Body Worlds 2 Exhibit

I'm not sure exactly what intrigued me about the Body Worlds exhibit when I first heard about it from friends a few years ago. Maybe it was the fact that they saw "some guy holding up his own skin." Or perhaps it was just the fact that actual human bodies are put on display for anyone willing to pay $24 to see them. Currently, there are three exhibits on tour throughout the country, with the second incarnation temporarily making its home at the Boston Science Museum. If you're wondering how they put real human bodies, perfectly preserved and modeled, on display, you aren't the only one. The website, bodyworlds.com, gives you the amazing story of Dr. Gunther von Hagens' quest to showcase deceased bodies in an artistic, yet scientific way using a process known as plastination. The body is drained of its fluids and injected with silicon rubber and epoxy in order to preserve the size and shape of the organs.

This exhibit is definitely not for the faint of heart, as I, someone excited about seeing such a stunning view of the human body, felt moderately uneasy when I saw the vertical slices of an obese man eerily resembling Alfred Hitchcock. The exhibit on display in Boston showcases almost 30 full body displays and hundreds of individual organs. While the organs are encased in glass that's often hard to get a close look at, the bodies are free-standing works of art that you can literally go nose-to-nose with. Boston's exhibit features a ballet dancer, soccer player, baseball player, skier, an ice-skating pair as well as a pregnant woman, the man of drawers, and even a few animals. Ever wanted to know what a plastinated camel looks like? Body Worlds 2 is like no science class you'll ever take. I've never considered myself someone who was hugely into science of any kind, but seeing this exhibit really puts a lot of things in perspective. It's nothing I can explain in a review piece like this, but just trust me; you won't leave there the same. From smoker's lungs to pacemakers, they leave no anatomical stone unturned.

This exhibit really showcases the human body in such a magnificent way, a way in which we'd never see if it wasn't for the advancements in science we're seeing every day. The Boston Science Museum is lucky to have such an exhibit, and it's only here until January, so hop on the T from Quincy Adams and get going! The exhibit is $24 for adults (including admission to the museum as well) and $21 for students. Check out the museum's website, mos.org, for hours and more information.

Wanna talk bodies? E-mail alison@southcoast247.com.