For the squeamish or easily offended, the “Body Worlds” exhibits put the “gross” in gross anatomy. For the iron-stomached and medically curious, it’s a fascinating peek into the gears of our complex biological machines.
For most of us, it’s a little of both.
“It’s a powerful exhibit,” said Bridget Couglin, health curator at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. “In the age of virtual experiences, we think we’ve been calloused by things that you can do better and quicker online. This is one of those rare instances where virtual reality doesn’t prepare you for what you’re going to experience.”
“Body Worlds and The Story of the Heart,” which opens Friday, March 12 at the museum, is the latest version of the controversial, world-traveling exhibit, which uses a process called plastination to preserve human specimens for long-term display.
And it promises to be another blockbuster for the museum. “Body Worlds 2” welcomed 687,000 visitors during its 19-week run at the museum in 2006, breaking the show’s daily attendance records at all previous North American venues.
This all-new version focuses on the heart and its relationship to every aspect of our physiology. More than 200 specimens — from spongy, bright-red blood vessels in the shape of limbs and organs to flayed, posed bodies — fill the exhibit. It’s visceral stuff, but it’s no sideshow. Scattered video animations and step-by-step explanations of the specimens and their functions ground it in hard science.
The first thing visitors see when they walk through the sliding doors is a heart in a translucent case. Just around the corner, 32 stacked, red barrels represent the 1,800 gallons of blood our hearts pump each day.
“You can read about how much it pumps, but if you really see how much it pumps on a single day, it’s amazing,” said Dr. Angelina Whalley, creative director of the “Body Worlds” exhibits. “And that’s just when you’re at rest.”
Whalley’s husband, German anatomist Dr. Gunther von Hagens, invented the plastination process more than three decades ago and has been perfecting it ever since. At his Institute for Plastination in Heidelberg, Germany, his staff extracts bodily fluids and fat from cadavers — those of people who, in life, gave written consent for such use.
Von Hagens then replaces the fat and fluids with resins. Think whole bodies, organs and translucent slices. It’s as eye-catching and unsettling as it sounds — especially because the latest “Body Worlds” exhibit sets its sights on the otherwise invisible workings of our complex cardiovascular systems.
“The exhibition comes in certain chapters, so to speak,” said Whalley, who traveled to Denver to oversee the installation of the exhibit. “It starts with the locomotive system and continues to the nervous system, respiratory system and others. But I’m always highlighting how the cardiovascular system relates to each.”
Indeed, the “Body Worlds” exhibits would be nothing without relatability. It’s fine to look at the intricacies of blood vessels, but answering questions like “Why do feet fall asleep?” and “Do people really die of broken hearts?” adds a practical element.
It doesn’t hurt that 500 volunteers with a combined 150,000 hours of training will assist visitors at the exhibit, which winds through the museum’s recently renovated, climate-controlled Phipps Exhibition Hall.
The aim isn’t just educational, but motivational.
“When you really see this, you get a much better understanding and desire to maintain your body better,” Whalley said.
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
“BODY WORLDS & THE STORY OF THE HEART.”
Anatomical exhibit. Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd. Friday, March 12 – July 18. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. $8-$25.50. 303-370-6000 or dmns.org.
