Marvel Super Heroes Science Exhibition May 4, 2006

With a Marvel-ous source of inspiration, the California Science Center's latest exhibit looks at real-life science processes through the superhuman powers of comic-book heroes.

Whether you wanted to scale walls like Peter Parker, fly like Superman or kick supervillian butt (with sexy red boots) like Wonder Woman, everyone's harbored some kind of superhero fantasy. Now, instead of running around the house in a towel cape, you can live out your fantasy at the California Science Center. The exhibit allows would-be superpeople to see whether their senses measure up to the Daredevil's in a dark alley, pick the Incredible Hulk's "brain" and learn what makes the mean green machine tick, imagine what it's like to take on the multi-armed Doctor Octopus by examining the technology of prosthetic limbs, and discover the science behind X-Men heroine Storm's power to create thunderstorms. Visitors can also live like the other man of steel, Iron Man, by stepping into an exo-suit to lift a 2500-pound Scion xB overhead (the suit employs a motorized chain and sprocket mechanism that allows visitors to recreate superhuman strength), and measure the durability of Spider-Man's webs by testing Technora, one of the strongest man-made fibers ever created.

?Elisa Jacobs

Official Website: http://www.californiasciencecenter.org/