I’ve heard more buzz about the Bodies Revealed exhibit at Turtle Bay Exploration Park than any other exhibit the museum has hosted. Part of that buzz, I’m sure, comes from the pre-show concerns/controversy about seeing real human bodies dissected and displayed in this manner.
The exhibit still has a few weeks left (it runs through Sept. 15), so I really felt compelled to see it before it departed. (Cost for the show is $23 for adults, $19 for seniors/youth, $16 for adult members and $13 for senior/youth members.)
A little bit of controversy is a good thing in terms of publicity. This is kind of a fine line, but you get people talking about something and what you have is a palpable sense of interest.
Does the exhibit warrant the hype and buzz? I think it does. Here were some of my feelings walking through it:
• I had this intense feeling of suddenly knowing too much. I looked at the bones meeting at the knee joint, read the panel and thought, “Oh, my gosh, it’s a miracle my knees are still pretty healthy. Thank God.”
• One strong impression that the exhibit provided: Our bodies are complete, delicate, amazing miracles. We really need to take care of ourselves. This is a pretty intense byproduct of the exhibit. When you reach the lung section, there’s a place to deposit your cigarette packs. If you’re a smoker, just be forewarned about this element.
• Some of the wall panels contain amazing facts, such as, “Children’s bones grow faster in springtime,” and “Every drop of blood in the body passes though the heart once per minute.” Make sure to read the walls.
• The blood vessels display is amazing. You check out the main arteries and think, “Oh, my gosh, I need to protect my neck!”
• I didn’t want to look at some of the displays with diseases in the organs. I kind of made myself, but they did leave me feeling uncomfortable.
• They have to keep the exhibit hall cool because of the specimens. It’s not freezing in there, but it is a bit cool. It actually feels good compared with the above-100 temperature outside.
• The bodies and organs come from Chinese people who chose to donate their bodies to medical universities in China. You notice that they’re Chinese. It’s not a good or bad thing, it’s just something that stays with you.
• Overall, I left the exhibit and starting looking around at other people and marveling at how special we all are. It’s the kind of exhibit that helps you respect and tolerate those around you better. I left being a little humbled.
• I didn’t pay for the audio program, but one couple I talked to who did, said you can get all the information you need by reading the panels. They were lukewarm about the audio program, but I noticed they listened to it throughout the exhibit.
I would say that any young person interested in the medical field should probably go check out this show. No matter who you are, there’s a ton to learn. A day after visiting, it’s still very much viscerally with me.
