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MOSI To Host Another Exhibit Of Human Bodies

Gunther von Hagens' BODY WORLDS, Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg, Germany, www.bodyworlds.com

An exhibit of real human bodies is coming to Tampa's Museum of Science & Industry.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 13, 2008

Updated: 11/13/2008 04:17 pm

TAMPA - Bodies, real bodies, revealing all of their muscular and anatomical secrets under the sheen of plastic, will once again pose inside the Museum of Science & Industry.

The last time a similar exhibit was at the museum on Fowler Avenue just south of the University of South Florida, record numbers of people went to see it. The event carried a bit of controversy involving a question of whether the exhibitors had the right to display the bodies, which were homeless and destitute people from various cities in Asia.

But museum officials say they don't expect any objections this time for the exhibit that will open Jan. 22 and last until the end of June.

MOSI spokeswoman Shani Jefferson said the presentation is from Gunther von Hagens, one of the world's foremost experts on anatomy and creator of the Plastination process, which encases and preserves human tissue. She doesn't expect any flap over the exhibit.

"Gunther von Hagens has a great reputation," she said. "People know he is going to give them nothing but the best. He is the creator of this anatomical exhibit and innovator of this process.

"These are real, donor bodies, who have come into his institution" in Germany, she said. "He has 8,900 registered donors."

The exhibit, which features more than 200 specimens including entire bodies, individual organs and transparent body slices, is educational and not sensational, she said.

"People will be really pleased with it," she said.

The theme of this exhibit is more than just the body, she said. It also focuses on the heart and "how this muscle sustains life."

The exhibit has been seen by about 26 million people in 47 cities in Asia, Europe and North America. The MOSI engagement will be its debut in Florida, Jefferson said. Currently it's in Salt Lake City, and it first opened in Japan in 1995.

"It's one of the leading exhibitions right now," she said. "It's quite large; it will be over 14,000 square feet and take up most of MOSI's first floor."

Keith West is from South Carolina and said that he hopes to get to Tampa in the spring to see the exhibit. One day, he said, he will be among the bodies.

"I enrolled as a future body donor to the Institute for Plastination in 2002," he said in an e-mail to TBO.com on Thursday, "and have since made arrangements to have my remains shipped to Germany for Plastination after my death."

He said he is 53 and in good health, and that his intention "is to inspire other people to donate their bodies to medical schools, transplantation centers, research labs as well as for Plastination, to benefit future generations.

"If my body does ultimately end up in an exhibit, it will only be an anatomical model and not the living 'me,' " he said.

"As long as the public exhibitions and museums host exhibits of Plastinates that were ethically obtained through a donor program, this is a major advancement for science and natural history museums," West said. "I can only hope that this breakthrough will lead to greater public awareness of efforts to stop smoking, prevent obesity, and lead fuller, healthier lives."

Advance tickets for the MOSI exhibit are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.mosi.org. Adult tickets are $25.95 each and $19.95 for children 12 and younger. Adults older than 60 will be admitted for $22.95. Museum members are eligible for reduced ticket prices.

The museum's first venture into exposing real bodies was in 2005 and was a rousing success.

The "Bodies" exhibit lasted about a year and was seen by more than a half-a-million people, a 200,000 bump in attendance over the same period the year before.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760.

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