MOSI lands human bodies exhibit
"BODIES, The Exhibition," which features preserved inner workings, will run from Aug. 20-Feb. 26.
By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
Published July 23, 2005
TAMPA - A science exhibit featuring preserved human bodies, similar to shows that have been drawing large, curious crowds around the world, is coming to Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry.
At a news conference Wednesday, MOSI officials will unveil a full human body, preserved by a special process known as plastination, as a prelude to their new presentation, called "BODIES, The Exhibition."
Earlier this month, MOSI president Wit Ostrenko said he was negotiating with the show's producer and hoped to announce a contract later in July. He was more circumspect in a later interview, responding through a spokesman that he couldn't confirm any details.
But in a news release late Friday afternoon, MOSI announced the national premiere of "BODIES" will open Aug. 20 and run through Feb. 26 at the museum at 4801 E Fowler Ave.
The exhibition "will offer the public a rare opportunity to explore the wonders of the human body firsthand and to see for themselves the inner workings of their own bodies in a way that they never have before," the statement said.
Officials could not be reached for comment Friday evening.
But last week, information MOSI shared with Hillsborough County commissioners indicates the show would be presented by Premier Exhibitions of Atlanta, the same group behind exhibitions on the Titanic shipwreck in recent years at MOSI and the Florida International Museum.
Representatives of Premier Exhibitions had confirmed they were talking with MOSI and other museums about bringing a version of an exhibit known as "Bodies Revealed" to the United States. Another version of the show is running in Seoul, South Korea.
Premier and Bodies Revealed is not affiliated with "Body Worlds," a similar show appearing at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry that has drawn around 450,000 visitors since February. Variations of that show have appeared throughout Europe and Asia, as well as Los Angeles and Cleveland, and its organizers claim cumulative crowds of more than 14-million since 1996.
Premier Exhibition's "Bodies Revealed" debuted in England in 2004. The show is expected to draw more than 700,000 visitors by the time it concludes an eight-month run in Seoul in November.
Like "Body Worlds" and other similar touring exhibits, "Bodies Revealed" includes displays of dissected human bodies kept from decaying through a process called polymer preservation, also known as plastination.
In essence, the bodies are drained of all fat and fluids, which are replaced with polymers such as silicone rubber, epoxy and polyester. This keeps the flesh from decaying and maintains its natural look.
Skin from the bodies is removed, or partially removed, to reveal muscular, nervous, circulatory or digestive systems. In some cases, only one of those systems remains, leaving, for instance, only a brain and spinal cord and all the nerve lines that connect to it.
Dr. Roy Glover, a retired University of Michigan anatomy and cell biology professor, is medical director for Premier Exhibitions. He said last week the exhibit would include some bodies in athletic poses, such as throwing a discus. And it would contrast healthy and ailing body parts, such as a healthy liver and one showing signs of cirrhosis.
All of the bodies have been donated to medical facilities for educational purposes, Glover said. That's the primary purpose of the show, he added, with the show's producers placing an emphasis on displaying the bodies with dignity and respect.
Information provided to the county shows that museum operators are organizing a medical and ethics committee, including some of its board members, church leaders and medical experts.