Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SCIENCE AND WILDLIFE
Possibly the most controversial exhibit to tour the United States since Andre
Serrano's “Piss Christ” was making the rounds,
BODIES . . . The Exhibition
55
(in the Tropicana Resort and Casino;
%
800/829
-
9034; www.bodiestheexhibition.
com;
$
24, plus
$
5 if you get the audio guide; daily 10am-11pm; AE, DISC, MC, V)
does something much more subversive than submerging a statue of Christ in
urine: It robs graves (according to some). Splashed across the front pages of many
newspapers, this is the notorious show that displays actual corpses, and yes, there
have been serious issues raised about the provenance of the cadavers. They were
legally obtained, but because these are “unclaimed bodies” from the People's
Republic of China many believe they may have been executed prisoners of the
State. As well, none of the people in this exhibit gave permission for their bodies
to be used in this way.
If these issues concern you, skip this one. But I have to say that despite these
ethical issues, the intent of the exhibition is noble. It's meant to teach, not titil-
late; to help average Americans better understand their own bodies, and in doing
so, take better care of them. Along with the healthy cadavers (if there's such a
thing) are displayed body parts that tell distressing stories: The misshapen and
blackened lung of a smoker; the mottled brain of a stroke victim; a liver slashed
with scars from cirrhosis; an obese body, the corpulence as much a disease as any-
thing else here.
These are not the main focus of the exhibit, but simply a fascinating side step.
The purpose here is to take visitors on an incredible journey across the landscape
of the human body from the skeleton, to the musculature, to the circulatory
system, nerves, and reproductive organs. One room apiece illustrates each of these
topics (and others) and the cadavers are posed in various ways—shooting a
basketball, or sitting in the same position as Rodin's
Thinker
—with different parts
exposed to illuminate different aspects of the body. One's cut in 2-inch sections
like those you'd see in an MRI while another's muscles are filleted out like a rose,
so that the viewer can easily view the intricate layering of muscles throughout the
body. The corpses, in case you were wondering, have been preserved through a
process called “plasticination,” with polymers replacing the water in the body,
stopping the cadavers from decaying and allowing them to retain their natural
colors. All in all, it's likely to be one of the most intellectually satiating hours you'll
spend in Vegas and worth the high cost of admission (sometimes there are dis-
counts at Broadwaybox.com, so check and download a coupon if you get the
chance).
Science isn't nearly as glitzy off the Strip, but the local
Natural History
Museum
5
9
(900 N. Las Vegas Blvd., at Washington Ave.;
%
702/384
-
3466;
$
7 adults,
$
6 seniors and students,
$
3 children 3-11; two-for-one discounts on
website; daily 9am-4pm; cash only),
dusty though it may be, still tickles the brain
with its ever-expanding mix of interactive exhibits, video presentations, live fish,
and lots and lots of taxidermy. It's grown kind of as things in nature do, based on
the resources it's been able to suction up, starting as a repository of mounted
