Well, SIL and I decided to go check out the Bodies Revealed exhibit today. It was the only day I thought I could get away with going with someone, but not have to take the girls. It was interesting, to say the least. It was amazing to see how they preserved the bodies, in whole and in parts.
Bodies Revealed is being housed in the old CompUSA building on Alta Arden in Sacramento. They did do a great job cleaning up and renovating the building. I was excited to finally see what all the hype has been about. I will say though.. I thought it was a bit over priced. We were able to get a discount of 20% since I belong to the Sacramento Bee’s Press Club… But once the fees were all tacked on, I only ended up saving $2… Not really worth it… Tickets at the door are $24, and if you really want it, you can add the audio tour for $6. We didn’t do the audio tour. All it did was speak everything to you rather than have to read it on the signs next to the displays. As you walk in with your tickets, the person that scanned us in was very short with us, but oh well. We pretty much figured she was having a bad day.
You walk in, and they start with the skeletal system… They had bones everywhere… YIKES! The next section was the brain, and it moved on and on through the various systems in the body. I think the most interesting was the circulatory system. They had actual veins/arteries of various organs all colored and preserved and in a liquid solution that allowed them so sort of “float in space” as they would if they were still in your body. It was awesome, especially the display of the entire body sized one. They also showed your respiratory system, to include lungs of a smoker, cancerous lungs, etc… It was N-A-S-T-Y… Honestly.. If i DID smoke, I would have QUIT on the spot! Speaking of, they did have a box for people to toss their packs in if they wanted to quit. Did you know that one pack of cigarettes takes 3hours and 40 mins off of your life? OMG… again.. I would have quit on the spot.
Anyway, later on, they showed a liver, both healthy and one with cirrhosis… YUK.. They showed so many other parts of the body, and then at the end, they also showed how they did the preservation with the silicone, and they even had a FOOT that you could look at touch. Ummm No thank you… Oh, and I’m so glad I didn’t go with the girls. They would have nightmares after seeing the displays. They’re so obviously a person.. just missing skin, and other parts. They’d be freaked out. I saw so many people with their young children there, and I was surprised. I thought I was going to have nightmares after seeing all those bodies…
All in all, it was definitely an interesting display. A bit overpriced in my opinion, but interesting nonetheless… I don’t think I’d have been happy paying $100 just for my family to walk around in there… If you’re just that curious, by all means, check it out. Do not take your young child there… they won’t get it… It’s something to see, once..