Real human specimens on display at Body Worlds & The Cycle of Life at OMSI
PORTLAND, Ore. — Visitors call OMSI’s newest featured exhibit overwhelming, profound – even shocking. KATU got the first, exclusive look in Portland at Body Worlds & The Cycle of Life at OMSI.
You’ll see real human specimens - including full bodies- on display at Body Worlds & The Cycle of Life. Explore the science and splendor of our bodies through all stages of life and discover how lifestyle choices affect us from within.
“It's absolutely amazing what we have underneath our skins,” says Dr. Angelina Whalley, the curator of Body Worlds.
She says this exhibit is only possible because of two things.
“First: people have decided during lifetime to be part of it. Secondly: because of the technology called plastination, that permanently preserves these bodies, they are dry, they are odorless.”
Dr. Whalley’s husband, Dr. Gunther von Hagens, invented the process of plastination in 1977.
“Many people might come with hesitation because they have not been confronted with a corpse and they don't know whether they can stand it at all.” Dr. Whalley said. "That’s why they’ve placed the bodies in lifelike and dramatic poses. We know when they are looking more lifelike and dramatic, that people feel it’s a lot easier to approach,."
In turn, it's also a lot easier to absorb the lessons the exhibit is teaching.
"Whatever we do or don't do, whether we are active, what we eat, whether we are happy or feel disregarded, everything," Dr. Whalley said. "Everything has an immediate effect on our bodies.”
Dr. Whalley wants that understanding to empower people to make the right lifestyle choices. She adds the earlier we start making good lifestyle choices, the better it will be for your entire life. That’s why she recommends Body Worlds for families – even children.
You’ll be able to compare a smoker’s lung to a non-smoker’s lung, a normal liver to a fatty liver and other diseased organs to healthy organs.
“I feel most rewarded when people leave the exhibition saying 'I got a complete different view on my inner self. Never again will I take my body for granted," Dr. Whalley said.
Body Worlds: The Cycle of Life is on display at OMSI starting Saturday, March 7. It runs through the summer.
LOCATION
Oregon Museum of Science & Industry
1945 SE Water Ave, Portland, OR 97214
includes museum general admission
Adult (14+) $26.00
Youth (3-13) $18.00
Senior (63+) $22.00
Student (14+) $22.00*
OMSI member pricing
Adult (14+) $12.00
Youth (3-13) $10.00
Senior (63+) $11.00