Field Trip to Body Worlds Decoded

On Monday, my AP Biology class, along with the environmental science and sports medicine class, took a bus down to San Jose to The Tech Museum of Innovation to visit the Body Worlds Decoded exhibition. This exhibition presents real bodies that have been plastinated, meaning that the body has been preserved by replacing the liquid and fat in the body with plastic. This technique allows the body to be manipulated into any position. Click here to learn more about the process of plastination.

In the Body Worlds Decoded exhibition, several body systems were extracted from bodies and put on display. One system that I found fascinating was the muscular system. This system is what allows us to move, which is very important to everyday life. The muscular system allows us to walk, talk, and do leisurely activities like sports! However, like any other body system, the muscular system can malfunction too. Muscular dystrophy is an example of a group of diseases that impacts the muscular system. These diseases cause the muscles to weaken, which stops them from doing their jobs, hindering the victim from performing basic tasks like eating and walking.

Another interesting system on display was the nervous system. The nervous system is the communication system in our bodies that allow us to think, move, and speak! The central part of this system, the brain, is also one of the most essential organs in the human body. The brain controls all of the movements, whether voluntary or involuntary, that allow our bodies to function. When this system is damaged, one can become partially or completely paralyzed, depending on the location and severeness of the injury. The brain is also susceptible to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, which causes the victim to lose memories and affects mental function. The picture below shows a normal brain vs. an unhealthy one. Notice how the ridges between the brain tissue are wider in the unhealthy brain. This decrease in mass means fewer connections between neurons in the brain, which means less activity and function.

Another disease that impacts the nervous system is cerebral palsy. This is when the brain is damaged, normally from birth, and the body can’t function normally. Most patients with cerebral palsy aren’t able to walk or talk and need assistance to survive.

This issue leads us to other exhibitions at the Tech Museum. We visited Body Metrics, Innovations in Health, and Global Impact of Technology. I found Global Impact of Technology the most inspiring. There were booths with touch screen TV’s that each showed a specific global health issue. Some of these included widespread diseases that cause blindness in India, the inability to efficiently distribute vaccinations to populations that need the medicine, and the inability of patients with cerebral palsy to express themselves. To address the issue of the inability of patients with cerebral palsy to speak, a father of a young girl with cerebral palsy developed an app that shows pictures that the patient can choose to express how she or he is feeling. This allows the patient to have a voice even though she doesn’t have a physical one. This innovative application of technology to healthcare was inspiring to me since people are putting their skills to good use.

Overall, this field trip was both exciting and meaningful to me. The exhibitions gave me a comprehensive glimpse into the world of healthcare and technology combined. I hope to study biology and medicine in the future, so the topic of this field trip was exactly what I was hoping to learn more about. Looking at all these innovative solutions to severe, widespread problems, inspired me to find a purpose in my studies. I felt in awe when looking at the different plastinated bodies. This is what is inside my body right now! These living organs collaborate with each other inside me to keep me alive and healthy.  I would definitely recommend visiting this museum to students of all ages. Although the Body Worlds Decoded exhibition is showing real bodies, they aren’t gory or scary to look at. A trip to this museum can inspire young students and expose them to the field of medicine and technology. It can also help them find a purpose they want to commit to, like helping impoverished people around the world.

Check out other photos from the field trip below!