Exploring Body Worlds
by Steven Synder
From October 2005 through April of 2006, The Franklin Institute hosted
Gunther von Hagens' Body Worlds: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies.
During its seven month run over 603,000 visitors attended the exhibition, making
it the most well attended traveling museum exhibit in the history of
Philadelphia. Before bringing the exhibition to The Franklin Institute, museum
staff reviewed the exhibit from a number of perspectives including content,
ethics and educational value.
As the title suggests, this exhibition consists of some 250 displays of human
organs, organ systems and dissected cadavers preserved using a technique called
plastination. Plastination is a relatively new process, conceived by von Hagens,
which allows long term preservation of human tissue, keeping the color, texture
and structure of the original material intact. This permits the presentation of
the human body in a way that had previously been impossible. Organ systems can
be displayed in their entirety where they sit in the body, the relationships
between systems can be displayed and finely detailed complex structures (such as
the circulatory system), which previously could only be displayed as images, can
be seen in their totality. The view this technique provides into the inner
workings of the human body is truly unique and has been used by medical schools
and educational institutions for several years.
Before bringing this exhibit to Philadelphia for public display however, The
Franklin Institute staff met with doctors, ethicists and religious and community
leaders to review the contents of the exhibit, and ensure that it was
appropriate for exhibition. These discussions focused on the provenance of the
bodies used in the exhibition (all had been donated by the individual while they
were still alive for the purposes of public display and education), the age
appropriateness of the content, and whether or not it was appropriate for the
citizens of Philadelphia. Additionally, the results of an independent
investigation, which confirmed that von Hagens had the consent of the body
donors, were also taken into account during these deliberations. And so, after
careful review and consideration, the staff of The Franklin Institute concluded
that the exhibition had the necessary ethical standards for display in the
museum.
In addition to the ethical and community reviews, staff undertook a thorough
review of the exhibition to determine its educational suitability for and
potential impact on visitors. During half a dozen trips to the exhibit while
still installed in Los Angeles and Chicago, The Franklin Institute staff spent
hours in the exhibit, watching guest behavior and reactions, reviewing visitor
comments and assessing the exhibition from an educational point of view. Staff
were immediately struck by the air of profound respect with which visitors to
the exhibit approached the plastinates. Where one might have expected gawking or
giggling, we found visitors assiduously studying the various specimens wearing
looks of deep fascination and wonder. The galleries themselves were hushed, a
remarkable change from the vibrant and enthusiastic sounds emanating from other
parts of the science center. Within Body Worlds visitors spoke in subdued
respectful tones befitting the nature of the exhibition topic.
The exhibit itself is well organized around the various systems of the human
body, beginning appropriately enough, with the skelo-muscular system,
progressing to the nervous, circulatory, endocrine and finally reproductive
systems. The choice to begin the exhibit with the skeletal system was a good one
as it provides visitors with a point of departure with which they are quite
familiar. The first 'full body' plastinate they encounter is indeed a skeleton
which provides a starting point for their exploration. The text which
accompanies each display is detailed and while it is sometimes a bit too
technical, it provides enough information for visitors to interpret what they
see. The design provides opportunities for visitors to explore the plastinates
with many exhibits providing 360-degree views. Throughout the exhibition the
designers used quotes related to anatomy, philosophy and politics intended to
prompt visitors to think more broadly about the subject matter. In some cases
these were effective, while in others they seemed superfluous but not overly
distracting.
The greatest strength of the exhibition is its ability to personally connect
with visitors. Time and again staff came across guests relating displays to
personal health and medical issues. More than one guest who had undergone knee
surgery was seen feeling their knee while viewing an exhibit showing an
artificial joint in situ. One particularly touching moment was when staff
overheard a mother and daughter, who were viewing a specimen of a liver
overtaken by cancer remark "that's what happened to grandma." From their
tone and expression it was clear that this was the first time they could
medically make sense of what was obviously a difficult time in their lives. In
addition to the general lay audience, staff encountered numerous medical
professionals and medical students within the exhibition. Classes from medical
schools were seen using the exhibit to augment their educational techniques. One
practicing doctor was seen animatedly describing the finer points of the renal
system to his children. He commented afterwards that it was one of the first
times he was able to convey why he did what he did to his children in a deeper
way than "I like to help people." Vignettes like these were played out numerous
times at multiple exhibits during our review of Body Worlds.
At the end of the exhibition, visitors are encouraged to leave comments in a
set of books. Staff reviewed these entries to gain further insight into the
potential impact of Body Worlds. What they found was an almost universally
positive response. The majority of the visitor feedback expressed the sense of
wonder and awe that staff had witnessed on entering the exhibit. Many commented
on how the exhibit helped them to understand more about their own medical past
and the effects of their lifestyle choices on their health. The most poignant
comments were those like "I've taken my last drink" and "I'm going to make sure
that Daddy stop smoking." While these are only indications of immediate
intention, the possibility that Body Worlds can positively impact visitor's
future health was one of the strongest aspects of the exhibition.
After assembling the staff observations and comments, consideration was given
as to whether or not the exhibition's use of real human specimens was necessary
to achieve its educational goals. Could the same response be attained through
the use of models, images or computer simulations? Based on the staff's
experience in informal science education, the answer to that question was a
resounding 'no.' Body Worlds itself points to the anatomically unique nature of
each body; models or simulations are incapable of conveying that information.
While this is true, clearly, it is the authenticity of the specimens themselves
that are the source of the exhibition's power to educate. Museums have based
their very existence on the power of the primary object to connect to their
audience. The Hope Diamond or Write Flyer can be duplicated, documents can be
presented in facsimile and reproductions can and are often presented in museum
settings, however, they loose the intrinsic power of the real thing. The
Franklin Institute has seen this first hand in its past efforts in anatomy
education. At the museum's "Heart Bar" visitors are presented with models of the
human heart, diagrams of its function and reproductions of medical devices.
Staff engages them in discussions of the function and health of one of the
body's most central organs. And, although these exchanges are effective tools,
interest is increased dramatically when a preserved horse heart is brought out.
Both the quality and quantity of the questions increases ten-fold when a
plastinated sample of a human heart is presented. The power of the primary
object, the power of the real, cannot be overemphasized. In "Body Worlds" this
is especially true, as visitors come face to face with the impact of their own
health choices, not as a model but as an actual person.
The results of the site visits, community meetings, ethics discussions and
numerous staff, members and Board conversations were all taken into careful
consideration prior to bringing "Body Worlds" to Philadelphia and The Franklin
Institute. The final determination by The Institute staff was that this
exhibition provided a unique opportunity to engage our visitors in learning
about anatomy and human health; the likes of which we had not seen before. With
careful attention to ethical and educational implications the decision was made
to open the exhibition at The Franklin Institute. The results of its seven-month
run have exceeded expectations in terms of the impact this exhibit has had on
visitors and staff alike. The visitor behaviors and outcomes staff witnessed
during their reviews were amplified during the exhibition's time here; and, we
still receive comments from guests about how the exhibit opened their eyes,
expanded their understanding of the human body, strengthened their commitment to
their individual health and was a positive learning experience overall that they
will carry with them forward into their lives.
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