The Houston Museum of Natural Science is bringing one of its most popular exhibits ever back to the public, Death by Natural Causes. It re-opens June 28.

Death by Natural Causes is a fascinating look at the various ways things in nature can kill people. It covers everything from venomous snakes to lightning to the plague. Visitors can try to guess which types of mushrooms are poisonous, examine the various chemical compounds used in manufacturing that have deleterious effects on humans, and even see a plague doctor costume.

There are interactive components as well. An electronic fortune teller asks visitors about various lifestyle habits and personal histories and then guesses your average lifespan. A few silicon models of disease victims can be examined for signs of history’s most deadly pandemics.

“Periodically, we survey people to see what exhibits have piqued their interest over the years when planning for upcoming exhibits,” Nicole Temple, vice president of education and exhibit spokesperson, tells CultureMap. “Consistently during these ‘temp checks’ people have specifically asked when Death By Natural Causes is coming back. Not ‘can you get another exhibit like that one?’, but when will that one return.”

As proof of the public’s excitement, the social media team put together a teaser on Instagram of comments from people about the return. One said, was “the absolute burst of excitement I got from this teaser almost sent *me* to an early grave.”

Temple promises that there will be a few new inclusions in the exhibit, but would not elaborate prior to opening. Death by Natural Causes will be on display at least through the Halloween season, so that visitors can have an appropriately spooky time. There is currently no date set for when — or if — it will leave again.

When asked why Death by Natural Causes has been so popular, Temple said there are a “host of reasons.”

“There are live venomous animals that many have never seen up close and personal; many of the objects in the exhibit are familiar, but we are asking you to look at them from a different perspective; there are lots of good quirky trivia bits,” she says. “But also, many people grew up with death being a taboo topic and so it can feel awkward to speak about it openly. The exhibit provides people a safe space to broach this subject in a way that is hypothetical, but still adjacent to them personally. People like to learn something new and unusual.”

The exhibit has also been helpful in weeding out popular disinformation.

“There are many irrefutable facts that people just 'know,'” says Temple. “Until you come to this exhibit, and you get a little bit more context and discover what you know isn’t quite right. For example, some common ‘facts’ are that you eat eight spiders in your sleep over the course of a year and that you are more likely to die from a falling coconut than a shark attack. Both of these were widely reported across reputable news sources but, when you get just a tiny bit more information, the ‘facts’ just fall apart under scrutiny.”

For ticket prices and more information, visit the museum's web website at www.hmns.org.