photoJoseph students on the OMSI trip, left to right, are: Cole Warnock, Dakoda Shadle, Ali Garrett, Jade DeLury, Marc Duncan, Becca Cummins, Lexi Nelson, Danica Gross, Casey Hayes

Members of the Human Physiology class at Joseph Charter School recently trekked across the state to OMSI in Portland to view the world-famous traveling “Body Worlds and the Brain” exhibit. The class was accompanied by teacher Kendall Hayes and principal Sherri Kilgore.

According to the creators of the Body World exhibitions, they are the first-of-their-kind exhibits through which visitors learn about anatomy, physiology, and health by viewing real human bodies, using a preservation process called Plastination, a groundbreaking method for specimen preservation invented by Dr. Gunther von Hagens in 1977.

Ten Joseph juniors and seniors were part of the field trip. “They were all very impressed and amazed by what they saw,” Hayes said. “We had a great time and the kids learned a lot (and made me proud!)”

Each exhibition features more than 200 real human specimens, including whole-body plastinates, individual organs, organ configurations and transparent body slices. The specimens on display stem from the process that von Hagens established in 1983.

The exhibitions also allow visitors to see and better understand the long-term impact of diseases, the effects of tobacco consumption and the mechanics of artificial supports such as knees and hips. To date, more than 32 million people around the world have reportedly viewed the Body Worlds exhibits.