The world famous exhibition known as Gunther von Hagens’ Body Worlds and the Brain has arrived in Phoenix and opens for public viewing 10 a.m. Friday.
This unique exhibition can be viewed for a limited time at the Arizona Science Center at East Washington and South Fifth streets in downtown Phoenix.
Featuring over 200 authentic human specimens from more than 9,000 body donors, Body Worlds and the Brain offers a close-up look at the human body and its fascinating anatomy.
Although Body Worlds was previously on display in Phoenix in 2007, this exhibition includes new features that focus on the brain’s functions, development and performance.
Chevy Humphrey, CEO of the Arizona Science Center, described the uniqueness of the exhibit during a press conference held Thursday.
“Our traveling exhibitions connect hard science with engaging presentation to excite our visitors and spark their curiosity,” Humphrey said. “Body Worlds is unlike any other exhibitions we have brought here before.”
Over the past 15 years, Body Worlds’ creative designer Dr. Angelina Whalley has brought the exhibit to over 32 million people around the world.
“Body Worlds opens up, for the very first time, to grasp anatomy in a way that was never possible before,” Whalley said. “It is anatomy in very great detail and in its best beauty.”
Even though the exhibit will stay in Phoenix for about four months, Whalley said people should visit soon in order to “enjoy and have some privacy in the exhibit” due to the number of last-minute viewers.
With the ASU College of Nursing and Health Innovation just a few blocks from the exhibit, Humphrey said the Arizona Science Center is thrilled to give students the opportunity to experience Body Worlds and the Brain.
Nursing major Jaime Buchholz has worked at the science center for about a month, and she said she can’t get enough of the new exhibit.
Buchholz said she is hoping to bring friends along and attend the exhibit several times.
“It is just amazing to see all the muscles and different layers because they’re so detailed,” Buchholz said. “There is only so much you can see in the models we have in class, but with the exhibit you get a close-up view of all the different layers of the body.”
Even if they have seen a Body Worlds exhibition before, Buchholz said “students of all majors will definitely find this fascinating.”
Whalley said she encourages those who may have seen Body Worlds in Phoenix during the 2007 tour to come and experience all the new features of the exhibit.
“I hope that they would leave the exhibition with inspiration even if they came a couple of years ago,” Whalley said. “My personal goal for Body Worlds here in Phoenix is to inspire people on the physical, emotional and intellectual level.”
Contact the reporter at katie.kunkel@asu.edu
