By Tanya Terry
Starting this summer, an international exhibition, REAL BODIES THE EXHIBITION, will be seen for the first time in Mid-Michigan at the Sloan Museum of Discovery!
The exhibition displays real, perfectly preserved human bodies in eleven themed galleries with more than 200 anatomical specimens. Those who visit the exhibition will be invited to explore the entire human experience from the first breath to the last. Therefore, it is expected to draw visitors from Michigan, Ohio and Ontario.
Hurley Medical Center is the presenting sponsor for the exhibit.
Melany Gavulic, president and CEO of Hurley Medical Center, told the Courier Hurley views the exhibit as a way to spark people’s understanding of the human body.
Gavulic said Hurley has made a financial contribution to the exhibition coming to Flint and that Hurley staff and leadership are ambassadors for it.
She said looked not only at Hurley’s responsibility for keeping people healthy, but also helping them increase in understanding about their bodies and the importance of maintaining them.
She also believes the exhibition can inspire people to enter healthcare professions.
“So, when you really think about some of the younger folk that may take an interest of the field of healthcare and science and all the things that go along with taking care of the human body-that’s one element,” Gavulic said. “The other thing is this exhibit is so explicit with the specimens, it really does show you how your body works. So, when you think about individuals that might have a chronic disease that they’re dealing with, if they come in and see maybe how the lungs look in that specimen they think: ‘Oh that’s why I’m being advised to do that particular exercise, or that’s how that medication works on that particular issue I have with my lungs…”
Dr. Qazi Azher, Hurley Medical Center pathologist and spokesperson for Real Bodies, also expressed to the Courier his passion for the soon-coming exhibition.
“In this REAL BODIES Exhibit, there is an area about blood and blood vessels and the heart.” Azher stated. “In that, you will see, even laughing can increase the blood flow in the body! It’s amazing!”
Azher explained that when a person is depressed, the blood flow decreases.
“The exhibition tells you what should be your health and how you get that health, by knowing your own body and its function,” Azher said.
The exhibition has been produced by Imagine Exhibitions out of Atlanta, Georgia,
It has been recently updated to include the latest science-based information about COVID-19. The update is intended to educate visitors on how SARS-CoV-2 impacts the major systems of human anatomy, from respiration to circulation.
The dramatic first traveling exhibit will be a “rare and inspiring experience” for many Michiganders, according to Todd Slisher, executive director of the Sloan Museum of Discovery.
Tickets are on sale now for the exhibit, which will be at Sloan July 7, 2023 through January 14, 2024.
Tickets and information are available at www.SloanLongway.org/Real-Bodies. Group reservations can also be made at Reservations@SloanLongway.org, or by calling (810) 237-3409.
The opening of REAL BODIES will also mark the opening of the FUN Gallery, Sloan Museum’s 6000 square foot exhibition hall which will be used for special traveling exhibitions.
