Stunning BODYWORLDS comes to Milwaukee Public Museum

BODY WORLDS: The Original Exhibition of Real Human Bodies opens at the Milwaukee Public Museum Jan. 18 for a limited engagement that is expected to attract visitors from throughout the Midwest.

“Visitors to BODY WORLDS will be truly amazed when confronted with the beauty of the human body,” notes Museum President Dan Finley. “This exhibit has been a catalyst for change throughout the world.”

BODY WORLDS features authentic human specimens preserved through a revolutionary process called Plastination, created by German scientist-physician Dr. Gunther von Hagens. The preservation technique replaces bodily fluids and fat with reactive plastics, preserving human tissue in its natural state. The exhibit presents more than 200 authentic specimens, including organs and whole body specimens for a rare and unique opportunity to view the complexity of human anatomy and physiology.

Brought to Milwaukee with the support of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, the exhibition is the original presentation in a series of anatomical exhibitions, which has been seen by nearly 25 million people in more than 40 cities across Asia, Europe and North America. Finley notes that BODY WORLDS provides important insights into health issues such as the effects of smoking through exhibits of preserved lungs from a smoker and non-smoker.

The specimens in BODY WORLDS stem primarily from the Institute for Plastination’s body donation program, which maintains a donor roster of more than 8,000 living and deceased donors.

In conjunction with the exhibit, which will be here through June 1, the museum will offer public programming with a strong focus on health education, including a series devoted to initiating and maintaining healthy lifestyle changes.

Also opening Jan. 18 in the museum’s Humphrey IMAX domed theater will be The Human Body, which took three years to produce and adapts the most sophisticated graphics available to present a picture of life.

BODY WORLDS will be open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Wed., 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. and 10 a.m. –6 p.m. Sun. Since demand for tickets is expected to be extremely high, the museum has established a phone bank of reservation operators at 414-278-6170 or toll-free at 888-700-9069. Additional information also may be obtained at www.mpm.edu or www.bodyworlds.com.

Tickets for timed entry to the exhibit are $24 for adults (19-61), $19.50 for seniors (62) and students with identification, and $15 for children (3-18). Discounted rates are available for members of the Milwaukee Public Museum.

IMAX complements exhibit with groundbreaking film

Complete your BODY WORLDS experience with The Human Body IMAX film, playing Jan. 18-June 12 at the Humphrey IMAX Dome Theater in the same complex as the Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St.

Co-produced by Discovery Pictures and the BBC, The Human Body incorporates groundbreaking computer graphics with stunning real-life images to chronicle a day in the life of a human body.

Following a family through a single day, the film focuses on the lives (and bodies) of eight-year-old Zannah, teenager Luke, and Uncle Buster and Aunt Heather - a couple expecting their first child.

More than a science lesson, the IMAX film takes viewers on an exhilarating personal journey of discovery. Using innovative filmmaking techniques, combined with the latest medical and scientific imaging, the film shows the biological processes that keep the human body running.

Three years in the making, this film reveals how intriguing an exploration of The Human Body can be. Visit www.mpm.edu for times and tickets, or phone for reservations at 414-319-4629 or 888-700-9069. Tickets may be purchased at the museum box office located in the concourse.