Impolite questions encouraged by body functions exhibition

The Roman emperor Claudius issued an edict on it, Chaucer was the first person to write about it in the English language and now the Science Museum in London is to hold an exhibition explaining it.

Flatulence – with many other bodily functions – is one of the many attractions of the Science Museum's "Grossology" exhibition, billed as the "impolite science of the human body".

Taking a leaf out of Claudius's book, whose edict stipulated that there should be no shame in farting in public places, the museum opens its doors today to those eager to find out more about the smells, sounds and secretions of their bodies.

Roland Jackson, the acting head of the Science Museum, described the exhibition yesterday as a sneaky way of getting children interested in human biology by poking fun at the things that adults find embarrassing.

"This exhibition hits the pimple on the head. Children love making bodily sounds and asking graphic questions at the most embarrassing moments. This uses that curiosity to excite them about science and helps to explain it," Dr Jackson said.

Grossology introduces a range of bodily characters such as Nigel Nose-it-all, a giant robot figure whose tap-like nose is used to illustrate allergies, sinuses and runny nasal passages. Visitors can walk through a giant pair of nostrils and learn that a sneeze shoots out at 100mph.

An animated pig sitting on a pile of dung provides a scatological side-show about gases that build up inside the body. Children can learn that most people fart about once an hour.

The more adventurous can scramble through a model of the intestine, emerging from the anus on to a soft brown mat.

A spokeswoman said: "It's science in disguise, where kids get the answers to many of the slimy, oozy, crusty, stinky questions they absolutely love to ask about the human body."

The exhibition is based on a book called Grossology by Sylvia Branzei, a teacher. Farts may be two a penny, but the entrance fee is £5.95 for adults and £3.95 for children.