This amazing exhibition shows real cadavers on display to show how the human body works and the effects of different health choices. This is a worldwide traveling exhibit in multiple locations at the same time. Every time I have been to this display I see different pieces and I am always amazed. This is the true definition of being in awe of the human body and what it can do. Not only what the body can do but also what it can put up with or even overcome. Showing that healthy choices make a healthy long-lasting body is the main goal. What better way then to visually show the damage. I feel we all like to pretend that what is going on under our skin is working well enough. Seeing the lung of a smoker next to the lung of a non-smoker there is no room to argue. There are also very powerful demonstrations and pieces that show disease and disabilities.

wandering in the dimly lit room with black covered walls and black lined cases that makes the bright spotlights make every detail more dramatic. I started to look down at my own body looking at what would be right under the surface. Being is sports my whole life I kept looking at different areas that I have injured before and seeing how the body is woven together. Such a fragile inter working that we often take for granted and abuse. Treating your body right is the ticket to a quality long life.

Dr. Angelina Whalley and Dr. Gunther von Hagens are the creators of the traveling exhibit and their goal is preventive healthcare. To show first hand the effect on the daily decisions there are interactive displayed as well as the perfectly preserved models arranged to spark your wonder. Plastination is the process of preservation invented by Dr. Gunther von Hagens in 1977. The process replaces body fluids with plastic, then are positioned and harden by heat, gas, or light. The complexity of nature preserved forever. It is odorless and easy to transport to the international locations. Great detail and hard work goes into each body that is being prepared. It could take up to 800 hours to prepare a whole body. Then sent over to be put in a series of baths of acetone and then dehydrated for around three to four months. Only then does the plastination process take place, forced vacuum impregnation. That process takes about six to eight weeks. After it comes out and drips dry and is still flexible. With the help of pins, wires, staples, and other aids the model starts to take its pose. Getting into the final pose can take a few weeks up to a few months. The final step is to cure the specimen and preserve it forever for all of our viewing pleasure.

Body Worlds is such an amazing learning tool. People usually spend about one to two hours looking and reading. I have never been disappointed when I have gone to an exhibit like this. Around every corner is a new area of life. Breaking each area up by body part like lungs or kidneys and the damage unhealthy choices cause. Or other rooms were filled with a portraits of different family from around the world and what their monthly grocery looks like all stacked up compared to the other families from around the world. The choices you could see were made up of locations and culture influences. Still more rooms have what reconstructed joins look like or plates with screws drilled directly into the bone. There is so much information and yet you still walk away with questions, not to imply that there was unanswered questions about the exhibit, but rather open and expand your mind to lead to more questions. This is what a good science display will achieve no matter the age. Learning especially about how our own body works is priceless. With that being said the few times I went i notices it depends on where the show is being hosted. The bigger the science center the more it cost. Also the bigger the science center the more pieces of the traveling exhibition can be enjoyed. There are some large pieces like cross sections and large animal specimens. I would guess $10 -$25 USD for tickets.

The creators seem very stright forward about the negative effects on the body. Such as the smoking man with his leathery skin and blackened lungs. There is a healthy non-smoking lung sitting next to a smokers lung.

The one-of-a-kind inter works of this display is well worth the the time, fee, and traffic. There are multible exhibitions in differnt parts of the world thoughout the year. There no excuess not to go to this eye opening display. It will be somewhere near you soon, and if, not travel a little you know you’d love it. @heidvastag