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Oct 4, 2007 1:04 pm US/Eastern
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Controversial 'Bodies' Exhibit Opens Monday
by Alison Morris
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
A new exhibit that has sparked moral debates, stirred controversy and attracted throngs of visitors in cities around the world is about to open to the public here in Pittsburgh.
"Bodies: The Exhibition" will begin its seven-month run at the Carnegie Science Center's SportsWorks complex on the North Shore this Monday at 10am.
The exhibit features 15 male and female human corpses that have been preserved by a process involving liquid silicone.
Some of the cadavers have been stripped of their skin and cut apart to give visitors a look at the different systems inside the body.
The exhibit is designed to increase understanding about how our bodies work – and how it breaks down.
Medical Director Dr. Roy Glover cited one such display, which demonstrates the difference between a healthy lung and the lung of smoker.
"One of the things that we want to impress upon people," Dr. Glover explains, "is that when you smoke, if you are a chronic cigarette smoker, the tars that are in cigarette smoke will get into your lung and will cause it to become diseased and interfere with its ability to function. So the black that you see [on the smoker's lung] is not something that we painted on. This is real."
But it's not without controversy.
The corpses that make up the display are unclaimed bodies from China, many of which are posed in various positions.
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh and several local school districts have raised questions about the exhibit; but after seeing the exhibition, they have agreed that it has a clear educational benefit.
Read the Complete Statment From the Diocese Of PittsburghThough one of the main topics of controversy surrounding the exhibit centers around how the bodies were obtained, the Carnegie Science Center has been able to provide documentation that these are in fact, unidentified and unclaimed bodies from China who died from natural causes.
"It is really the most incredible way to learn about our bodies and how to take care of this body that we have and to do the things that we need to do to encourage a healthy lifestyle," says the Carnegie Science Center's Ron Baillie. "And I don't know that there's any more impactful way to do it than I see right here in this exhibit."
"I encourage anyone who's skeptical to come and see and to make their own decisions," Baillie added.
"Bodies… The Exhibition" opens at 10am on Monday, October 8th and runs through May 4th.
Tickets are available at
CarnegieOnline.org
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