Morrill Hall exhibit opens up the vast world of parasites

The nine-year-old’s eyes follow the 100-foot, life-size body of the whale tapeworm from the top of the doorway all the way around the exhibit to the other end of the room. Her mouth forms an “O” as she points to the gigantic model parasite.

“Gross!” She says.

“Cool!” Her sister responds.

A special exhibit at Morrill Hall, “Guts & Glory: A Parasite Story” aims to get any reaction out of viewers while educating on the hidden world of parasites.

“Once you spend the time, you can see the beauty in parasites and the beauty of their amazing complex life style,” said Elizabeth Rácz, a parasitologist and temporary lecturer at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Morrill Hall is known for its collection of ancient elephants and bizarre beasts, but the most abundant and important life form on earth is held in the corner of the third floor. “Guts & Glory: A Parasite Story” tells the story of the undervalued and understudied organisms: the parasites.

Parasites are organisms that live in or on a host and get their food at the expensive of the host. Some parasites are relatively harmless, but some are deadly.

Parasitism is the most common mode of life on earth and parasites are highly diverse. The study of parasites, parasitology, is greatly understudied. Scientists continue to make new discoveries all the time on the life form that impacts every organism on earth.

Although she still said it’s a little scary, Sophia Klingsmen, the nine year old, also found the exhibit interesting.

“It’s interesting that the little ones can take over something and kill it,” she said. “I like to look at them under the microscope.”

Her father, John Klingsmen, reminded her of what they had learned in the exhibit.

“We learned that not all the parasites kill their hosts and that they’re important to life,” he said.

The exhibit aims to challenge the misconceptions of parasites while taking viewers into their world.

It opened in April of 2017 as a showcase of the research done at UNL, and a pilot for the full exhibit. The best parts of the collection will move to the renovated fourth floor of Morrill Hall, which will open in February 2019.

“The exhibit has gotten a very positive reaction,” said Susan Weller, the director the museum. “It’s kind of an icky, cool, gross factor … the visitors really like it.”

The exhibit includes the life-size whale tapeworm model, an enlarged coyote intestine full of parasites, and a view into the hiding places of field mice in the grasses of a prairie.

As a professor of entomology at UNL, Weller understands the importance of showing the great research done at UNL.

The exhibit includes a 20 year research study done on parasites in the Sandhills of Nebraska, as well as a journey into Mongolia to study the tapeworm Echinococcus. Scientists study parasites and the hosts they inhabit to know where the diseases could land next. And, to prevent the next target from being humans.

“Parasites act as critical indicators of healthy ecosystems by providing clues to unseen interactions between different organisms in an environment,” read an exhibit sign.

According to the exhibit, parasites occupy every organism on earth. They are so normal, that the absence of them in an ecosystem is actually troubling.

While the general public tends to ignore these small organisms, parasitologists say that focusing on them is very important.

Weller said the exhibit helps the public to understand what scientists do. Manter Hall at UNL holds a collection of 10,000 specimens from all over the world; the second largest in the western hemisphere.

The exhibit at Morrill Hall is the first opportunity to show off the impressive collection and allow viewers to “become” a parasitologist too.

Rácz, a UNL parasitologist, said the key to winning people over on parasites is how you explain it.

“Parasitology covers a broad spectrum,” she said. “I study parasites, infectious diseases, mammal hosts and their evolutionary relationships.”

Rácz said that the exhibit is important because it educates viewers on something they normally don’t see or experience.

“The exhibit is wonderful because people have an emotional response to it whether that’s disgust, or fascination, and they remember the moment,” said Rácz

Rácz said she would tell any child interested in parasitology that even though it doesn’t seem appealing at first, it’s a fascinating field that has so much more to discover.

Although children who visit the exhibit might not want to become a parasitologist by the end, they will discover the natural world is a lot bigger than they originally thought.