Spooky in the City: Death by Natural Causes at the Houston Museum of Natural Science

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Spooky in the City is a new series on Spooky Little Halloween. Each month Miranda will take you to a local haunt in Houston, her hometown, then teach you how to find similar spooky spots in your city, state or country!

How many natural ways are there to die? It’s not exactly a question I’ve ever pondered, but when my friend Sheila asked if I wanted to go to an event to check out the new exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Death by Natural Causes, I couldn’t pass it up.

Mostly because I knew it would be perfect to share in my Spooky in the City series.

There are plenty of things in the world we know can kill us, but have you ever thought about how many animals, vegetables or minerals – in other words, how many every day dangers – in the world can kill you?

LOTS, as it turns out. And I got to see them all in this exhibit!

In this month’s post, I’ll give you a quick tour of Death by Natural Causes, then give you a few ways to find cool – and creepy – museum exhibits like this in your part of the world.

 

Death by Natural Causes

 

 

The entire exhibit was dark, which I loved. As you went through the exhibit, the wallpaper changed, which I loved too!

 

 

How dreamy would that be in your home?

 

 

The very first section of the exhibit featured everyday dangers such as…

 

 

The bathtub! Yup, the bathtub.

 

 

Did you know you have a 1 in 10,500 chance of drowning in your bathtub during your life? For frame of reference, you have a 1 in 1,328,571 chance of dying from a bee, wasp or hornet sting.

Another everyday danger? You have a 1 in 5,508 chance of dying from a furniture-related fall. (Likely from falling while carrying heavy objects and losing your balance.) EEK!

 

 

Which one of these do you think you’re more likely to die from – a selfie or a meteorite?

 

 

Have you ever owned a glow-in-the-dark watch? Early on, this feature was accomplished by using radium for the numbers and hands so they would glow in the dark…but too much exposure to radium can kill you.

The watch wearers weren’t the ones who died from exposure, though. It was the women, known as Radium Girls, who painted the watches that died because they would lick their paintbrushes to get a fine tip.

For the record, today’s watches use phosphorescent- or tritium-based light sources for glow-in-the-dark numbers and hands.

 

 

Once we learned all the everyday hazards that exist, we moved into the plant section.

 

 

Mushrooms, of course, are one of the offenders in the plant world. Shelia and I had a great time playing the guessing game to figure out which mushrooms would kill us. (Hint: it’s usually the super colorful ones…)

 

 

The final section that greeted us was deadly animals. This skeleton recreation of the below piece of art was one of my favorite things I saw…even if it didn’t seem outright deadly.

 

 

Super cool, right?

 

 

There were lots of fun pieces of artwork to represent the animals that could be deadly. This man-of-war was gorgeous.

 

 

I also loved this stunning boa constrictor.

 

 

I wasn’t expecting to see live snakes, and this guy was so still I almost thought he was fake. Nope. That was a live diamondback snake – something we see a lot of here in Texas.

Other, um, favorites were the assassin bugs (they bite you while you sleep and suck your blood – eek!), the giant crocodile and the tarantula hawk. Yup, there’s a flying tarantula, guys. (It’s technically an insect, but still…)

All I have to say (still) is…HELL NO.

 

 

Terrified of tarantula hawks or not…I survived Death by Natural Causes!

 

 

Sheila and I had a great time – we even dressed in all black and wore our favorite skeleton necklaces for the occasion! (Hers is from Amazon, mine is from Frightwares.)

 

 

Because we attended a special event for the museum’s young professionals group, they had some fun activities. Never ones to pass up crafts, Sheila and I enjoyed all of them! At this booth, we decorated our own vial of deadly snakeskin.

 

 

So pretty and harmless, right?

 

 

We also made poppy brooches. Well, Sheila made us each one I should say. I’m not to be trusted with a glue gun. (No, seriously.)

Finally, we had our morbid fortunes told by our new friend Kimmy using those old-school paper fortune tellers we all used to make in elementary school. I think that might get turned into a DIY for the blog because they were SO much fun.

If you are in Houston or the surrounding area, I highly encourage you to check out Death by Natural Causes! The exhibit runs through Sept. 4, 2018 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Thanks to popular demand, the exhibit is now open through January 6, 2019 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science!

 

 

How to find creepy museum exhibits near you:

Even if you don’t live in a major city, I’m sure there is at least one museum within driving distance. If not, consider checking out museums at your next vacation destination! (They’re always a great activity for a rainy day.)

Wondering what creepy exhibits you might find too? Here are a few key phrases you can search with your city, state or country’s name to find exhibits near you:

    • creepy museums + CITY/STATE/COUNTRY
    • creepy museum exhibits + CITY/STATE/COUNTRY
    • CITY/STATE/COUNTRY + museums
    • weird museums + CITY/STATE/COUNTRY
    • weird museum exhibits + CITY/STATE/COUNTRY
    • strange museums + CITY/STATE/COUNTRY
    • strange museum exhibits + CITY/STATE/COUNTRY
    • museums near me
    • museum exhibits near me

And, of course, now I have to ask after reading this blog post…

What is the worst natural way to die?

Whether it’s one I mentioned or one you’re terrified of, share it in the comments.

I think my two worst ways to die would both come from animals – being attacked by an ostrich because those things are MASSIVE. (I’d never been that close to one until this exhibit…and that beak and those talons are a little terrifying…)

But the gila monster might be the worst. I’m already not crazy about lizards, but those guys will bite you, hold on and chew on you for 15 minutes to build up their venom and then it will slowly kill you. Most people don’t die from the bites…but it’s not an experience I’d be anxious to have!

Happy haunting,

Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

Miranda is the Houston-based writer, blogger, and Halloween lover behind Spooky Little Halloween, the blog celebrating October 31st all year long. Her favorite Halloween things include pumpkin guts, chocolate bars in her trick-or-treat pail, real haunted houses (including the one she lives in!), and historic cemeteries.

3 Comments

  1. Reply

    Candace Jedrowicz

    May 12, 2018

    My sister-in-laws stepmom died of spontaneous combustion. Not the mysterious kind; she was on oxygen and smoking. Just her shoes were left. That freaks me out!
    No luck with the creepy museum search. =0(

    • Reply

      Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

      May 14, 2018

      Yikes! That’s a heck of a way to go…

      Perhaps you just need to keep an eye on your local museums for fun new exhibits. Sometimes it takes time to find these things!

  2. Reply

    Chelsea Celaya

    June 5, 2018

    What an AMAZING exhibit! So up my alley! A few years ago, the Academy of Sciences had an awesome Skulls exhibit, but this looks way cooler! I think death by piranha would be the worst natural way to go…>___< I hate those scary suckers.

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