A tortoise prowled the cafeteria, exploring all possible avenues of escape. Children got a chance to talk to animal handlers and touch the shell of this tortoise, which was bigger than the tire on a lawn tractor.

This juvenile alligator had its mouth taped shut. While the jaws of an alligator can close with as much as one ton of force, a single strip of electrical tape can keep the mouth from opening.

The animal handler communes with his parrot.

As an architectural challenge, students competed to see who could build the tallest structure that was still capable of holding a tennis ball without falling over.

Using a black light and a white powder, this exhibit demonstrated how quickly germs can spread from your hand to the hands of other people.

This is how thoroughly germs can cover your hand. (This is a simulation. My hands are very clean.)

Manchester Voices educated kids about the body, and the dangers of smoking to said body.

These real live pig lungs were inflated via the PVC pipes. On the left, a healthy set of lungs. On the right, lungs of a smoker are simulated. The pig’s preferred cigarette was not reported, though in this economy, the pig surely had to step down a brand.

Students were asked to determine which items were seeds, and which were not.

The Manchester Community Garden has put together a “seed library” which will be housed at the Manchester District Library. Patrons are invited to take any seeds they want at the beginning of the season, and encouraged to bring back saved seeds in the fall.

This wallaby sat in a cage all night, having to listen to an endless string of parents saying, “Look, a kangaroo!” He remained stoic.

The tortoise finally headed for the door. The wallaby yearned to join him.