All-new BODY WORLDS exhibition reveals the intricacies of the cardiovascular system

(Denver - January 7, 2010) Four years after BODY WORLDS 2 brought record crowds to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, a new blockbuster exhibition, BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart, will open to the public on March 12, 2010.

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 Museum visitors profound insight into the human body, health and disease, and the intricate world of the cardiovascular system. The exhibition will awe visitors with more than 200 human specimens, including whole-body plastinates, organs and translucent body slices.

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

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 reach the public through the Institute for Plastination body donation program: all of the donors agreed before their deaths that their bodies could be displayed for public education purposes. More than 10,000 individuals have bequeathed their bodies to Dr. Gunther von Hagens' Institute for Plastination in Heidelberg, Germany.

More than 687,000 visitors came to see BODY WORLDS 2 at the Museum during its 19-week run from March 10 to July 23, 2006, and the Museum broke the daily attendance records of all previous North American venues that hosted BODY WORLDS 2. Due to its popularity, the exhibition remained open for 64 consecutive hours during the final weekend in Denver, when nearly 30,000 people flocked to see the exhibition before it closed.

"This is a remarkable new opportunity for our community," said Dr. Bridget Coughlin, the Museum's vice president of strategic partnerships and programs and curator of human health. "Visiting BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart is a compelling experience that makes us appreciate the complexity and beauty of the human body. Not only is the exhibition awe-inspiring, it transforms us, increasing our understanding of health issues and motivating us to make healthier life choices. We anticipate tremendous interest in this exhibition. The response when we exhibited BODY WORLDS 2 was overwhelmingly positive, and the exhibition appealed to a diverse audience."

BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart will run from March 12 to July 18, 2010. The exhibition will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with extended hours from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. General visitors pay $25.50 for adults, $16 for children/students (age 3-18 or with a student ID) and $19 for seniors (age 65+); this ticket price includes admission to both the Museum and the BODY WORLDS exhibition. The exhibition will be time-ticketed and advance reservations are strongly encouraged; the Museum anticipates that popular times will sell out. 
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About the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is the Rocky Mountain Region's leading resource for informal science education. A variety of engaging exhibits, discussions and activities help Museum visitors celebrate and understand the natural wonders of Colorado, Earth and the universe. The Museum is located at 2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO, 80205. To learn more about the Museum, check www.dmns.org, or call 303-322-7009. Many of the Museum's educational programs and exhibits are made possible in part by generous funding from the citizens of the seven-county metro area through the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District.

About Gunther von Hagens' BODY WORLDS
Dr. Gunther von Hagens invented Plastination in 1977, in an effort to improve the education of medical students. He created the BODY WORLDS exhibitions to bring anatomy to the public. Since 1995, more than 29 million people in Asia, Europe and North America have visited the BODY WORLDS exhibitions.

The organs and whole-body plastinates were derived from generous body donors, individuals who designated that upon their death their bodies could be used for educational purposes in the BODY WORLDS exhibitions. More than 10,000 donors have bequeathed their bodies to Dr. von Hagens' Institute for Plastination in Heidelberg, Germany, including 1,000 Americans. As of January 2010 there are 43 donors from Colorado. For more information on BODY WORLDS, please visit www.bodyworlds.com

For more information, please contact

Heather Hope, APR
Public Relations Manager
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
303-370-8372
heather.hope@dmns.org

Rhiannon Hendrickson
Communications Manager
BODY WORLDS
303-333-1138
r.hendrickson@bw.plastination.com