There was no getting around it. The grassland diorama was pretty threadbare. You could tell there used to be a lot of fake grass stuck there, but now there were only a few stems and pinprick holes where the grass had been. In the painted background there were these black dots, which the sign said was a buffalo herd grazing in the distance. Above the herd was a faded, flaking, blue sky. All in all, it was not exactly an inspiring place.

“Oh great,” said Jake. “My grades are already in trouble. Writing about some crusty exhibit isn’t going to help.”

“Maybe there is a plaque somewhere that gives more information,” said Susan hopefully.

Ann Marie pointed to a sign on the wall. Under Renovation. “When is that going to start?” asked Ann Marie.

“Probably not soon enough to help us with the report,” said Susan.

Jake saw another sign hanging on the red velvet rope strung across the front of the diorama: Do Not Enter. Jake pointed to it. “Yeah, whatever, who would want to enter anyway? Talk about boring. Mr. Conte said they had interactive exhibits here. That was supposed to be the point of coming, so we could get a better feel of what it was like. What a rip-off this trip is.”

Then Jake saw Fionn just sort of standing there, not saying anything. A not-so-nice grin sprang onto Jake’s face. He grabbed Fionn’s notebook.

“Actually,” Jake said, “maybe I do know how to make this grassland thing interactive, at least for Fionn.” And he threw Fionn’s notebook into the exhibit.

“Real mature,” said Susan.