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They say beauty is only skin deep.
A unique exhibition coming to Imagination Station in Toledo will give visitors an even deeper look at the beauty of – and the beastly impact of disease and neglect on – real human bodies.
Called “Bodies Revealed,” the exhibition, which runs May 21 through Sept. 18, will feature 10 full body specimens and more than 150 partially dissected specimens of people who voluntarily donated their bodies to science through accredited medical universities in the People’s Republic of China.
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Visitors to the Bodies Revealed exhibition at Imagination Station
will get to see how the body works and how lifestyle choices can
make an impact. Executive Director Lori Hauser said. (Photo
courtesy of BODIES Exhibition) |
All the people involved died naturally, curators and medical officials with the Premier Exhibitions company assure, and their conditions at the time of death are now permanently preserved for others to view through the use of a liquid silicone rubber that is applied to the body and then allowed to harden.
The result of this Polymer Preservation process is a chance at a close-up look at the muscular, skeletal, respiratory, circulatory, digestive, nerves and other systems of the human body without the typical negative effects one would get from a decomposing body. In a series of private galleries, the bodies are presented in poses that represent everyday activities and athletic endeavor.
“The exhibition offers an eye-opening learning opportunity to literally see how the body works, and how lifestyle choices impact the body,” said Lori Hauser, executive director at Imagination Station.
Lungs, hearts and a variety of other carefully dissected organs are also displayed, allowing visitors to see them both in healthy and deteriorated states. The latter reflect how poor lifestyle choices like smoking and drinking and weight issues can have negative impacts over time. The organs will also show the ravages of diseases such as emphysema and breast, lung and colon cancers.
The brain is more difficult to preserve because it shrinks through the normal polymer process and must be dehydrated through a cold acetone mix to keep it more closely resembling its size and shape in the human body.
While exhibitions using human bodies seem more commonplace these days, not so many years ago there were some objections made when this type of display made a comeback. There are still some debates among educators and parents about when such an exhibit is appropriate for young children.
These are not unlike the objections faced by Leonardo daVinci and others engaged in such anatomical preservations centuries ago. Though preserved bodies have been available in the past for use by medical professionals, Bodies Revealed provides the lay person with what Hauser and other Imagination Station officials expect will be tremendous educational opportunities for young and old.
Imagination Station and the exhibition company will have available four age-specific educational guides from elementary to graduate level. The science and educational center is also recommending that an adult guide – a teacher, other educator or parent/guardian – accompany younger children.
Not only will patrons be able to get a close look at bodies that they can generally only see now in textbooks, officials say, but the hope is the exhibition might lead some people to change bad living habits in order that they might preserve a longer life for themselves. Once the Bodies Revealed exhibition ends its tours, the bodies involved will be returned for cremation.
During the exhibition’s run, Imagination Station plans to periodically bring in speakers who will talk about certain medical conditions reflected in the bodies and organs displayed.
Tickets to Bodies Revealed are on sale now. Imagination Station members will get access to the exhibition at any time during operating hours. Non-members will need to call ahead and reserve timed entry tickets in advance as only a limited number of timed tickets will be available for each hour the exhibition is open. On weekends, sellouts – and disappointments – are a distinct possibility, Hauser warns.
There is an additional fee beyond the regular admission cost that will be charged to everyone to cover the approximately $300,000 cost of providing this unique exhibit. Those with Imagination Station annual memberships get free admission to the facility and pay $6 to see the Bodies Revealed exhibition.
Non-members ages 13-64 will pay a total $18 for admission to Imagination Station and the Bodies Revealed exhibit. Seniors ages 65 and older are $16 and children ages 3 to 12 are $14. Toddlers and infants age 2 and under are free.
Group rates will be available, as will audio tours for a fee. For hours of operation or other information, call Imagination Station at 419-244-2674 or visit imaginationstationtoledo.org.
Visitors to the Bodies Revealed exhibition at Imagination Station will get to see how the body works, and how lifestyle choices can make an impact, Executive Director Lori Hauser said. Photo courtesy of BODIES Exhibition
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