4/29/2009

BODY WORLDS offers free screenings for Stroke Awareness Month

May is Stroke Awareness Month and BODY WORLDS is partnering with MOSI and University Community Hospital to offer free screenings — body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure — to help manage the risk factors for stroke on Thursday, May 7, 2009 & Tuesday May 19 – 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. in MOSI's Grand Lobby.

Stroke is a medical emergency. Every 40 seconds someone has a stroke. If a stroke doesn't kill you, it may leave you physically or mentally disabled. Anyone, at any time, can have a stroke. For every minute you don't get help, more brain cells die.

People who survive a stroke have a higher risk for another one. It is vital that people with stroke risk factors, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, manage their risk factors to prevent further strokes.

BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart at the Museum of Science & Industry is open from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily. BODY WORLDS After Hours from 5 - 9 p.m. Monday-Friday and 6 - 9 p.m. Saturday-Sunday is a separate fee.

4/13/2009

BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart announce College Week – April 20 - 26

Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart invites Florida college students to participate in College Week at BODY WORLDS. From April 20 – 26, all college students in Florida will have the opportunity to experience this once in a lifetime exhibit for only $14 — a savings of nearly $12. Students must present their school ID at the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) box office to receive the College Week price. BODY WORLDS at MOSI is open from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily.

By offering a special price to college students, BODY WORLDS hopes to engage them to pursue careers in the medical field. For Dr. von Hagens, who invented Plastination -- the groundbreaking method of preserving anatomical specimens for study -- the primary goal of the exhibition is health education.

“The purpose of Plastination from its very inception was a scientific one, to educate medical students,” said Dr. von Hagens.” But the interest that laypeople had in the plastinated specimens inspired me to think of creating public exhibitions, which was followed by the realization that I had to offer a heightened sense of aesthetics, to avoid shocking the public and to capture their imagination. BODY WORLDS is a collaboration, a joint quest towards enlightenment between donor, anatomist, and visitor.”

The Florida premiere of BODY WORLDS features a unique collection of over 200 authentic human specimens, including whole-body plastinates, organs and translucent body slices. BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart offers visitors profound insights into the human body, health and disease, and the intricate world of the cardiovascular system.

BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart, the world’s most successful traveling exhibit, is now open for a limited engagement at the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI). The exhibition
spans some 17,000 square feet at MOSI. Over 27 million visitors in 47 cities across Asia, Europe, and North America have seen BODY WORLDS since its debut in Japan in 1995.

About 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. More than 25 million people have seen the exhibitions worldwide. The organs and whole-body plastinates in the exhibition derive from people who have, in their lifetime, generously donated their bodies for Plastination, to specifically educate future generations about health. More than 9,000 donors including more than 900 Americans have bequeathed their bodies to von Hagens’ Institute for Plastination in Heidelberg, Germany. For more information on BODY WORLDS, please visit, http://www.bodyworlds.com/.

4/01/2009

Endocarditis: A Preventable Part in "The Story of the Heart"

About 29,000 cases of endocarditis are diagnosed each year.1 Researchers have said maintenance of optimal oral health and hygiene may reduce the incidence of infective endocarditis and is more important than oral antibiotics for a dental procedure to reduce the risk of the infection.2

Now on display at the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) ­— BODY WORLDS features a comprehensive exhibit gallery of plastinated human heart specimens including a heart specimen with an artificial valve. Endocarditis can deform the heart valves so much that they no longer open sufficiently or close properly. In severe cases, the affected valves have to be replaced with artificial ones.

Endocarditis is one of many ailments that can cause disease and distress to the human heart. This is why BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart is so great in that it allows guests an unprecedented look into this fascinating muscle and serves as a call-to-action for people to pay attention to their heart health, make regular doctor's visits, stay active, and most importantly, see this groundbreaking exhibition.

BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart and Pepin Heart Hospital are teaming up with students from Hillsborough Community College’s (HCC) Dental Program for “Heart Your Smile” Day on Friday, April 3, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. to raise awareness of oral health and maintaining a heart free from endocarditis (presently known as infective endocarditis).

Dr. Charles Lambert, medical director, of Pepin Heart Hospital will be present to answer questions on infective endocarditis. In addition, students from the HCC Dental Program will be on-site at MOSI to demonstrate and provide information on the proper way to brush and floss daily.

MOSI is offering the most value-added ticket in town! Museum admission now includes BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart, MOSI’s entire exhibit galleries, a Saunders Planetarium show, a 3D show in the Science Works Theater, a ride on MOSI’s High-Wire Bicycle, Kids In Charge! The Children’s Science Center, the BioWorks Butterfly Garden, plus—for a limited-time—an IMAX® Dome Theatre film*—all of this for $25.95 for adults, $19.95 for children (ages 2-12) and $22.45 for seniors (60+).

*Special engagement IMAX films not included. For student field trips or group reservations, please call (813) 987-6000.

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1 Source: American Heart Association, Inc. ©2009 Infective Endocarditis: Who is at risk? http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4436
2 Source: American Heart Association, Inc. ©2009 Infective Endocarditis: Can endocarditis be prevented?
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4436