The Ontario Science Centre to host BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart

Dr. Gunther von Hagens’ Exhibition Features Special Presentation on the Heart

(Toronto, ON, June 23, 2009) Four years after BODY WORLDS had its Canadian premiere and BODY WORLDS 2 brought record crowds to the Ontario Science Centre, a new blockbuster exhibition, BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart, will open to the public on October 9, 2009, with a special media preview on October 8.

BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart, an all-new exhibition, will reveal through the lenses of anatomy, cardiology, psychology and culture how the heart nourishes, regulates and sustains life. The exhibition will give Science Centre visitors a profound insight into the human body, health and disease, and the intricate world of the cardiovascular system. The exhibition will awe visitors with over 200 human specimens including whole-body plastinates, organs and translucent body slices. 

The striking whole-body plastinates in BODY WORLDS allow visitors to see inside the staggeringly complex and interconnected network of muscles, tendons and blood vessels that make up our bodies. The specimens on display come through the Institute for Plastination’s body donation program – all of the donors had agreed before their deaths that their bodies can be displayed for public education purposes. Sixty-eight Canadians have bequeathed their bodies to von Hagens’ Institute for Plastination in Heidelberg, Germany.

Nearly half a million visitors came to see BODY WORLDS 2 at the Science Centre during its five-month run from September 30, 2005 to February 26, 2006. Due to its popularity, doors remained open for 61 consecutive hours during the final weekend, when over 32,000 people flocked to see the exhibition before it closed.

“The response when we exhibited BODY WORLDS 2 previously was overwhelmingly positive. The exhibition appealed to a diverse array of audiences – adults interested in health issues, families wanting to learn more about the importance of healthy life choices and students visiting as part of a science, art or physical education class. Overwhelmingly, visitors to BODY WORLDS are filled with awe by the discovery of what they are inside,” said Lesley Lewis, CEO of the Ontario Science Centre. “BODY WORLDS invites you to see, with your own eyes, how intricately we are made; how powerful we are, and how fragile. Without question, this exhibition shows you in dramatic and tangible ways the differences between caring for and neglecting your body.”

BODY WORLDS puts human anatomy in clear context. BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart is organized according to the major systems of the body including the locomotive, nervous, reproductive, digestive and cardiovascular systems.

The exhibition will be time-ticketed, with tickets going on sale to the public June 29 at the box office and online. Science Centre members will be able to book through the call centre starting June 22, and will receive a discount of up to 47% on admission.

This exhibition has been financially assisted by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, and through the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund of the Ministry of Culture, administered by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund Corporation.

For more information, visit: www.ontariosciencecentre.ca.