In 2018, southeast Michigan had an incredibly gross 19-ton monster in its sewers.
The Macomb Fatberg, as it would later be called, was a 100-foot-long, 11-foot-wide and 6-foot tall congealed glob of grease and waste that clogged the Lakeshore sewer interceptor in Clinton Township and cost a whopping $100,000 to remove.
Fast forward to 2019 and Wayne State University’s Healthy Urban Waters, Macomb County Public Works and the Michigan Science Center have teamed up to prevent another fatberg buildup by educating local communities on how common items, like baby or makeup wipes, can negatively impact our infrastructures at a new Mi-Sci display.
This new display, aptly dubbed Fatberg, is funded in part by the National Science Foundation, officially opened on Dec. 5, 2019 and features pieces of the original fatberg. Visitors can also explore information on what fatbergs are, why they’re harmful and how everyday people can prevent them – plus see a video of the Macomb Fatberg’s removal.
The Macomb Fatberg is on display at the Michigan Science Center during regular museum hours, which are as follows:
- 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays
- 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays
- Noon-5 p.m. Sundays
General admission is $14/adults and $11/seniors and kids.
For more information on this display – along with details on other family fun things to do this weekend in metro Detroit and Ann Arbor – visit the Metro Parent calendar.
