California Science Center
700 Exposition Park Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90037
(323) SCIENCE (323-724-3623)
Visiting BODY WORLDS: Pulse with a child
The California Science Center welcomes both adults and children to Body Worlds:Pulse. This exhibit may not be suitable for some children and adults must accompany all children 12 years old and younger. As a parent, I’m glad that I read and become familiar with the exhibit before we went to see Body Worlds because my boys had a ton of questions and I’m sure your children will too.
First things first: The bodies you see are real.
Body Worlds is an exhibition of real human bodies, including graphic exhibits that show some nudity and information on human reproduction as well as views of the interior of human bodies. The bodies you will see have been preserved in a process called “Plastination,”which involves infusing the body’s tissues with plastic. The resulting bodies are referred to as “Plastinates.” Plastination is a very high quality preservation process that has been used for many years, especially in medical schools.
The lesson behind Body Worlds: Pulse is to teach us what our bodies look like on the inside and how they function by using real, preserved human bodies. There were parts of the exhibit that spoke on human health, including how our bodies break down when we smoke or don’t eat right. On display are Plastination of the reproduction, and the urinary, nervous and cardiovascular systems.
The bodies came from donors who wanted us to learn more about the structure and function of our bodies.
For more information please check our web site at www.californiasciencecenter.org or contact Science Center staff.
Our skin is our largest organ and it is constantly working to protect us and exposed to the elements. This is our first glimpse of a body in plastination. Bodies like this can take up to 1,500 hours to prepare.
The skeleton is the framework of the body and is made up of bones and cartilage. It gives our bodies both strength and structure. We’re told to drink milk because our bones are mostly made up of calcium, which keeps them strong.
The nervous system carries messages to the brain that make it possible for the body’s five senses to work. It controls our sense of touch, taste, hearing, sight, and smell. Our nervous system also controls our thoughts.
Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. ~ Dali Lama
This is a woman is pregnant with a second-trimester baby.
Also on display were global families and their diets. The USA had the second to worst diet. We were beaten by Mexico and Japan had one of the healthiest diets consisting of lots of fish and fresh produce.
Did you know that blood circulation in our skin affects coloring, especially in the face because there are numerous tiny blood vessels beneath the skin, as shown above. We can become “red in the face” from heat, intense physical activity, and stress hormones causing the vessels to widen.
The positions you see are permanent. Above shows the joints inside the knee and ankle/foot.

What do you think?