The Amazing Human Body

Body Worlds

We were anxiously awaiting the Body Worlds Exhibit coming to SLC this fall, so when Kevin received two free VIP passes through work, we ventured down south for an educational evening. Gunther von Hagens, a German anatomist, developed a plastination technique for preserving specimens which replaces tissues with plastics while still retaining the original form. There is no decay and no smell. (Interestingly enough, I found myself automatically breathing through my mouth several times--a defensive technique I developed in labs to avoid the nasty smell of formaldehyde.) He has created a traveling exhibit of the human body with individual organs and artistically arranged dissected bodies.

Some view it as educational, others as purely artistic, while still others view it as demented. We were fascinated and impressed and thought the displays were tastefully done. The dissections were truly incredible and revealed hidden anatomy (sometimes in odd ways, such as a man holding his internal organs in the air while balancing in a gymnastic pose). Our only complaint had to do with the facility itself--it was really hot and there were no benches--standing for 2 1/2 hours was quite tiring for a 2-week post-partum April. Would we recommend paying >$20 per person to go and see it? Well, yes--but then again we are both biologists and interested in anatomy.

Cameras are not allowed--the picture below was borrowed from a website.

Homeschool Anatomy Class

Kevin was asked to teach anatomy to our homeschool group during the month of September. They met twice a week for classes and were enlightened about their amazing bodies. Basically he presented a different body system each lesson, and focused on the "wow, cool" sorts of information rather than trying to get the kids to memorize pages of anatomical structures (his regular students would have preferred this class for sure!). The kids came up with great questions, most of which were answered during the lessons. The children were particularly fascinated with pictures of "anatomy gone wrong," so Kevin had a series of gross pictures at the end of each lesson (with the caveat that anyone who wanted to leave could do so).

The final day they got to dissect a sheep heart and lungs, which was a highlight for some of the students. Kevin arranged for the sheep parts from the USU meat laboratory and picked them up just before class. Some students chose to stay as far away as possible from this activity (note Megan in distance in photo on right). Most of them enjoyed it for a while then left to jump on the trampoline, and a few stayed and made cuts until the organs were no longer recognizable! Ah, the beauty of homeschooling ;)