Why You Should Not Miss BODIES: The Exhibition

Come one, come all! Welcome to BODIES: The Exhibition. Please leave your gag reflex at the door. Perhaps you've heard of it, perhaps not. Open until at least May of 2007 at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, this is the most amazing "thing" I think I've ever seen. Writing this review will be difficult, however, because words escape me as I try to describe what is in store for you at BODIES: The Exhibition.

The first room alone is worth the price of admission. This room contains several full bodies (minus the skin) preserved using a process called 'polymer preservation' and the result makes you want to touch them to see if they are real. Yes, they are real. No, you may not touch them. Would you like to see just how all of your organs fit into that tiny abdomen and chest cavity? No wonder it hurts when you eat too much! From every conceivable angle and cross-section, you will see that the human body is not necessarily a pretty picture.

Several "focus" rooms will follow taking you deeper and deeper into the world of yourself. One room highlights the entire circulatory system with glow-in-the-dark pigments differentiating the arteries from the veins. Wow, there are sure a lot of them! You will also experience a room detailing everything you never wanted to know about your digestive system. And what it looks like when something goes wrong. (Have I eaten enough fiber today?) I honestly can't remember exactly how many rooms there are, but rest assured every part of your anatomy is displayed in ways you never thought possible.

Would you like to see what lung cancer looks like as compared to a healthy (although dead) lung? Or maybe you know someone who drinks too much. Cirrhosis of the liver is an equal-opportunity destroyer. Your science textbooks have not prepared you for the reality that is disease.

One room displays a warning upon entry. It contains many examples of birth defects and other pre-natal wonders and disasters. What a miracle that so many babies are born healthy with so many chances for something to go wrong. I consider myself quite a sensitive soul regarding unborn babies, and this "baby room" did not offend or upset me. I marveled. Your mileage may vary.

I took my children, ages 10 and 16 to this exhibit. My 10 year old gave the occasional obligatory "Eeewwwww, gross!" in each room. My 16 year old is much too cool to be impressed with anything her mother would expose her to, but I think she enjoyed it. At least she told one of her friends she did. Regardless, I know they learned a lot (as did I) and I know that it will stay with each of us forever. Who knows, maybe they will remember that blackened lung when someone offers them their first cigarette. A mom can dream, can't she?

Give yourself at least an hour to tour all of the rooms in the exhibit without rushing. At the conclusion of the tour, there is a small room containing some notebooks to express your thoughts and impressions. Be sure to do it! It was such a joy for my family to read what others thought about the exhibit. BODIES was quite an experience for all of us, young and old. I highly recommend it.