Body Worlds: Amsterdam - The Happiness Project

I've recently had a break from writing posts as I was busy working and travelling. However, as I have a bit of time this evening, I wanted to share my experience from the amazing attraction, which I had an opportunity to attend during my visit to Amsterdam, Holland, where I went last month.

The Body Worlds is well known to be a rather controversial set of exhibitions containing real dissected bodies of humans (coming from willing donors) and animals, preserved via a method known as plastination. The technique was developed by the founder of the Body Worlds, Gunther Von Hagens, in order to conserve specimens, so that they do not smell or decay. It is done by replacing the fat and water within the bodies with plastics. From experience, I can say that the method works amazingly well as during my time at the exhibition I could not smell anything bad, only a slight smell of plastic.

Labelled plastinate of a human heart.


While it is common for other people (such as my poor mother) to feel shocked or disturbed during visits to the Body Worlds, I could barely contain my excitement at finally being able to view real-life examples of human anatomy, so beautifully preserved. The theme of the exhibition was happiness, and the majority of specimens on display were related to the impact of happiness on health. Here are photos of some of the exhibits, which I found interesting.


Exhibit showing what is inside the human head.


A full body plastinate in the role of a sailor. This especially highlights the work of the muscles and connections between main blood vessels.


A full-body plastinate of a man jumping. Again, main attention is drawn to the work of the muscles, with some of them sliced open to see inside.


I definitely recommend visiting this attraction. Even the most squeamish would most certainly appreciate the knowledge gained by learning about the intricacy of different aspects of the human anatomy. It is an exhibition which I would rate at 10/5 and I'm definitely visiting again, as soon as I get the opportunity, be it in Holland or another country!

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