OHSU Brain Institute sponsors new Body Worlds exhibit at OMSI
The OHSU Brain Institute announced on Sept. 14 that it is the proud sponsor of Gunther von Hagen’s newest BODY WORLDS exhibit at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, beginning Oct. 20.
BODY WORLDS and The Brain will run for several months at OMSI. It follows the enormously popular 2007 BODY WORLDS at OMSI, which OHSU also sponsored. Nearly 400,000 people visited that exhibit during the exhibit’s four-month run.
BODY WORLDS & The Brain will include more than 200 authentic human specimens — entire bodies and individual organs — preserved through Plastination, von Hagen’s revolutionary preservation method. The exhibit will also celebrate the human brain, and highlight neuroscience research on brain development, performance, disease and disorders.
That’s what makes the parternship with the OHSU Brain Institute so fitting. Thousands of OHSU Brain scientists work every day on brain research and on finding ways to treat and cure brain-related disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinnson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and stroke.
OHSU Brain Institute experts will have a presence at OMSI as part of the exhibit. On Saturdays during the exhibit’s run, and on some other days, they will be speaking about the brain, and about their work, in the hallway directly outside the BODY WORLDS exhibit.
More information on the exhibit is here.
When Body Worlds 3 was in town, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Body Worlds and the Brain sounds very exciting. I can’t wait!!!
We’re excited too. We jumped at the chance to team up with OMSI for this great exhibit. We hope to see you there and be sure to drop by the OHSU exhibits.
Funny: Last time, von Hagen’s revolutionary process was Plastination. Now with “Pastination,” is a rolling boil maintained to reach al dente?
Argh – good catch – We found the missing L
Body Worlds uses corpses from China, and there is well founded suspicion that these corpses are those of political prisoners. In fact in 2008 Gunter von Hagens admitted to ABC’s “20/20″ that he had to destroy some of the bodies because their injuries were too obvious (like bullet holes to the back of the head), suggesting they were victims of execution. Here is a link to a page that further discusses the ethical issues involved in these sickening and perverted sideshows that are promoted in the name in the name of science. http://sites.google.com/site/stopbodyworlds/comments.
What incontrovertible proof do you have that the people on display gave their permission to be exhibited this way in death? You cannot assume the consent forms and death certificates are legitimate. Who would agree to have their miscarried or stillborn fetus plasticized and put on display for gawkers like you? What family would agree to have a wife’s or daughter’s pregnant corpse split open for your viewing pleasure? How did all those young men die? When you go to these sideshows you are most likely viewing the corpses of political prisoners, victims of human trafficking, and others whose lives ended under tragic circumstances. Most assuredly none of their loved ones ever saw a dime from the vast fortune Gunther von Hagens and his ilk have made from the displays of their corpses. Shame on OHSU for furthering this exploitation.
Here’s a statement from OMSI that will hopefully answer some of the questions you have.
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and the OHSU Brain Institute are pleased to present Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS and The Brain opening at OMSI October 20, 2011.
OMSI is hosting BODY WORLDS and The Brain because we believe in the educational value of the exhibition. We believe our visitors will gain profound insights into the structure and function of healthy and unhealthy bodies in a way that is not possible on such a comprehensive scale. We hope this thought-provoking exhibition will stimulate meaningful conversations about what it means to be human.
OMSI’s decision to host this extraordinary exhibit was not taken lightly. When considering the BODY WORLDS 3 exhibition in 2007, OMSI conducted a very extensive review process as it does for all of its exhibits. OMSI President Nancy Stueber traveled to Heidelberg, Germany, to meet with Dr. von Hagens and tour the Institute for Plastination and its laboratories. A team of OMSI staff traveled to Los Angeles to see the U.S. debut of BODY WORLDS at the California Science Center in 2004. We researched the ethics review process the California Science Center implemented for the exhibit. It was imperative for OMSI to ascertain the exhibit presentation was respectful and see donor consent documentation verifying specimens were properly donated for the purpose of the public exhibition.
Prior to the 2007 exhibition, OMSI also consulted with community leaders in the fields of public health, medicine, ethics, religion and education to receive advice on the best ways to relate BODY WORLDS to the culturally and socially diverse communities in Oregon. We understand some may not want to come and see BODY WORLDS and we respect that.
Please contact me if you have further questions or concerns.
Thank you, Andrea Middleton
OMSI Communications
amiddleton@omsi.edu
503.797.4677