FACING UP TO YOUR FEAR FACTOR.

Byline: MELISSA HECKSCHER

>LA.COM 

There's a 1-in-1.9 million chance a person will die from a snake bite. But that's not stopping 11-year-old Sean Trevino of Torrance from being just a little bit afraid of the reptiles.

"I don't like snakes," he said, a big smile on his face despite the fact that somewhere not too far from him a snake is wrapped around a museum curator's arm. "And spiders, I don't like them either."

And look at 11-year-old Reid Budrovich, also of Torrance. He doesn't like loud noises, but that's not stopping him from positioning himself, again and again, in front of a device that, without warning, fires a "POW!" that's loud enough to make him fall to the ground in (slightly exaggerated) fright.

"It's because I have to face my fear," Budrovich said, matter-of-factly.

He's in the right place. The California Science Center's newest exhibit, "Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear," which runs through Dec. 31, explores the nature of fear by simulating an assortment of scary -- but totally safe -- situations.

Among the cornucopia of courage-testing contraptions, there's a plank to which visitors can be strapped and dropped backward toward the floor (to test their fear of falling). There's a metal slot that produces a mild jolt of electricity when visitors slip their fingers inside (to test their fear of electric shock). And there are touch tanks, which may or may not be teeming with creepy crawlers; one must only reach inside to find out (to test their fear of animals).

If the unstoppable success of the "Saw," "Hostel" and various "Chainsaw Massacre" movies didn't prove it, this does: Fear sells. In other words, people like to be scared.

But the Science Center's goal isn't simply to scare, but to show how fear, an emotion universal to the animal kingdom, is one of the most important feelings we have.

"It's an emotion that could save your life," said Dr. David Bibas, California Science Center curator of technology programs and organizer of the "Goose Bumps!" exhibit. "Typically, fear is cast in a negative light, but it helps our survival."

In line with the California Science Center's philosophy that kids learn best through interactive exhibits, much of "Goose Bumps!" allows visitors to experience fear firsthand. And, of course, without risks.

The 6,000-square-foot exhibit includes a Fear Challenge Course that lets visitors test the four most common fears: fear of animals, fear of electric shock, fear of falling and fear of loud noises. After completing the challenges, they can rate their fear level to see how it compares with others'.

Another section of the exhibit illustrates the physiology of fear and how the body reacts to scary stimuli -- explaining everything from the advantages of an adrenaline rush to the reason we sweat when we're scared.

"We wanted to give people the opportunity to experience fear in a safe environment," Bibas said. "And we wanted them to understand the science behind fear."

There's also a Freeze Game in which participants can learn the value of staying still, a fear response that keeps many animals safe from predators.

With their shadows projected onto a mock African savanna, visitors must, when instructed, stand very still to keep from being seen by the predator -- in this case, the projected shadow of a leopard who paces on the side of the screen. Those who keep still are safe; those who move will see their shadows quickly devoured.

(A side note: It seems most kids prefer to see their shadows devoured. Not being devoured is apparently much less fun.)

"If you have no fear, you won't be able to survive," Bibas said. "Having fear is very healthy because it keeps us safe. Phobias are another story, because those are extreme, persistent fears of things that may not be dangerous."

To keep things from getting too scary, an advisory group of psychologists and biologists oversaw the making of the exhibit. A claustrophobia "challenge," for instance, was cut because the group decided it would be either too scary or not scary at all to some visitors.

"Goose Bumps!" was developed in cooperation with, and partially funded by, the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative, which includes the California Science Center; the Boston Museum of Science; COSI, Columbus; the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History; the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia; the Science Museum of Minnesota; and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

When it wraps up in L.A., the exhibit will embark on a five-year tour.

Oh, and about those goose bumps: Scientists believe they're an evolutionary remnant that probably helped our hairier ancestors look bigger, and thus more intimidating, to predators.

Humans with their hair puffed out like frightened kittens? Now that's scary.

Melissa Heckscher

[phone], Ext. 329

[e-mail]

GOOSE BUMPS!: THE SCIENCE OF FEAR

>When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

>Where: California Science Center, 700 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles.

>Admission: Free; parking is $6.

>Information: [phone] or www.californiasciencecenter.org.

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Photo:

A visitor at the California Science Center's "Goose Bumps!" exhibit interacts with a larger-than-life figure that uses cartoon animation to show how the brain and body work together when faced with a scary situation.

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