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They were the titans of the Pleistocene – long-tusked, shaggy creatures whose rumblings could be heard far across the prehistoric landscape – and a new exhibit in New Jersey’s Liberty Science Center gives visitors a close-up look at the mammoths and mastodons which once roamed much of the northern hemisphere.

Several times during my visit to the “Mammoths and Mastodons” exhibit, I found myself giggling like a little kid. Scattered among the skeletons, video kiosks, and sculptures were an array of “hands-on” science stations, one of my favorites being a simple setup which used a bit of bungee cord to show how a strong tendon helped hold up