It's been an exciting week for Expedition Health. We officially started testing all the cool interactive exhibit components.  Today was a staff/volunteer walk-through where we got to try everything out and simulate for the research team what a real day would be like inside the hall.  I was so excited to actually get to use the Peak Pass that I'd only read and heard about for so long.  Check-in was really easy... I just put my Peak Pass (which is like a credit card) into the sign-in station, entered my name, age and birthday and then picked my Expedition Buddy.  I chose Danielle :) 

After that, I entered the hall and was instantly overwhelmed with how awesome everything looked.  The graphics were so colorful and the interactives were extremely unique and fun to play.  My favorite was Food is Fuel.  The goal of the game is to try and pick out a balanced meal for your buddy so they can make it to the top of Mt. Evans.  The first time I tried, I chose too many proteins.  Poor Danielle tumbled right down the mountain!  

Another really cool exhibit was the Full Body Viewer.  It let you see straight through your skin to what your bones, muscles, and nerves look like.  It even mimicked the movements I made.  When I waved, my skeleton waved right back at me.  So cool.

The Summit Science Stage was also up and running with a heart dissection.  I get a little queasy when it comes to blood and guts, but I didn't have to get too close because the details of the dissection were projected up on a large screen.  Other people just dove right in, getting right up next to the staff member conducting the dissection, and asking tons of really great questions. 

A few staff members brought their kids, and they were instantly hooked on Tykes Peak.  The giant pin-screen was especially popular.  One mom made an impression of her face, and her little 2 1/2 year old son took one look at it from the other side and said "I smash!"  That game probably went on for a good 10 minutes. He also couldn't get enough of the slide and the pair of binoculars he packed in his expedition backpack.  

Overall the exhibit experience was excellent.  Once I made it through, I printed out my Peak Pass Personal Profile.  I've got it on the wall in my office now.  Next time I'm hoping to get my heart rate down -- I guess I was just excited to see this all finally coming together!