Everyone has things that make them just a little squeamish. It can be heights, spiders, or even tiny holes. For me, it’s seeing the workings of the human body and how complex our bodies really are, which made seeing the Bodies: The Science Within exhibit all the more bizarre.
All the way up until September 20, people can come to the Denver Pavilions to witness the human body once all the layers have been peeled back. The part that makes this exhibit special? All of its physical displays come from real, consenting human specimens that agreed to give their bodies for science. Upon entrance, there is a poster explaining how the parts and statues displayed came from actual, real people, respectfully preserved for being put on display through a process called plastination.
Plastination is the process of replacing water and fat with curable polymers. This helps preserve the organic material to prevent the usual decay and decomposition that usually occurs after someone has passed away. It’s also used for medical and dental schools, as well as research facilities, when handling delicate anatomy. It’s not just to make human specimens look pretty and presentable.
For an exhibit that is relatively smaller compared to most museums and displays, it was no less intriguing. There were different rooms and sections dedicated to different parts of our body, ranging from muscle growth and respiration to the reproductive systems. It was honestly quite jarring to be so close to a world that seems otherwise untouchable, especially knowing that they came from people who lived lives before they gave their bodies to science.
For anyone looking to go into the medical field or simply interested in the human body, I would heavily recommend coming to see this place while it’s still easily accessible to people living in the Denver Metro area.