See Your Body in a New Light with BODY WORLDS

Imagine an exhibit that showcases cadavers in unique positions, one that makes the inner-workings of our bodies accessible to us. In theory, you are looking at dead bodies, but in reality, you are getting to see what’s happening inside of your body, gaining a new look at health and wellness and, even more importantly, starting a discussion about happiness and what it can do for you. I’m talking about BODY WORLDS, one of the most successful traveling exhibitions in the world. Watch here below to see our interview with Jennifer Guild discussing BODY WORLDS at the Science Museum of Virginia:

BODY WORLDS opened in 1995 and has visited over 160 cities since it’s opening, attracting more than 55 million visitors worldwide. Perhaps, what makes BODY WORLDS so successful in its vision is the unique way in which creators Dr. Gunther von Hagens and Dr. Angelina Whalley showcase what healthy and unhealthy bodies look like. Rather than seeing another display with photos and information cards, BODY WORLDS brings these concepts to life by using actual human specimen, organs, and parts. You get to see full body plastinates (the preserved bodies in the exhibit), individual organs, organ configurations, blood vessels, and transparent body slices. They are displayed in a way that is not only easy and interesting to look at, but it also gets your mind moving.

In my opinion, the viewer forgets that they are looking at medical cadavers because of the way the full presentation is put together. First, there are reminders throughout the entire visit that happiness is one of the major keys to health. Each corner brings forth a new reminder to smile and add happiness into your life. There is also a great deal of art added into the design of the exhibit. The specimen are displayed in glass cases throughout the exhibit with specific lighting set up on the cases. This creates a reflection of the other plastinates and exhibits within the glass case that you are looking at. It plays with angles, reflection, lighting, and music in a way that made me stop to truly appreciate the thought that went into the design of the layout. Everything was intricately placed and presented.

I also think it’s important to say that I can be pretty squeamish, and I was not bothered by the bodies and organs presented within the exhibit. It’s showcased in such a thought-provoking way that allows you many opportunities to learn, engage, and create happiness from within yourself. When I left, my partner and I commented that we never truly felt like we were looking at bodies at all throughout the exhibit. With all the information, artistic presentation, and with the reminder to smile, that thought slips your mind and presents what could be a grim display in an enlightening way, keeping it light throughout.

The exhibit also does a great job showcasing the delicacy of our bodies. It shows us what healthy and unhealthy organs look like. BODY WORLDS brings a tangible and extremely visual representation of the inner workings in our body like no exhibit has done before. The ‘plastinates’ as Dr. Gunther von Hagens calls them, have gone through the ‘plastination’ process so they can be presented in an odorless, durable way for education purposes for not just medical professionals but also for the broader public. They provide a clear way for the general public to see what’s happening within them.

The plastination process consists of a fixation process that pumps Formaldehyde and preservatives through the arteries, the removal of body fat and water, and a bath of liquid polymer (such as silicone rubber or epoxy resin) that vaporizes the cells and draws the polymer into the cells. This process lasts for roughly two to five weeks. Then, the plastinates are aligned and structured into the position they will be displayed in before they are cured. The full process of dissection and plastination takes roughly 1,500 working hours and a full year of time to complete. The bodies showcased in the display are all volunteers who signed off on being a part of this exhibit while they were still alive.

The BODY WORLDS exhibit is currently at the Science Museum of Virginia as of August 2024. It travels the world and also has permanent exhibits in a few locations, so be sure to follow its tour and see when and where you can see BODY WORLDS if you aren’t currently in the Richmond area.