Body Worlds 2--The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies

On Saturday afternoon, we went to the Museum of Science and Industry--mainly so that we could see the exhibition Body Worlds 2. When we were in St. Paul for the Clapton concert, the exhibit was just down the street from where we were staying--I had NO interest in it. Then, our friends asked us if we wanted to see it when it came to Chicago and I thought, "Why not." I definitely was convinced that I would not like it. I was wrong. This was one of the most amazing, incredible things I have ever seen.

Soccer Player

When we first walked into the exhibit, I was surprised by the quiet. There were MANY people, but everyone talked in hushed tones--as if we were in a funeral home. Everyone was polite and stood in line to wait their turn--even though this was an exhibit where you just 'milled about.' (Once everyone got used to the exhibit, we all kind of 'loosened up' a bit. Still, everyone acted with a certain degree of dignity and reverence.) In the first display area, there was only one body--and MANY display cases. I was afraid we made a mistake--I wasn't there to look at bones and other body parts in glass cases! Bring on the bodies! And then we saw them.

Ortho Man

A soccer player. Yoga woman. Ring man. Drawer man. A ballerina. Ortho man. Each more fascinating than the one before. There also were many more display cases. Each case held different body parts, organs. We saw diseased lungs next to healthy ones. There was a 'slice' of a breast with cancerous tumors. The entire digestive system was in another case. The entire circulatory system--veins, arteries, capillaries--of the fingers, hand, and arm were display. This last, was in the SHAPE of the arm, but without any bones, muscles, or other 'structure' holding the veins, etc, in place. It is something that has to be seen and cannot be described adequately.

Male and Female Torso Slices

The 'Ortho Man' was really cool--they had done various orthopedic 'surgeries' on him. There was a knee replacement, hip replacement, pacemaker, artificial jaw, etc. Now, when would a person--other than medical personnel--get a chance to see this? It was neat.

Brain Slice

Some of the bodies that they 'plastinate' are sliced--as are the torsos and head in the pictures above. There was an entire body that was sliced and displayed spread out--almost like an accordion. Some of the bodies had the organs kind of 'exploding' out of the areas where they are located. The way things were displayed was imaginative, to say the least.

Ballerina

I believe the display I thought was the neatest was: there were two adult 'bodies' with a child. One of the 'bodies' was only the muscles, and the second body was the skeleton and internal organs. The adult 'bodies' were the same person, taken apart. Cool.

The only display that disturbed me at all was the prenatal one. They had unborn babies from a couple of weeks old to 30 weeks. All I could think about were my grandkids--the one who was stillborn and the rest who were premature. There also was a 5-month pregnant woman--with the unborn child in place. It was too emotional for me.

In all, we spent about two hours looking through the exhibit--and if I get a chance, I will do it again. This is something I would recommend for ANYONE to go and see--well worth the time and money. If I could get through it, anyone can.

(There is no age limit on seeing this exhibit. However, I think some children might be disturbed by it. Every parent would have to make the decision based on what they know about their own children. I saw children there from babes-in-arms all the way up. One little girl--pre-school?--had her head buried in her mother's neck. While I didn't hear what the girl said, her mother was saying, "There's nothing to be scared of--just look!" I was disgusted by the woman.)

--All of the pictures I posted were from the Body Worlds site. No pictures were allowed to be taken at the exhibit.--