Local News
Take a Look Inside Yourself at the Science Center
October 11, 2007
By Lee Engelhardt
On Friday, Oct. 19, the Science Center unveils its latest exhibit, Body Worlds 3, where visitors will be able to examine the human body up close and from the inside out through a collection of plasticized bodies and organs.
The Body Worlds exhibit utilizes around 200 real, donated bodies as well as individual organs to teach the public about anatomy, from the basic to the in depth, as well as healthy living. Specimens in various states of dissection show how diverse systems look and work within the body. The various specimens also show how a healthy body works compared to an unhealthy body, allowing visitors to compare healthy lungs to those of a smoker or the fat tissue of a healthy adult versus an obese adult.
Plastination is a process that takes the normal body tissues of an organism and infuses them with plastics. The results are bodies perfectly preserved in their original shape and appearance, durable, and free of suspension fluid or casing that would otherwise prevent easy, up close examination.
Reactions among MBU students to the idea are mixed, from Jessica Bledsoe's, "Eww, gross," to Greg Ely's, "It’s cool but kind of creepy," and "That's freaking awesome," from Stephen Greer. Some are also displeased with the positioning and manipulation of the bodies. "It’s disrespectful of the people who died and had their bodies put up like that," said Cameron Patterson.
Plastination was invented by Gunther von Hagens in 1977 at the University of Heidelberg’s Institute of Anatomy. Fascinated with the process and the benefits to medical learning it presented, Hagens went on to form the Institute for Plastination in 1993 and began the Body Worlds exhibits in 1995.
The Body Worlds 3 exhibit will run from Oct. 19, 2007 to March 2, 2008, and tickets will cost $18 for adults. Those interested can visit www.BodyWorlds.com for more information on the Body Worlds exhibits as well as the plastination process and its creator.
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