Body Worlds 3 & The Story of the Heart

LOS ANGELES, CA- For students that consider themselves visual learners, exploring the “Body Worlds 3 & The Story of the Heart” exhibit at the California Science Center will give them a whole new approach to understanding the human body.

The exhibit has proven to be especially helpful to those students enrolled in Professor Rhonda Wimmer’s Biology classes at CSULB. Professor Wimmer offered her students 20 points of extra credit for attending the exhibit. The educational insight, however, was more than enough of an incentive to attend.

According to a news release, the exhibit features over 200 authentic human specimens including whole bodies, organs, and translucent body slices. There was also a special presentation of the heart. The purpose of the exhibit was to educate the public on not only the inner workings of the body (something that many people will never experience first hand) but to also raise awareness of the structure and function of healthy and unhealthy bodies, and to stimulate curiosity about the science of anatomy.

“It’s another great opportunity to expand the scope of our educational mission and present the science of anatomy and important health messages in a way that we know will encourage further science learning and positively impact the lifestyle choices of many who see the exhibit,” noted Science Center President Jeffrey N. Rudolph in a recent news release.

The bodies were organized and placed in an educational and aesthetic way. Each full body was put in a different pose to place emphasis on different areas, and was accompanied by cases of particular organs to further demonstrate exactly what takes place in that specific region of the body. Each body shows the detail of disease and anatomy that is impossible to demonstrate on models, and the Science Center offers students the chance to experience the real thing. Full descriptions were written in such a way that when a complicated piece of information is being explained, it is organized thought by thought, so that anyone can comprehend the diverse infrastructure of the human body.

“Seeing the bodies in person just drives the point home. We’re taught so many concepts in class, that being able to visualize things makes it so much easier to understand,” said Tommy Bailey, a junior at CSULB enrolled in Wimmer’s Biology class.

There were displays of a healthy lung and a lung that suffered from years of smoking, as well as a healthy digestive system that displayed the positive outcome from maintaining a balanced diet. Every body or organ displayed, however, were somehow tied in to the importance of maintaining a healthy heart. Demonstrations were shown step by step exactly how an artificial heart works, which offers insight of exactly what can happen if one develops heart disease.

The exhibit brings visitors one step closer to visualizing exactly what goes on inside the human body, which can not only be helpful to students studying science, but to anyone who wants to know what the inside of their body looks like and how it functions.

“When does anyone ever get an opportunity to see the inside of a human body, perfectly in tact, unless they take an anatomy course? Seeing images in a book or online doesn’t compare to the opportunity you’re given at Body Worlds 3,” said Tommy.

Body Worlds 3 & The Story of the Heart will be on display at The California Science Center in Los Angeles until September 7, 2008. Discount tickets are available to students, as well as groups.