The Digestive System
Roller Coaster
Come and ENJOY our newest fun and educational rollercoaster!
"It's a wild ride full of learning"
The Mouth
The digestive adventure begins as soon as you step into the car and get strapped in. You will slowly head up 130 feet to the top of the ride and come to a stop inside a giant open mouth. Suddenly the fake tongue and teeth will start vibrating, and small amounts of water will begin to be sprayed at you. Four large projector screen will come on inside the mouth showing a boy chewing a sandwich and a doctor. From the screen the doctor will announce, “Hello everyone, welcome to the digestive system rollercoaster. Right now you are the sandwich that this young man here is eating, and you my friends are being chewed. Get ready because you are about to be swallowed and continue on a wild ride through the digestive system. Good luck!” After the message from the Doctor, the boy eating the sandwich swallows it making a loud “gulp” sound. The projector screens then shut off, and you blast down a 70 foot drop through the esophagus.
The Esophagus
At the bottom, the ride is slowed almost to a stop at a large door with the name cardiac sphincter on it. More screens come on and the doctor shows a diagram of what just happened to you as you were swallowed. It is explains that you went down the esophagus passing the epiglottis and the upper esophageal sphincter, and that contractions called peristalsis occurred to help get you down. Next the doctor explains what sphincters are, saying that they are like muscular doors throughout the digestive system which aid food along the digestive track at a moderate pace and make sure the food has enough time to be digested. Finally the doctor concludes saying that there are six sphincters in total, and 4 more to see. The screens then shut off, the cardiac sphincter door opens, and you zip down a small curvy drop into the stomach.
The Stomach (and Pancreas)
Inside the bean shaped sack of the stomach, you will be vibrated, spun around, and have water sprayed at you, as the stomach churns and mixes the food, which is you! Projector screens will once again explain what is happening, saying that the food is being turned into chime which is an acidic fluid made up of gastric juices and partly digested food. The pancreas will then be explained, saying that it is a six inch organ that sits across the back of the abdomen, behind the stomach. It will be shared that the job of the pancreas in digestion is to secrete pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes. A brief explanation of enzymes is also shared, and the doctor explains that in the stomach, enzymes like hydrochloric acid and pepsin also help breakdown the food, and therefore there is both mechanical and chemical digestions taking place, just like in the mouth! The screens then shut of as you head over to the next sphincter door labelled the pyloric sphincter. The door opens and you are zoomed down another small drop into the small intestine!
The Small Intestine (Liver and Gall Bladder)
You will then rush through the crazy, twisty tunnel of the small intestine. During this a loud voice explains what is happening and screens show diagrams of how the liver produces bile which is stored in the gall bladder, which is then used to break down fats. Projected videos along the parts of the tunnel walls will show the bile doing exactly this! It is also explained that absorption occurs here, where the nutrients from the food is transferred from the digestive system to the blood stream, which leads to assimilation. This is when the nutrients from the blood stream is then delivered to different organs around the body. The loud voice also explains that the tiny finger like structures that you will see along the walls of the small intestine tunnel, are villi with micro villi on them, which absorb the nutrients into the blood stream. Most chemical digestion occurs in the small intestine. As you come to the end of the long and windy small intestine, the ride will speed up and go through two small loop-de loops just before you arrive at the next large sphincter door called the ileocecal sphincter.
The Large Intestine
Once you arrive at the ileocecal sphincter door, it opens and you are blasted up the large intestine and past the appendix. This is a much thicker tunnel but shorter in length. The loud voice will come on again and project screens will show diagrams of what is happening. The voice will explain that you were just shot up the part of the large intestine called the ascending colon and are now passing through the transverse colon which will then lead you to the descending colon. It will also be explained that the large intestine is where water absorption occurs, and the project screens will be showing this action. As you are come to the end of the transverse colon, the lights shut off and the voice shouts “congratulations, you are now poop!” and you zoom down a steep drop through the descending colon.
The Rectum and Anus
Finally you slow down and come to a stop in the rectum, where the projector screens will turn on one last time showing the doctor. The doctor then says, “You have now been digested and will be eliminated as waste. We hope you have enjoyed your journey and good luck on the way out!” and the projector then shows a video of large sphincter doors labelled the internal and external sphincters being opened. The screens turn off and you are then shot down a large drop through the anus and rush down through a big splash of water to the end of the ride. As the ride comes to a stop a large toilet flushing sound occurs, and the seatbelts click off. You have officially been digested on the digestive system rollercoaster!
