The Human Body is Fascinating

So, yesterday I got to hang out with my friend Elaine who now lives in CA and her friend Jolie from Seattle. They were in Denver for a conference and it was over in the morning. We took Greta and went hiking up in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. It was cooler up there than in the city (again we're pushing 90 lately). So it was nice and breezy and not too sunny.

That night, Elaine, Jolie, Lara, Steph and I went to the Museum of Nature and Science to see the Body Worlds 2 exhibit. This was so awesome. It sounds gruesome and weird, but it really wasn't. It was a great anatomy and physiology lesson that all schools should take students to see. So much better than looking at drawn pictures or fake models. Real human bodies are preserved through plastination - bodily fluids and fat are replaced with reactive fluid plastics. Organs, body parts, cross-sections and whole bodies are displayed. The whole bodies are positioned differently, kicking a ball, diving, a ballet dancer, striking a baseball, etc. They show normal parts and diseased parts. The smoker's lungs were all black, and the coal miner's lungs literally looked like coal. They showed cancer in various parts of the body.

The saddest, but most interesting part was the fetal development. It was amazing to actually see how we all started out. Smaller than a grain of rice. You read about our development, maybe even see pictures, but to actually SEE the embryos and fetuses right in front of your eyes was amazing. There was even a whole body display of a woman who had died while she was 5 months pregnant, and you could see the baby in the uterus. Again, sad, but fascinating.

It was really great. If they ever come to your city, go see it!