Bodies The Exhibition In Honolulu

October 1st, 2008 | Print | By Vernon Brown

Yesterday I had the chance to check out the highly controversial “BODIES… The Exhibition” which is currently on display in Honolulu at the Ala Moana Center. It’s a very intense, yet educational and surreal look into the anatomy of the human body.

The cadavers and body parts have been the center of controversy concerning their origin. Many, like the New York Attorney General, claim that the display consists of bodies from executed Chinese prisoners. Premier Exhibitions Inc., the Atlanta-based company who created the displays, has long maintained the cadavers are unclaimed bodies on loan from Chinese medical officials.

So the big question is what’s it like? Is it worth the money to see? Well, if you’re a curious mind such as myself then the answer is yes. After paying the entrance fee and getting the introduction from the staff regarding the exhibit, we were off on the tour. From full skeletal bodies with muscle tissue still intact, to a complete layout of the human nervous system, the cadavers were well displayed and informatively tagged. There’s even an audio listening device that you take with you to play the narration from the displays as you navigate your way throughout the exhibit. At one point you get to a section where it shows the human fetal development stage which is preceded by a warning stating that some may feel uneasy about entering that section. In my opinion it’s not all that bad, but that’s left up to you to decide.

Perhaps the most awakening portion of the exhibit, was the display of the human lungs. On one side you have a healthy set of lungs and on the other side you have an unhealthy, blackened, and cancerous set of lungs, which is the result of smoking. Most surprising about the lung display is the clear collection box located between the two sets of lungs where you can see a variety of cigarettes packs and tobacco products that visitors have disposed of after seeing this display.

Another display in the exhibit that caught my eye was the showing of a liver that had developed cancer and the stated cause was that it was a result of skin cancer (melanoma), which really hit home since we live in beautiful Hawaii where outdoor fun in the sun leads to increased risk for this type of cancer.

In the end, I was very taken by the exhibit and the way it was presented in an educational way. Some notes of interest if you plan on checking out this traveling exhibit while it’s on display in Honolulu or another city, is to first of all be prepared for a few surprising views. Second, you will not be allowed to take any photos throughout the exhibit or have your cell phone turned on. And last, you are not allowed to touch any of the exhibits, but at the end of the tour you will be allowed to touch a few organs (we touched a brain, lungs and heart) which have been preserved in the same manner as all the displays throughout the exhibit.

Video: The featured video is from “BODIES… The Exhibition” during it’s stop at the Carnegie Science Center Sportsworks in Pittsburgh last year. The narration is by famous forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht. This video contains scenes which may be disturbing to some viewers. Please view with caution

Website: http://www.bodiestheexhibition.com

June 14, 2008 through January 18, 2009
Exhibit Times:
- Monday through Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Adults, $26; seniors, $24; children $18; and student/military with valid ID $19; discounted prices are available to groups.
Tickets: MuseumTix.com
Group Tickets: TicketsForGroups.com