CALGARY — Body Worlds is back in Calgary with its newest exhibit at Telus Spark.
Opening Friday, Body Worlds: Animals Inside Out shows some of the world’s most spectacular creatures like never before.
It’s described as an anatomical safari exploring a variety of animals, from goats to giraffes to octopuses and ostriches.
Visitors will be guided through the skeletons, muscles, organs and circulatory systems of some of the world’s most spectacular animals.
No animals were killed for the exhibit. Body Worlds works with zoos, animal and veterinary programs, mostly from Europe, to get its specimens.
The animals on display are preserved through the process of plastination, invented by Body Worlds creator and anatomist, Dr. Gunther von Hagens, in 1977.
Body Worlds is known for its human exhibits. Current curator Dr. Angelina Whalley said the first complete human body went on display in 1992 and now millions of people around the world have seen some variation of the exhibit.
Stripping away nature's skin to bare flesh and bone, Animals Inside Out features more than 100 plastinates, including translucent slices, blood vessel configurations, organ configurations and whole-body plastinates showing the intricate biology and physiology of some of the world’s most spectacular creatures.
The plastination process developed 42 years ago involves replacing the moisture or water in a specimen with a polymer. And it’s a lengthy ordeal, taking upward of 1,500 hours for a human and more than two years for the exhibits of larger animals.
Whalley says it is rewarding to see people around the world being inspired and having a completely different view on nature.
