Myth of the Human Body Exhibit

The Educational Field Trip which was organized by the EUREKA last July 25, 2011 at Taguig City was extremely amazing and so knowledgeable. We have gone first to a mini-theater and watch a short movie on how a life was form. There’s no introduction was given to the film, nor explanation after on what was the movie is all about, maybe because they want the viewers to reflect on their own.

Our tour guide, Kuya Richard who was like a talking doll said that the bodies were donated and most of them came from China. It features real human corpses that have undergone the process of plastination. The specimens are arranged in seven halls. At the first hall, introductions are made. A video of Gunther von Hagens, who invented and patented the plastination technique is looped. We saw there the plastination process in which samples are dried, and then processed in a vacuum.

Von Hagens, wearing a black hat, is shown demonstrating the process using a horse. One is posed as a basketball player, another as an archer - but it's confusing because the archer is shooting himself in the arm.

The guide asks us to refrain from asking why the archer is shooting himself in the arm, because he says it is impossible to position the body properly.

The halls are named after Greek deities, hence the exhibit title "Myth of the Human Body." The first hall is Heracles, and the focus is on the muscular and skeletal system. Spread out beneath glass are different plastinated body parts, in various states of health, dissected to different degrees.

Here it becomes clear that the exhibit is an anatomy lesson more than anything else. The guide rattles off facts about the human body, indicating the parts on display. After a few minutes, the guide ushers the group to the next hall and bids us to take care of our muscular and skeletal system. The advice is both friendly and ominous, given that we had just spent a few minutes staring at what our insides look like, or could look like.

The rest of the tour went the same way. Groups were guided through Poseidon (the respiratory system), Dionysus (the digestive system), Hades (the circulatory system), Eros (the reproductive system), Zeus (the brain and the nervous system), and Artemis (the fetal system). Some of the plastinated bodies were positioned innocently enough, simply upright, or maybe like a wrestler, like "The Strong Man." But some positions were a bit disconcerting, like the woman "holding" her organs, or the skinless man with his skin draped over his arm. I was amazed when I saw the skinless man because I found out that his tattoo was still there, it only means that tattoo lasts forever or even after death. Others, like the "Monterey Man" - literally chopped from head to toe were really disturbing. Disturbing and fascinating at the same time. The body parts were, after all, the real thing.

Myth of the Human Body Building Facade

I must say, it’s the most sulit I have ever paid for an exhibit.

The building itself is beautiful. The huge statues of gods and goddesses outside were beyond amazing. It is like the whole structure is alive. I was not able to take a good photo though, because there were posts blocking the view. Anyway, the corpses were awesome. I’d like to take a few home, especially those with internal organs. Myth of the Human Body is definitely not for the faint of heart but for everyone who wants to gain extra knowledge.