 Ben Thomas came to the museum with his family from Dayton, Ohio. Are you able to see any more of your DNA? The 12-year-old is ready to embark on a genomic journey. I have always found it really intriguing that everything about who we are and what we look like is controlled by these tiny molecules called DNA. And this exhibit is just like cake to me. I just love this stuff. Those tiny molecules are the fabric of life, displayed as an endless scroll of letters on a flat-screen TV and projected on a mannequin, says exhibit developer Meg Rivers. She has on her the human genetic code and she is meant to really engage visitors and get them to think about having their own code and what does it mean to them? Visitors wander through alcoves that feature photographs highlighting inherited traits, animated videos, touch panels and interactive games that explore the history and science of genetics and the ethical and social issues its study raises. Eric Green is director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, which collaborated with the Smithsonian to create the exhibit. He says its goal is to raise genomic literacy. Genomics will become very much part of medical care in areas like cancer, in areas like infectious disease, in areas like deciding which medications to give people, in areas especially related to rare diseases that have genetic causes. So this is going to become part of the language of medical care that we're going to need to start to become familiar with it. Twelve-year-old Kellen Alvaro is in the genome zone for a hands-on activity. Kellen ends up with a pendant that she says she'll wear all the time. It's because it defines me and it tells me who I am and where I come from. A lesson well learned says her teacher Andrea Conway. This helps us in the classroom because it not only gives students an opportunity to be excited about what we're learning, but it helps us to actually make connections to different things that we've learned about before in terms of human life and plant animals. Seven-and-a-half million people visit the National Museum of Natural History each year. They'll have a chance to unlock life's code for themselves through September. Roseanne Skirbel, VOA News, Washington.