John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science
1515 Hermann Drive
Houston, TX 77004
www.museumofhealth.org

This was the John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science’s first year as a National Sense of Smell Day host museum. Guests of all ages enjoyed a wide variety of activities.

Make Your Own Nose
Visitors sculpted their noses out of Model Magic clay. This activity gave guests the opportunity to think about their own nose and how its structure aids in their sense of smell.

Make Your Own Lotion
Visitors blended their own lotion by choosing from a pallet of 16 fragrances to create their own unique signature scent. They selected up to three scents to combine into an unscented lotion. Visitors learned about combining scents and how some overpower others.

Odor Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest
Seventeen participants competed for the honor of the foulest sneakers in Houston. Morgan Messina was selected as the winner by a panel of nasty-smell-experts, including two Rice University football players, an ear, nose and throat specialist and the museum director.

Houston Fire Department
The Hazmat team explained how they use devices to “smell” when around dangerous chemicals. Firemen described what to do when your sense of smell alerts you of a fire, and an arson dog and his handler demonstrated how canine olfactory abilities are used to investigate a fire.

Other activities included:
”History Stinks: A Nasal Passage Through Time”: An original theatre production about how scent was used in different ways by many cultures through out history.

“What’s that Smell?: Scavenger Hunt: Guests sniffed their way around the museum, collecting stickers as they went.

Scent Singers: Performers sang parody songs about the sense of smell and noses.