Tampa’s MOSI Bodies Exhibit – Educational or Obscene?

Now that the media coverage on the Bodies exhibit at MOSI in Tampa has died down, it seems that there are distinctly two camps arguing for or against it. There are those who think that this highly controversial museum exhibit is educational, and those who think that it is obscene.

Either way, this exhibit has drawn in viewers at a staggering amount. People are still clamoring to see it in droves, even after the initial novelty has worn off. MOSI even had to create a new sort of speed pass option which allows customers to buy timed tickets that will whisk them to the head of the long lines. However, you still have to purchase those tickets a week in advance.

MOSI may not have seen this much excitement over an exhibit since the mid 90’s when they featured dinosaurs. Paired with the recent release of “JurassicPark,” this exhibit was a hit, and remnants from the dino-displays still linger in their lobby today.

So why is this exhibit so exciting for some, but so blasphemous for others? On the surface, it seems like a really scientific approach to learning about the inner workings of the human body. However, the macabre fact that makes some people squeamish is that these figures and samples don’t come from plastic molds or models; but from the real thing.

Even before I went to the Bodies exhibit, I was on the “educational” bandwagon. However, I am also the kind of person who loves watching Discovery Health on a Friday night and enjoy seeing documentaries on babies from Chernobyl or that woman with the 150 pound tumor.

After going to the exhibit, I was even further convinced that Bodies was truly an educational experience, and a long-overdue one at that.

For me, the best part of the exhibit was watching children react to the many wonders of the human body. Some let out the occasional “gross” but otherwise, the general consensus of kids was that it was pretty cool. Not surprisingly, kids, and adults alike were affected by the realities of what they saw, in particular, the black lungs. If I only had a dollar for every kid that swore they would never smoke after seeing that.

Fused bones, cancerous organs, stages of fetal development, a cirrhotic liver and every possible specimen you could imagine is

For more information visit http://mosi.org/, or visit MOSI at 4801 E. Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33617.