum collaborated with Texas A&M University's Information Technology in Science (ITS) Center for Teaching and Learning in developing this portion of Risk! Researchers from ITS, a part of A&M's Texas Engineering Experiment Station, have been conducting scientific risk assessment studies to determine the effect ecological devastation has had on the people of Azerbaijan, considered the most polluted place on earth. The Azerbaijan case study sheds more light on environmental risk. 

The element of risk is present in everything we do. The Extreme Gallery focuses on the response of science, technology, and engineering to risk through objects developed in response to particular types of risk. Some objects, like a bicycle helmet and bulletproof vest, are familiar while others, such as a steel mesh shark tunic and demining boots, require explanation.

"There is an unfortunate disconnect between the ways that scientists and the general public perceive and assess risk," said Dr. Paul Slovic, a professor of psychology at the University of Oregon and a principal advisor for Risk! Slovic studies human judgment, decision making, and risk analysis, and is the author of a series of books on risk, including The Perception of Risk. "The public has a broad perception of risk that incorporates uncertainty, dread, catastrophic potential, controllability, risk to future generations, and so forth, into the risk equation," Slovic said. "In contrast, experts tend to see riskiness as synonymous with probability. So it's not surprising that the experts' recitation of 'risk statistics' do little to change people's attitudes and perceptions. Risk! provides a wonderful opportunity to bring real risk and perceptions of risk closer together."

Risk! is designed for children ages 12 and up and adults and is also appropriate for elementary school-age children. It was developed by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History in conjunction with Hands On, Inc., an exhibit design company based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The exhibit is the Museum's third-round contribution to the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative (SMEC), a collaborative of seven museums across the country that produces high quality, world-class science exhibits. After its Fort Worth premier, Risk! will travel to the other six SMEC member museums before becoming available for lease to other museums in 2005.