BODY WORLDS Vital presented by Iowa Health and Kemin Industries, Inc., will open at the Science Center of Iowa & Blank IMAX Dome Theater (SCI) on May 7, 2011 for a limited engagement. BODY WORLDS Vital is the latest exhibition in the BODY WORLDS saga from physician and anatomist Gunther von Hagens, focusing on educating visitors about the inner workings of the human body and how to defeat life-threatening diseases through informed choices and lifestyle changes.
BODY WORLDS is the original anatomical exhibition displaying authentic human bodies, willed by donors through the Institute for Plastination's Body Donor Program, and preserved using a process called plastination. Invented by Dr. von Hagens, plastination is a groundbreaking process in which specimen or plastinates are preserved in real-life poses.
BODY WORLDS Vital makes its Midwest premiere at SCI as only the second venue anywhere to host this extraordinary exhibition. Since 1995, more than 32 million visitors worldwide have experienced the BODY WORLDS exhibitions; Central Iowa will be the smallest market in the U.S. to present this internationally-renowned educational series.
The purpose of BODY WORLDS Vital is to educate Americans on common diseases and preventive care and to encourage them toward living a healthy lifestyle. The exhibition is comprised of whole body plastinates as well as individual organs and translucent body slices that give a complete illustration of how the human body functions.
"There are some recurring diseases that afflict Americans regardless of gender: the obesity pandemic, heart disease and stroke, cancer, diabetes and kidney disease, respiratory disease and Alzheimer's. The remarkable thing is that people can begin to protect themselves against these diseases by making certain dietary and lifestyle choices," said von Hagens. "We hope for the message of vitality, fitness and health to be contagious and relayed by visitors to their social networks."
"Iowa Health - Des Moines is committed to improving the health of our communities, We invested in BODY WORLDS Vital to give Iowans a rare glimpse into how the human body works," says Eric Crowell, President and CEO of Iowa Health - Des Moines. "We hope this world-class exhibition educates and inspires you to take better care of your family's health."
Complementary IMAX Film
The Human Body (45-minute documentary film) sponsored by Iowa Health - Des Moines and Grand View University. The Human Body reveals the incredible story of life with a look at the biological processes in astonishing detail through the use of groundbreaking computer graphics and stunning real-life images. This is the story of what takes place beneath the skin and gives viewers the ability to see the extraordinary accomplishments of our everyday lives.
"In addition, we are proud to present The Human Body at the Science Center of Iowa's Blank IMAX Dome Theater," says Crowell. "Our mission of healing, caring and teaching is fully demonstrated in this presentation as viewers are taken through an incredible journey through the human body."
For more information on the BODY WORLDS Vital exhibition and to purchase tickets, visit www.sciowa.org/bodyworldsvital or call (515) 274-6868.