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What happened to the historic Texas Revolution battles exhibit that used to be upstairs at the Museum of Natural Science? When I was a kid, they were my favorite things there, but when I moved back here in '97, they were gone. Anyone know where they are now?

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  • 1 year later...

"Body Worlds 3" made its Texas debut last week and opened to record crowds at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Just curious if any of you have attended the exhibit? I have not. That's something that's just not for me. Simply reading articles or seeing pictures of it makes me nauseated. For the last week or so, every time I go to take a bite of food, I can't help but imagine muscles and membranes. I just now ate a tortilla and thought about the billboard of the skinless corpse holding up his entire layer of skin. I don't care if it's considered art, that stuff's nasty. Other the other hand, seeing the exhibit could put me on a nice month-long diet. I've packed on about 5 pounds due to leftover Valentine candy and Girl Scout cookies.

Have you seen it in person? I'd love to hear what you thought about it. I find it fasicnating, actually, but I wouldn't go.

Edited by KimberlySayWhat
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I saw the exhibit yesterday morning. It was very fascinating...but a little icky. I would highly recommend seeing it. Just don't eat before you go. It was a little unsettling to see the human body in this condition and the various positions. The full body specimans are right there. You could touch them (I'm sure your not supposed to) but most organs, bones, fetuses, and most sliced body sections are under glass. The plastinates (the whole-body specimens) are the most striking. One man is holding his own skin in one hand, another is on a cell phone, and three plasinates are at a table playing poker. There is a plastinate woman hanging upside-down while another is doing a sort of royal curtsey/bow. The biggest of the plastinates is the man on the horse. This one is the most impressive just for its shear size alone. The fetuses really made me think about my views on abortion. After seeing the diseased livers and lungs, you'll never want to smoke or drink again the rest of your life. There are lots of things I left out, so go see it for yourself. I'm glad I did. It makes you really want to lead a much healthier lifestyle.

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Just don't eat before you go.
I know I wouldn't have a problem eating after.

You could touch them (I'm sure your not supposed to) but most organs, bones, fetuses, and most sliced body sections are under glass.

No, you're not supposed to. There was an interesting detailed article about the exhibit on the Houston Chronicle site, but I can't find it now.

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I meant to ask, for those who've been, do they have pictures and information on the "plastinates" from when they were alive? I'm sure that would be a lot of interest to attendees. Like their names, where they were from, how old they were, how they died, etc.

No, not any that I saw.

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At least these corpses are still having fun.

A previous exhibit showed clear plastic models of humans caught at the moment of death. They were made from the impressions left in the ashes by people who were killed by the eruption of Vesuvius in Pompey.

Now that was heartrending.

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At least these corpses are still having fun.

A previous exhibit showed clear plastic models of humans caught at the moment of death. They were made from the impressions left in the ashes by people who were killed by the eruption of Vesuvius in Pompey.

Now that was heartrending.

I saw one of the lava covered people in the Ripley's museum in San Antonio, or maybe it was Dallas, somewhere in Texas.

I remember reading a childrens' magazine with a story and pictures of Pompey when I was little. Disturbed me.

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At least these corpses are still having fun.

A previous exhibit showed clear plastic models of humans caught at the moment of death. They were made from the impressions left in the ashes by people who were killed by the eruption of Vesuvius in Pompey.

Now that was heartrending.

ech! sounds more like the mueseums back when PT barnum owned one...

pure nightmare fuel, i say.

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I sent with a out of town guest on friday night, and when we finally made it to the museum through all the construction, etc it turned out the museum was closed for a special members only function. Man was I pissed ! It took over an hour round trip for that drive, and there was NOTHING posted on their website about their special members only function !!

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I sent with a out of town guest on friday night, and when we finally made it to the museum through all the construction, etc it turned out the museum was closed for a special members only function. Man was I pissed ! It took over an hour round trip for that drive, and there was NOTHING posted on their website about their special members only function !!

someting similar hapened when i paid full price for 2 tickets and they forgot to mention theywere closing an hour early to have a wedding in the dinosaur room -- which seems neat but they should have mentioned that when it was only an hour away when i paid for them.

i was also irritated tough, whn they did not reduce the regular ticket price when the had a floor or more closed once for remodel a few years back... my date's main interest that day was the gem display which was closed (and should have been a warning at the time...)

whew! i'm bitter today!

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I sent with a out of town guest on friday night, and when we finally made it to the museum through all the construction, etc it turned out the museum was closed for a special members only function. Man was I pissed ! It took over an hour round trip for that drive, and there was NOTHING posted on their website about their special members only function !!

Yes it was. That's why I went Friday morning instead. It was right there on the website, I was told when I called, and told again when I was purchasing my tickets.

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I'm an exhibit designer at HMNS, and help set up the exhibit. My initial thoughts was that it was going to be gory seeing real corpses; but once the plastinates were uncrated, my first thoughts were . . .wow! these are fantastic models! I kept on having to remind myself that these were once real living human beings. It's not that sick, and it's very informative . . . more anatomy class then contemporary art. It's not intended to be art at all. This exhibit is so facinating, that I'm considering bringing my 4 1/2 year old son to view it. He has such a curious outlook on the world, that I think he will really learn a lot from this show.

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I went on Saturday and loved it. I wasn't grossed out (OK, maybe the display of the entire digestive tract, from tongue to anus, all stretched out was a bit much for me) and thought it was absolutely fascinating to see what we all look like on the inside.

The exhibit isn't for everyone, but if you have any curiosity at all about human anatomy, you can't beat it.

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NO way I'm going to see a bunch of dead bodies that have been mutilated. Gross. And to profit from it is even worse.

it's not mutilation - it's edumacashun

and you know, it costs a lot to pump bodies full of acetone and plastic

B)

in all seriousness, i am going to check it out as soon as i can

Edited by sevfiv
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midtown 4.2:

I'm an exhibit designer at HMNS, and help set up the exhibit. My initial thoughts was that it was going to be gory seeing real corpses; but once the plastinates were uncrated, my first thoughts were . . .wow! these are fantastic models! I kept on having to remind myself that these were once real living human beings. It's not that sick, and it's very informative . . . more anatomy class then contemporary art. It's not intended to be art at all. This exhibit is so facinating, that I'm considering bringing my 4 1/2 year old son to view it. He has such a curious outlook on the world, that I think he will really learn a lot from this show.

What do they smell like?

Sorry, just being gross. :lol: But really, what do they smell like? And did you touch them? With or without gloves?

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The only smell in the exhibit comes from the wax coating burning off of the brand new high intensity light bulbs. That smell should dissipate in a few days. The plastinates ARE soft . . . feels just like oily silicone. While I was setting up the exhibit, I had to hold on to some of the plastinates . . . with ungloved hands to boot!

As far as $$$'s goes, both the museum and Dr. Von Haagens institute are non-profit. The museum depends on visitors to keep it's doors open, and Von Haagen puts the monies back into furthering anatomical research and education.

I highly recommend the show. I promise that you'll leave the exhibit with a clearer understanding of your anatomy, and the effects that diseases, smoking, poor dietary habits etc. etc. will have on your organs.

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midtown 4.2:

The only smell in the exhibit comes from the wax coating burning off of the brand new high intensity light bulbs. That smell should dissipate in a few days. The plastinates ARE soft . . . feels just like oily silicone. While I was setting up the exhibit, I had to hold on to some of the plastinates . . . with ungloved hands to boot!

Ewww!
I highly recommend the show. I promise that you'll leave the exhibit with a clearer understanding of your anatomy, and the effects that diseases, smoking, poor dietary habits etc. etc. will have on your organs.

That's a great and postive thing and I hope it does make people think. As for me, I take really good care of myself. I don't need to see those things in person. I'd probably get sick and embarrass myself. I vomited on the historic Battleship Texas once, I wouldn't want to do it in the HMNS. Has anyone gotten sick yet while viewing the exhibit?

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  • 2 weeks later...
Ewww!

I vomited on the historic Battleship Texas once, I wouldn't want to do it in the HMNS. Has anyone gotten sick yet while viewing the exhibit?

why did you vomit on the battleship?

i've been there --- did i miss something?

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why did you vomit on the battleship?

i've been there --- did i miss something?

I was getting over a case of strept throat and I took my antibiotics on an empty stomach. That's what made me sick. I vomited in the water right before you step onto the bridge leading up the the battleship (I'm sure there's an appropriate term for it) and then I vomited while I was on the ship.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Does anyone know how he got the bodies to begin with? Do individuals will their bodies to him? Do families volunteer them? It may sound weird, but the answer to this question will determine if I go or not.

That doesn't sound weird to me at all, and I've been asking myself that same question ever since first learning of this exhibit.

I'm sure this is some breach of etiquette, being that this is my first post to this forum, but I feel the need to comment on what I've discovered about the Body Worlds exhibit. You can take what I have to say with a grain of salt, because I don't profess to be an expert on this matter. In fact, I've just begun to study the background information that's available from on-line sources such as media outlets and special-interest websites - which will obviously have their own viewpoints to promote - but a lot of the controversy that has been dogging Gunther Von Hagens is deeply disturbing, and in my humble opinion, is inadequately addressed by the ethics statement published on the HMNS website. Very few specifics are provided there, the implication being that everyone should simply trust the adviser's judgement that all is well.

The ethical, moral, religious and aesthetic objections to the display of preserved human cadavers is not my primary concern, because that is something that each individual has to make a decision on for themselves. It is the uncertainty about the source of the bodies Dr. Hagens presents in this exhibit (and others) and how he went about securing them that bothers me. His public behavior should also give pause to anyone considering seeing this show.

Here are links to some articles that I have found so far; a little googling should turn up more for anyone wishing to pursue this further on their own. -

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lif...=chi-health-utl

http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/...1129261,00.html

http://english.epochtimes.com/news/6-3-29/39840.html

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archi...2/05/2003097594

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/18/nyregion...agewanted=print

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml.../22/nbody22.xml

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Welcome to HAIF, Paul M. , and thanks for a very thought-provoking post.

I don't recall having seen this issue raised in the Houston Chronicle, although they gave quite a lot of press to promoting the exhibition. To willingly allow ones remains to be used in such a way is one thing; to exploit those who had no say in the matter is quite a different matter.

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Thanks for having me! It's nice to have a forum to talk about the architecture and related subjects in this town. I'm not a professional in the field, but do have an appreciation for good design.

I felt like my previous post should probably go in the "Off Topic" or "Way-off Topic" forum, but then it would be a little difficult to connect back to the original discussion. ;)

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