Discretion advised on seeing Body Worlds

"I see dead people" isn't something little kids should come home and tell their parents after a field trip, say state education officials.

The Utah State Office of Education has issued a warning letter regarding the anatomical exhibit Body Worlds, currently showing at The Leonardo in downtown Salt Lake City.

The letter says USOE "strongly cautions" districts and schools to limit school-sponsored student trips to high school students who are in anatomy and physiology classes.

The letter, issued Aug. 29, says teachers and district officials should preview the exhibit before taking students there. And schools should require parental permission slips before taking students to the exhibit, it says.

Brenda Hales, USOE associate superintendent for student achievement and school success, said she viewed Body Worlds a couple of weeks ago and believes it has educational value and is fascinating. She also believes it may not be suited for kids.

"We think the districts and schools need to strongly think about who it is most appropriate for," Hales said.

Seeing real human cadavers splayed and displayed at a downtown museum may be too in-your-face for some state school administrators, but more than 16,000 students ages 8 to 18 have signed up to visit the Body Worlds 3 exhibit at the Leonardo.

Most are high school students, said Lisa Davis, a spokeswoman for the exhibit, noting that organizers of the exhibit as well as the doctors who perfected the cellular-level preservation process behind the exhibit, have advised more than 1,000 teachers and parents groups about what children will see when they visit the exhibit.

The fact that these are authentic human bodies adds a reality to the exhibit that brings people in and keeps some people away, Davis said.

"We absolutely endorse school administrators, teachers and parents deciding what is age-appropriate for their children. They will know best for their kids," she said, adding that her 8-year-old daughter signed up as a daily afternoon volunteer after visiting the exhibit.

Fairfield Junior High in the Davis District had planned to send seventh-graders to Body Worlds. After receiving the warning letter from USOE, Fairfield sent a team of teachers to visit Body Worlds and concurred with state education officials.

Although about 75 percent of the parents had signed the permission slip for the Body Worlds exhibit, Fairfield educators opted to have the students go to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City instead.