Body Worlds?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

Published

"What is BODY WORLDS ?

Created by anatomist and licensed physician Dr. Gunther von Hagens, the BODY WORLDS exhibition is the world's first public anatomical presentation using Plastination, his groundbreaking method of specimen preservation. The display of approximately 200 authentic organs, organ configurations, and a broad collection of whole-body plastinates offers an unprecedented view of the human body. Visitors will be able to observe the body's functions, including locomotive, digestive, nervous and vascular systems, and compare healthy and diseased organs such as a healthy lung with that of a smoker's lung. " (from the web site).

This exhibit is at the Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas Texas. Has anyone seen this or planning to? I plan on trying to go in a few weeks. I think this will be so cool. Also helpful since I am taking A & P.

Shannon

My mom and I went to this last August here in Mpls..... Be sure to see the movie with it as well! It's very cool!

I only wish I would gone after my Anatomy class was over... or at least during it... I went before and I think it would have been neat to know all the body parts I know now...

Have fun! You'll really enjoy it!

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Michigangirl,

I took my family to see it this last May, in Denver. My youngest was 12 at the time and she was fine. Only you can really speak for your child. Go with your gut.

The exhibit, in my opinion, was very well done and in good taste. Nothing disrespectful.

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I saw it when I went to Minneapolis this summer and it was fantastic! There were many children there as well and everyone seemed to enjoy the exhibit.

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Dear Michigangirl,

You should google the Bodies Exhibit & visit the website. They have a great & informative website. See if you feel comfortable with what you see there & make the decision re: taking your son. The website shows some of the displays...

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Specializes in CNA, RN Student.
I have a question for those of you who have seen the exhibit...

My son (5th grader) is very interested in the human body and liked to follow my A&P classes last semester. Do you think this exhibit would be appropriate for a (fairly mature and very serious) school aged child? The exhibit will be opening at the Detroit Science Center next week, and I would really like to take him, but not if it would disturb him in any way...

I actually saw the exhibit because my 7 year old daughter wanted so badly to see it. Now, my 7 yo isn't a normal 7 yo, she reads encyclopedia's and can tell you every single anatomical feature of any given wild animal but when we went she wasn't the only child her age there. I remember one man (I assume was a doctor or biology prof of some sort) was there with a boy who appeared to be 6 and was explaining all the arteries to his 6 yo who appeared very interested. It's not overwhelming for them as I mentioned earlier the exhibits are somewhat surreal.

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Thanks for your replies. Actually, the exhibit coming to our area is "Our Body: The Universe Within", but I just went on their web site and it looks very similar to the body works exhibit. Thanks for your suggestions!

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Specializes in critical care, management, med surg, edu.

I saw it last summer in Denver. It was the most fascinating exhibit I've ever seen. Be sure to visit the in-utero exhibit. It really changed my views!

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Hi. I hate to be the lone stick-in-the-mud but I was actually appalled by the Body Worlds exhibit (I saw it in St. Paul MN last summer). First off, I am not at all put off by death or bodies in various state of ickiness. What got to me about the exhibit was that I felt that the creator was almost looking for an excuse to display his "artwork" so he peddled it to science museums saying, 'look what great stuff we can learn.' I was dismayed by his poor labelling of what you were seeing (the language he used was babyish and not at all descriptive). Also, some of the things he did with the tissue (flaring out the muscle) would never occur in the natural world. So is it art? And is it appropriate then to be using human tissue under the guise of science to express your art?

I'm interested in hearing what others have to say.

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Specializes in CNA, RN Student.

Well, I am an artist--I paint and I photograph. I was dismayed when I heard of a artists exhibit using used tampons a while back. But who was I (especially as an artist) to judge someone elses art? There is no definitive explanation of art and I believe if there was than it wouldn't be art or you simply have no appreciation for it. It wasn't your opinion on the exhibit but your judgement of what someone can classify as art that bothered me.

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DesertRain -- I fully agree with you, who are we to like or dislike other people's art. Art is an expression, art is not necessarily meant to please. Does it matter whether or not the viewer understands or does not understand what the artist was getting at?

What bothered me about Body Worlds is that the creator seemed to go to a lot of trouble to convince the audience that what he was doing was all about science when in my eyes it was not all that scientific (e.g., the over simplified labelling) and his attempt at "artsy" poses left me wondering what he was trying to demonstrate.

Anyway, that's my humble opinion. Thanks for your thoughts.

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Specializes in CNA, RN Student.
DesertRain -- I fully agree with you, who are we to like or dislike other people's art. Art is an expression, art is not necessarily meant to please. Does it matter whether or not the viewer understands or does not understand what the artist was getting at?

What bothered me about Body Worlds is that the creator seemed to go to a lot of trouble to convince the audience that what he was doing was all about science when in my eyes it was not all that scientific (e.g., the over simplified labelling) and his attempt at "artsy" poses left me wondering what he was trying to demonstrate.

Anyway, that's my humble opinion. Thanks for your thoughts.

I guess I really can't comment on the exhibit as I saw "Bodies" not "Body Worlds" and for an A&P student the labelling was precise and as elaborate as the anatomical parts we were learning in lab. However, my A&P prof did mention that when he first went to "Bodies" they had an image of epithelial tissue projected on the wall and he said they had it labelled wrong but changed it within the next few days--that must have been pretty disheartening to the the Anatomy enthusiasts that attended the exhibit when it first opened lol.

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What bothered me about Body Worlds is that the creator seemed to go to a lot of trouble to convince the audience that what he was doing was all about science when in my eyes it was not all that scientific (e.g., the over simplified labelling) and his attempt at "artsy" poses left me wondering what he was trying to demonstrate.

What really bothers me is his unwillingness to prove that the bodies were those of people who gave permission for their remains to be used in such a manner. Were these people prisoners executed in China? Hospital patients from Kyrgyzstan? And if all of those people did sign permission slips, as von Hagens claims, why won't he produce them?

Until he resolves the controversy, the debate over whether this is art is moot.

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