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The secret of how life works has finally been revealed by the New York Hall of Science in Corona in a tangible, colorful new exhibit that opened Saturday.

The interactive exhibit, “Genome: The Secret of How Life Works,” which Hall of Science CEO and President Marilyn Hoyt called extraordinary in that it offers “cutting edge information and hands-on opportunities for personal learning,” gives visitors a glimpse into the mysteries of DNA, as well as their own futures, with explanations of how genes affect growth, aging and offspring.

“The understanding of the human genome opens up an entirely new frontier for health science research,” said Dr. Tom Turi, a genomic scientist with Pfizer Inc., which collaborated with the Hall of Science on the creation of the exhibit, “and it is anticipated that it will lead to new therapies and cures for devastating diseases.”

Unfortunately, Turi added, many people are “unaware of the genome or its potential to enhance our lives.” To remedy this is the use of interactive exhibits that engage and educate families, Turi said.

And, really, what better way to teach children outside the science classroom than through a series of models and educational games that they can touch? This was the sentiment expressed by several students from the RH Goddard School, MS 202, and their parents who were the first to see the exhibit at an advanced screening last Thursday.

Tanica Meade, who has been working as an explainer at the Hall of Science since 2005, said the exhibit helps students better relate to what they see in the news and learn in the classroom.

Eighth grader Jose Dominguez from MS 202 agreed.

“It’s more fun to experience what I learn in science, to touch and play with things,” he said.

And, evidently, his classmates shared this attitude, as they loudly displayed enjoyment, running around the room with delighted giggles.

A crowd favorite was the “Unzip Zip” part of the exhibit, around which was a continuous swarm of students and parents. In this game the players have 60 seconds to create a DNA ladder by matching unattached magnetic blocks representing different DNA pieces to their counterparts. After the minute passes, all the players’ work is dismantled and falls down to a basket that catches the blocks.

Other parts of the exhibit included the Circular Corridor, where visitors encountered graphic and mirror images of themselves in the initial stages of life and as grown people, and the Giant Double Helix Model, a colorful 8- by-25-foot genetic model of a DNA strand, explained through music and a video narrated by the Director of the Whitehead/ Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Genome Research.

Visitors also embarked on a cell exploration through a flat video screen on which they navigated a large map of a cell, and learned about its parts and processes. They also viewed the Cookie Factory, which explained proteins and genetic “recipes.”

Of course, the exhibit credited those who first cracked the secret of life – James Watson and Francis Crick. In the clean, vivid exhibit room was a replica of the original double helix model Watson and Crick created in their Cambridge lab in 1953. The replica was hanging outside a glass-encased room where two desks sat, scattered with paper and books – a remake of the lab.

Two centuries’ worth of discoveries in genetic research were traced in a video and through pictures along the wall of the Discovery Timeline model, which stood near the center of the exhibit room. In it were the stories of breakthroughs in genetic research and the circumstances that led to them.

Touch-screen computers were also arranged along the room, and displayed videos and information about stem cell research, dominant and recessive traits and genetic disorders, each personalized with images and stories of real people.

Visitors also got to play detective in one part of the exhibit where they were asked to match up one type of DNA with that of six different “suspects.” They even gambled a little on the Hereditary Slot Machines, which, after pulling a lever, revealed the outcome of two sets of genes – mom’s and dad’s – and established whether the gambler’s guess was correct.

With games like these, touchable science comes alive; it’s not just words on a text-filled page of a thick book. This is what has drawn people to the Hall of Science, according to another explainer who was reciting his lines before the exhibit opened. And, judging by the row of school buses lined up outside the facility, he’s right.

The exhibit runs through May 6 and is located at 47-01 111th St., Corona 11368. For more information, visit nyscience.org.