‘My BodyWorks’ gives deeper look at anatomy in Exploreum exhibit

• Marketing staff report
• Published: Apr 26, 2009

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Tackling personal health issues has been brought to the forefront at the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center in Mobile, Ala., with a new exhibit that aims to educate visitors on how the human body works and how to keep it healthy.

My BodyWorks is an exhibit in partnership with south Alabama’s Infirmary Health System and features interactive areas dealing with sensible eating, the importance of daily physical activity, innovative surgical techniques and the causes and effects of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

“We also see this exhibit as an incredible workforce development tool by inspiring  young people to pursue careers in healthcare and medicine,” said IHS President and CEO Mark Nix.

My BodyWorks consists of six major areas:

• My Beating Heart: This 12-foot-tall, 6-foot-wide “beating” heart model features LED-illuminated veins and arteries to demonstrate overall function and blood flow. Two to three times an hour, the heart will go into  cardiac arrest, and it is also designed to teach CPR and fibrillation techniques.
• Augmented Reality: You can hold a three-dimensional image of a beating heart in your hands here. Using state-of-the art technology, visitors can explore the heart and its workings by “reaching into the screen” and interacting with the image.
• Virtual Surgery: Visitors can perform virtual heart bypass and knee-replacement surgery without harming a real person. This part of the exhibit focuses on noninvasive procedures such as endoscopic, laser and robotic surgery. Simulated endoscopic tools also allow visitors to retrieve an item lodged in a virtual patient’s chest, a common procedure done on children.
• I-Viewer: Check out realistic, full-color images of the human body. Five systems of the human body – cardiopulmonary, muscular, skeletal, nervous and digestive – can be studied here.
• BioLab: Demonstrations and activities that further the concepts taught in the exhibit will happen in the BioLab. The venue, which seats up to 40 people per event, will utilize real-life examples to educate visitors about health.
• BeHealthy System: Eleven activity stations allow visitors to test their fitness levels, including muscle endurance, BMI, reaction time, pulse and high-jump ability. Participants can record their results to review or compare at their next visit.

This gallery is unlike any other in the Exploreum and is just about the first of its kind in the country,” said Exploreum Executive Director Michael Sullivan. “We expect other science centers across the country to adopt and adapt many of these new health and educational tools.”

The exhibit opened Jan. 19 and welcomed more than 4,000 visitors in its opening weekend, according to Exploreum Marketing and Public Relations Director Brett Berg.