THOUSANDS flocked through the doors of Newcastle Museum on Sunday, August 18 for the annual free Hunter Science Festival.
Hunter Medical Research Institute's (HMRI) 'Poo Palace' stole the show for another year with visitors excited to see the giant inflatable digestive system where you can crawl through the mouth, into the stomach and intestines before coming out of the anus.
The event marked the final day of National Science Week and had more than 20 activities, from solar cars and a rocket building station to climbing inside a City of Newcastle garbage truck.
City of Newcastle Director of Museum, Archive, Libraries and Learning, Julie Baird said this year's Hunter Science Festival had something for everyone.
"It's a chance to meet astronomers, inventors, marine biologists and countless other brilliant people who live in our city and beyond," she said.
"It could be the start of a lifelong love of knowledge, or the inspiration you've been searching for. Our museum has that effect in Science Week and every week of the year."
The festival is delivered by City of Newcastle in conjunction with Hunter Innovation and Science Hub (HISH) and features additional displays and demonstrations from a range of organisations.
City of Newcastle deputy lord mayor Declan Clausen was pleased to be able to celebrate Hunter Science Week and welcome over 2000 visitors on the day.
"It's one of the most popular days for the museum," he said.
"It's important we have these opportunities especially for kids to engage with science because it creates great opportunities in terms of economic development of our city and the careers of the future and it's also a lot of fun."
There was also a range of interactive displays presented by the Hunter Geological Society's School of Earth, bushfire science shows by Fizzics Education, the Irukanji Shark and Ray Centre, Hunter Wetlands Centre and Hunter Landcare, among others.
