'Body Worlds 3' looks at the inner-workings of the human body

No question, the human body is one of the most fascinating things around. It is capable of amazing feats; yet, it has puzzled, intrigued, confounded and mystified scholars and students down through the ages who have striven to understand how this complex and elegant form actually works.

Science has come a long way since the early Greeks developed their notions of body humours. Even so, the world is still finding

new ways of looking at and learning about the human body. "Body Worlds 3," which opened at Salt Lake's new science museum, The Leonardo, this weekend, provides one of those new ways — an "eye-opening journey through the inner workings of the human body."

Through a process called Plastination, invented by German researcher Dr. Gunther von Hagens, human specimens are presented in a "completely new and enlightening way." The exhibit features more than 200 authentic specimens, which have been bequeathed to science expressly for this purpose, including complete bodies, individual organs and transparent slices.

You really have to see it to believe it, says Lisa Davis, spokesperson for The Leonardo. "This exhibit has set attendance records at museums all over the world. It has been seen by 25 million people in 45 cities."

"This is an extraordinary event," said Peter Giles, executive director of The Leonardo, at a press preview for the show on Thursday. "It allows you to view the human body in ways you've never quite seen it. No one who sees it will leave unchanged in how they view their bodies and their potential."

This exhibit "continues the great tradition of scientific exploration of anatomy that began in Renaissance times," added Dr. Angelina Whalley, creative and conceptual designer of the exhibition, director of the Institute of Plastination in Heidelberg, Germany, and wife of von Hagens.

"It shows the interior of the body in all its beauty and intricate design. You see how interesting and beautiful the body is, and at the same time, how fragile it can be."

They feel very fortunate at The Leonardo to be able to have the exhibit, Davis says. It not only marks the very beginnings of the science museum, but "we are the first nonoperational museum to ever have this exhibit. That means it comes in with a blank canvas. We are able to create space and programing tailor-made for a multifaceted experience."

The exhibit, with its additional "Story of the Heart," addresses the human body and heart as both medical objects and the seat of the soul.