Creator of Body Worlds visits the Museum of Nature and Science

by Laura Seewoester

“Beauty is not only skin deep, we are beautiful throughout,” says Dr. Gunther von Hagens, creator of Body Worlds. He appeared for a press conference at the Museum of Nature and Science for a Q and A with the media after he was unable to attend the exhibit’s opening last December. Dr. von Hagens does not come across as “weird” in any way, as many might think. After all, he does work with dead bodies for a living. He is, however, easy going, cheery, and obviously proud of what he has accomplished. It seems as if there is nothing he loves more than educating the public about his exhibits, the process of plastination and, of course, anatomy itself.

Here are a few things I learned since the last visit to Body Worlds:

-The plastination process takes about one year for a whole body. If they try to shorten the process, “shrinkage” becomes a factor.

-Dr. von Hagens intended on displaying malformed fetuses with the normal fetuses to promote awareness to women and hopefully encourage women to take care of themselves while pregnant. Unfortunately we live in conservative Texas and Dr. von Hagens was not allowed to display them. Dr. von Hagens also does not generally dissect the fetuses because they are too feeble and small to be educational once dissected.

-There is some controversy that surrounds the exhibit, as one might imagine. The three most common sources of this controversy stems from other anatomists, individuals that are offended religiously, and politicians. The latter has not been an issue in the U.S. Dr. von Hagens said he would be worried if there was no controversy, but he likes that it promotes discussion of life and death.

-Dr. von Hagens is currently working on an elephant and a giraffe for future exhibitions. Cool, huh?

Body Worlds is on display until May, 28. The Museum of Nature and Science has extended the Sunday hours to accommodate the crowds, however they suggest viewing the exhibit during the week if possible. Reserve your tickets here, ahead of time.

“When you embrace death, you better understand life.” -Dr. Gunther von Hagens, creator of Body Worlds.