Bodies: The Exhibition

I came in here early on a Monday when they first opened. You think real human bodies on exhibit are creepy — try being the only person in the exhibition! Super creep!
The gallery was well planned and thought out. Everything was on display beautifully and it definitely gets a person thinking. After finishing the lung section all I could think was ‘thank god I’m not a smoker’.
It’s a keen reminder that our bodies are nothing but extremely intricate machines that we have to nurture and care for. Drink water! Eat salad!

Pure awe!!! I stood in amazement the whole way through. It was a bit warm in there but other than that, I was simply awe struck. Lots of informative plaques. I plan to go again and get the recorded guide. And brava for the fetus display. Science take guts these days! I really wish they would expand the exhibit. I’ve see more online that I wish was included here. Still simply humbling.

Thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit! Amazing how the cadavers were preserved and dissected to where we could see intact muscles, bones, brain, even the nerves. Eye opening experience. Got the tickets from groupon which saved money on the tickets

Before you satisfy your desire to look inside the human body let me warn you before your neurons process this review any further: it’s going to be expensive. The $ 24 adult admission price for this exhibit is way too high, especially given the fact that the bodies on display were probably stolen and are being completely exploited since they’re being used to pump profits into the blood-​sucking profiteers who run this attraction. If you do decide to spend your life’s fortune to go here, though at least make sure you come early since even though they weren’t «trying to rush» us they made it very clear that the exhibit was closing at 4:00 and then reminded us again that it was closing in one minute at 3:59. There were hardly any patrons on the Wednesday June afternoon we went, though at least so there were definitely more dead than living beings here.
You begin your journey by viewing a human skull and then venture towards seeing the different systems of the human body such as the skeletal system, muscular system, nervous system, circulatory system, digestive system, and reproductive system. One of the coolest things is being able to see all of the arteries in your body and the nerves that make up what’s allowing you to comprehend this right now, however, unless you’re very much interested in anatomy one visit here will be enough. Also, while there are some full bodies on display the majority of the displays are just individual body parts but are still interesting nonetheless. The first time I went here I had a better appreciation for my body but the second time I came here with someone else I felt pretty ripped off and like the exhibit was way too short for the pricey tickets to see interesting albeit most likely stolen carcasses.

While walking through this exhibit, I kept thinking, this would have been really helpful to see during nursing school. Like previous posters have written, it is fascinating and educational. I thought the fetus room was amazing. My fiancé pointed out that he couldn’t believe the changes and growth between the weeks of gestation. I am really glad I went to see this. It is a memorable and thought provoking experience.

ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING!
I remember taking my middle and high-​school age kids to see this exhibit and we all enjoyed it very much. It is ideal for those who enjoy anatomy or are interested in the body and its various systems. Those little bodies were amazingly preserved and I just found myself totally mesmerized. This is an exhibit that I would see again.
The best part: The t-​shirt. You must get the t-​shirt because it is just as cool as seeing the actual bodies and it is a great conversation piece.
Since my kids were older, I had no concerns about them seeing this exhibit. I don’t know if there would ever be an issue because I just thought of this as science and had no thoughts or concerns about nudity. I realize that this might be an issue for some.
I would highly recommend this exhibit to anyone because it is truly an educationally enlightening experience.

This was ok. I have been wanting to go for a while now and we ended up getting through my school for free. It was interesting to see the body first hand and outside of a book. But the exhibition is not very long and I don’t like how they just let big groups in all at once I wish they spaced out the timing more. I felt like if you weren’t reading all the info they had you could walk through the whole thing in 20 mins.

This is a pretty fun exhibit, especially for children. It’s pretty cool for adults as well, but it’s really a one time visit. It’s certainly memorable though!

I saw this exhibition about 10 years ago, I believe it was traveling around the country at the time. There was so much controversy surrounding the exhibition that I was certain it would be banned quickly back then, but here it is in a permanent exhibition space in Atlantic Station.
I suspect not everyone would enjoy this. But if you are interested in anatomy, mortuary science or medicine, it would be safe to say you will find it interesting. Difficult to describe and they prohibit you from taking pictures, but basically it is well preserved real bodies where the skin is pulled back so you can view the interior of a person’s body. In one section, there is a complete spinal cord and the attached nerves on display by itself. Another displays the entire cardiovascular and arterial system (I am far from a medical expert) and another room displays the various stages of a fetus — these are real fetuses on display, and would likely be disturbing to many.
The bodies all seem to be of Asian descent and much controversy still exists surrounding where the bodies came from and that although the people may have agreed to donate their remains to medical science, they were likely unaware that their bodies would be on display such as they are here. Some of the controversy centers around allegations that the bodies are of Chinese prisoners who were executed, and China has a long history with problems regarding organ harvesting, etc. You can’t help but wonder about all of this as the bodies stare back at you, or at least I couldn’t.
Hard to rate this one — whether or not you will enjoy it is purely subjective. No doubt it is interesting, and even the amount of skill and expertise it must have taken to preserve the bodies is interesting in itself. But I have to say I was left with a nagging feeling that I can’t imagine any of the people on display would ever want to be on display in this way. On the flip side, it would be a rare person who would walk away not having learned something about the body after attending this exhibit.
If you are thinking of bringing children, I would suggest you attend first before you decide what age you personally think would be appropriate.
If you are on the fence and want to see it, then I would say, see it. I cannot rate it good or bad, because I think it is good (interesting) but bad (regarding the controversy surrounding the remains) but I myself have now seen it twice. I hope this review helps a little.

So I’m really struggling on this rating… I’d say, all things considered, I liked it. There were some things I didn’t really enjoy about the experience… BUT the weirdness of it sort of delighted me, at the same time. I’m torn between a 3 and 4 star review.
I didn’t drive here – I took the MARTA. And it’s about a 20 – 30 minute walk away (give me a break, I was wearing heels). And the location was sort of difficult to find. Even asking a cop, they only seemed to have a vague idea of where it was. But once we talked to someone who actually knew what it was, they gave super specific direction (go that way a few block, then you’ll be going up a set of stairs, then turning right, then turning left). I bought a ticket through Goldstar, and knocked off a few bucks, so I paid less than $ 20, but the tickets at the door were a few more dollars more and I don’t think I’d actually pay THAT price. Also, the people working there kind of looked dead inside? Like mechanical and emotionless. It was weird, but I guess also fitting.
It didn’t seem TOO cold to me, but it’s been in the mid-​high 80s outside so that no doubt had something to do with it. There are some insanely fascinating things you can see here. I was like a kid… in a candy store… Uhm, I can acknowledge the weirdness of that statement when talking about dead Chinese bodies BUT IT WAS SO INTERESTING, YOU GUYS. Like, I was running around reading things and my companion was laughing at me. I was pressing my face up against the glass, and giggling manically at some of the err… stranger dead tissue that was displayed.
The exhibit didn’t seem at that big to me, either. I was a little surprised. When we exited to the gift shop, we were both sort of like «That’s it?» While it was educational and fascinating, they could have done so much more with it. It seemed to abruptly end, and that was that. I feel like once you’ve been here, you’ve seen it and you don’t really need to come back. I don’t think they ever bring anything new in, or attempt to switch up the layout here. And that really sucks. They could do some creative and controversial things with those bodies, and there’s real potential to make this exhibit the kind of place you’d want to visit more than once. But I guess the main appeal is for tourists and visitors. I’d be more of a fan if the price was less, or the exhibit changed out a bit from time to time.
At least a big bonus to me was that there weren’t kids. It’s got to be one of the only tourist places to go that doesn’t have those buggers running around. (Though they were in the gift shop, since there is an adjacent dinosaur exhibit) It was quiet, with maybe 3 – 5 people in any given room at a time. You could hear the air conditioner humming, and it was… sort of peaceful. If you don’t mind be surrounded by dead bodies and tissue, that is.

If you are anywhere near one of these exhibits GO NOW! The charge to get in is a little pricey but well worth it. These are real donated bodies that have been preserved and showcased for all to see the human body on the inside out. My only thumbs down is that you aren’t aloud to take pictures.

Makes people truly appreciate how intricate your body is. Incredible seeing this up close

This would be a 5 star review except for the price. It’s $ 26 something for one ticket to the one exhibit, which is outlandish considering if you get the ticket to the adjoining exhibit, it’s only an extra $ 5. I went with my nursing class and had a discount, but still had to pay the $ 26 for my fiancé to come in with me.
Okay, this is about my 4^th time coming to a bodies exhibit. I’ve been twice in Houston, TX and now twice here in Atlantic Station. Needless to say, it fascinates me. All the bodies are donated to science from China and all are either John or Jane Does and passed away of natural causes. The preservation task is really something to be in awe of and our tour guide on my nursing trip explained it perfectly.
You start in the skeletal system, then move into the muscular system, circulatory, respiratory, digestive and so on. I personally loved the fetal development room, and it is an optional room, but it truly is fascinating to see how much growth occurs from one week to the next.
In the skeletal room, the skeleton you first see is actually a female. You can tell from the pelvis. Compare it to the male pelvis on the left side. You’ll notice the pubic arch is wider for a female for baby to be delivered versus the male.
In the circulatory room, pay attention to the body in the center of the room. You’ll notice places like the finger tips and nose have a lot more blood vessels than just your arm or leg per se. You can also see the uterus if you look closely; it looks like a bird nest in the pelvis.
If you pay close attention to the lungs, you’ll notice most are a grey hue, which is not normal tissue color. Our guide pointed out that it’s from all the air pollution in China. You do get to see a smokers lungs though, black and full of tar, and there is a drop box for your cigarettes after you see it.
In all, it’s educational and worth seeing at least once.

I had been to the bodies exibit when it was touring about a decade ago. It was way bigger (probably because it had all the bodies in one building) but seeing it here was still pretty cool.
The fetus room used to be optional and have warning before the room, but I guess they wanted some more shock value and was just like *toss you in the room* «surprise! Dead fetus room!» So yeah, just a heads up.
There’s a lot of NUDITY. SO DONT COMPLAIN IN THE COMMENTERS LOG THERE THAT THERE WAS TOO MUCH NUDITY. THIS IS BODIES THE EXHIBITION, NOT LETS LOOK AT DEAD PEOPLE FOR NO REASON.

I really wasn’t sure how I was going to handle this exhibit. Once I got over the first few «Ewww, these are actually REAL, dead people» moments, I was fine. In fact, I was more than fine. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned quite a bit, too!
The rooms are laid out to focus on one theme at a time. Everything is well labeled and there are lots of cool facts along the way.
Although it was hard to look at, one of the most educational subject matters were the embryos. I was absolutely astonished to see how much of a difference two week increments can make! In addition, I found the portions focused on the central nervous system and the full body exhibits to be the most interesting.
Tickets are normally $ 25 each, but we purchased two for $ 40 at Costco, plus there was a $ 10 rebate at checkout. Definitely try to take advantage of that deal and check this place out!

Just not worth the price. Don’t get me
wrong, It’s a pretty interesting exhibit, all the bodies/​organs/​body parts are from a real human body (Chinese people bodies) but it’s just not worth the money at all. Especially if you in the medical field. I think if it had been 10 dollars to get in, I would probably give it another star on this review.

Well I kinda knew what to expect going into the Bodies exhibit, but I was still a little wary of it all. The only thing that FREAKED me out was the skin… I did not approach the skin, will not approach the skin if I went back (which I highly doubt I will), and will never approach the skin even if you dared me… So those are my feelings on the skin.
Now for the rest of the exhibit… it was interesting, but just a bit on the short side. It was nice to get a refresher of my high school science class, but my sister and I thought we were going to see more bodies along with the individual pieces of the body, but it was still interesting.
Of course my sister and I were silly and told each other crazy jokes such as «that probably tastes like chicken, that looks like the brisket my aunt ate earlier, or what would you do if it moved…» But we looked at everything and enjoyed the facts on the walls. Im still upset to know you have to burn 3500 calories to lose 1 pound… I clearly know what I’ve been doing wrong at the gym…
Going with someone will definitely make the exhibit a little fun, especially if you have a wacky personality like I do, because when going to the gift shop my sister and I were a little disappointed there weren’t any souvenir penises, since there were so many on display but we were kidding of course… or were we…
Overall it may be worth seeing once, but I’ve no plans to go back. Atlantic Station is always a fun place to go visit, but just remember where you park!!!

I remember when this first came here and everyone was flipping out about going to see it. I was honestly more interested in Dialog in the Dark but it went away so I guess we have to settle for this. When I first saw it, I thought it was a rotating exhibit, like the way certain galleries get a collection for a few months and it moves on, and I thought I needed to see it before it left. Nope, they were here to stay.
Last fall I got to go on trip here with my nursing class. To Bodies and the CDC. They paid for transportation and our tickets, so luckily all that was covered. Upon exiting the exhibit I knew I would not pay 25 for that on my own/​voluntarily. Yes its a great anatomy lesson if you go with your school or whatever, but I wouldn’t call it a date. (Seriously, I saw a couple strolling up here in the middle of the days oozing with the grossness that new couples have going here. Whyyyyy)
So since it was in the middle of the week and all our tickets were arranged, we went right in and got the lecture on not touching anything and some general stuff I don’t remember. i thought it was pretty cool but got pretty sketched out at Where the hell the found those bodies. The weird part is the room with the fetuses that were aborted/​miscarried at different stages of pregnancy. Creepy. It reminded me of the Simpsons where they have people’s heads in those jars in the future. Gross!
So if you wanna get grossed out or if this has something to do with your field of study, maybe check it out. If not, I don’t see why the hell you would want to.
OK, so here is THE BEST PART… (drumroll plzzzz)… .
After the exhibit, near or around the gift shop is a COMMENT BOOK where everybody leaves their comments. This. was. seriously. the. best. part. of. the. trip.
There are some really funny comments in there. There was some guy who said that his girlfriend made him come here and then he threw up in the bathroom. There was a note that said «This is fascinating and I’m an MD» and below that someone wrote «I can tell you’re a doctor because your handwriting sucks». Also another page that just says «BRAIIINNNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSS». (That one was me)
Overall impression: It’s okay to go one time but I wouldn’t pay the full price.

I took my dad to Bodies: The Exhibition thinking he would find it fascinating, considering he’s a surgeon. I should’ve known better because he’s already seen it all. After we left, he commented, «it’s just like an anatomy class.»
Well, it is. The cool thing about it, though, is that the models on display are real human bodies or parts/​organs from real people. Real Chinese people to be exact. All the bodies were obtained from medical facilities in China. The models aren’t ideal recreations of the human anatomy that you’d find in science class or sitting on the counter in a doctor’s office. The displays used to be real-​life living people.
Bodies: The Exhibition first debuted in Atlanta in 2006 at the Atlanta Civic Center. Since then, various displays (there is more than one showing at any given time) have popped up all over the world from Greensboro to Budapest. Bodies returned to Atlanta in 2009 where Atlantic Station became its indefinite home. Seriously, I thought this exhibit was going to leave town years ago, but it’s still here. Well good for Atlanta and Atlantic Station.
I think the displays at Bodies are well-​designed. The lighting makes the models easy to see and you can walk right up next to them. The texts located next to the displays are informative, easy-​to-​read, and not overdone. They present just the right amount of information.
In particular, my favorite displays are the ones that show the impacts of various negative health effects. For example, cancer (breast and colon), obesity, arthritis, and osteoporosis. It’s graphic and raw. I also especially liked the model of the central nervous system. The display was pretty intriguing as it must have taken many days of delicate work to assemble.
Moving through the exhibit was very easy and free-​flowing, considering there weren’t many people there to begin with.
Tickets to Bodies are $ 24 per adult. You can combine your ticket with a visit to Dialog in the Dark next door for $ 30 (combo ticket). Your best bet is to search online for deals (e.g. Groupon) and promotional discounts. I’ve seen several float around over the years and chances are you’ll find something and save money.

Wow… I think it has been well over two years ago that I checked out the «Bodies» exhibit at Atlantic Station. At the time, I thought it was going to be there for a «limited time only,» so I jumped at the chance to see it. Unfortunately, it set me back $ 24 — and I really didn’t feel that it was worth THAT much.
So what prompts me to write this review now after so long?! The Groupon deal that currently offers considerable discounts on admission — $ 29 for two, or $ 49 for four. I wish I had THAT deal when I went. =P
Anyway, Vanessa T., Angela M., and others have already written accurate and detailed reviews, so I don’t have a whole lot more to add. The exhibit was a lot smaller in size and took much less time than I had expected (I think less than two hours for me — which is crazy because I usually LOVE these types of exhibits and can spend HOURS at them). Also, it was weird knowing that these bodies were Asian (Chinese, to be specific) people, and the speculation that they were «prisoners that were executed by the Chinese government» (Wikipedia) CREEPED me out. You can definitely tell that they are Asian bodies… by their EYES (what were YOU thinking?)! Again, super duper creepy as I am Asian and have many Asian male friends. O_​o
Although it is highly controversial (hey, what ISN’T at this exhibit?), my favorite display at the exhibit was the fetal development section. It showed multiple fetuses in increasing stages of development, which was a super neat and (obviously) rare sight to see.
I also liked the exhibit of the polluted lung of an adult smoker — and how there’s a clear box next to it in which guests can toss their cigarettes/​tobacco products after viewing it. Great idea!
Overall, «Bodies: The Exhibition» gets 3 stars from me. I subtracted 1 star for the creepiness of the origination of the bodies, and 1 for the ridiculous admission cost for an exhibit that could be seen in less than an hour (not too much to see/​read). Those of you who feel that you absolutely MUST see it at least once in your life should wait for a deal — and you will be glad you did because again, it is NOT worth $ 24.
Now, I need to check out «Dialog (ue) in the Dark.» Snagged a great deal for it earlier this month, and I’m confident that it will be great. =)