Bodies, the Exhibition
My family and I saw Bodies, the Exhibition yesterday. I found it to be creepy, gross, nasty, stomach turning, fascinating, and terribly educationalâÂ?¦ In that order. “According to Trendandculture.com, Bodies the Exhibition examines the intricacies and complexities that lie beneath your skin with a unique polymer preservation process applied to real human bodies. You will leave with a greater understanding of your own physical makeup and with a deeper respect for the machine that gives you the power of life”,
I am very glad we went. The kids learned a lot. I learned quite a bit too. Somehow, I never quite got the picture before of all my nerve endings being attached to my brain. However, seeing a real brain with all the nerve endings (and nothing else) laid out on a case, was a visual picture that neither the kids nor I will ever be able to shake.
Bodies, the Exhibition will be at the Atlanta Civic Center until September 4, 2006. The next stop on the tour is at the South Street Seaport Exhibition Centre, 11 Fulton Street, New York, NY, 10038, (at the corner of Front Street). After that, you can view Bodies, The Exhibit, when it opens at the Museum of Science & Industry, 4801 East Fowler Avenue
Tampa FL 33617.
I went to the exhibit totally prepared to be creeped out. The men seemed brave, but my daughter and I were squeamish with anticipation. The first room of the exhibit is a bit of a blur. From what I remember arms, legs, and hands were displayed with different layers of flesh, tendons, bones, etc, exposed. The guys just about pressed their faces through the glass and discussed what they were seeing with other men. My daughter and I stuck to reading the descriptions of what we were seeing and taking sideways glances of the exhibits.
By the second and third room, my daughter and I respectively also had our faces just about pressed to the display case. Needless to say, we got over being squeamish and timid and examined the respiratory system, the brain, tendons, and more, by viewing actual bodies in different forms of exposure. There was even a room with babies w/ birth defects and in different stages of development. As these were obviously miscarriages, and deaths of newborns, I recommend pausing and mentally preparing yourself before entering the room. There is a warning sign, so you will be able to send the children on the next room, take them with you, or have them wait where they are while you look.
Whether you homeschool, or your children go to traditional schools, I highly recommend seeing Bodies, the Exhibit. You can learn so much about anatomy by having the image seared into your brain.
