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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Chucha Barber

The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science

P: (850) 513-0700 x229

E: cbarber@thebrogan.org

"OUR BODY: THE UNIVERSE WITHIN" EXHIBITION
TO OPEN AT THE BROGAN MUSEUM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (July 29, 2008) — The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science will bring the highly-successful exhibition Our Body: The Universe Within – featuring real human bodies – to Tallahassee opening Jan. 17, 2009.

Visitors in-and-around the Tallahassee region will have a unique opportunity to come face-to-face with nine polymer-preserved human bodies and 75 additional organs and partial specimens in a way never before seen. Our Body: The Universe Within literally, and figuratively, goes "under the skin" exposing the intricacies of the human body. Many of the whole body specimens are dissected in vivid athletic poses, allowing the visitor to relate to everyday activities and give them the opportunity to view the beauty and complexity of their own organs and systems. This up-close look inside the skeletal, muscular, respiratory and circulatory systems clearly shows how lifestyle choices directly affect our health.

"The Brogan Museum has made health and human sciences one of its core strategic plan goals," states Chucha Barber, The Brogan’s Executive Director, CEO, "whether considering the cause and effects of youth obesity, juvenile diabetes, or bee colony collapse disorder, health and nutrition are important topics for the institution to address with our audiences.  The City of Tallahassee, The Leon County Commission, The Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, area hospitals and our local institutions of higher education are all working to address healthcare issues including a future shortage of healthcare professionals.  This exhibit assists those efforts by offering an unforgettable experience to motivate students to choose careers in the health care industry. Perhaps more importantly, the exhibit and experience will motivate individuals to take responsibility for their own bodies and personal healthcare.  It is impossible to see the exhibit and not appreciate the affect our choices have on our long-term health."

The human body specimens in the exhibition are preserved through a revolutionary technique called polymer impregnation. In this process, human tissue is permanently preserved using liquid silicone rubber that is treated and hardened. The end result is a rubberized specimen, preserved to the cellular level, showcasing the complexity of the body's many bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels and organs. The full-body specimens can take more than a year to prepare.

This educational exhibition casts a light on the alluring mystery of the human body through the presentation of these real human body specimens. By highlighting anatomy studies over the past 1,000 years, visitors see how the complexity of these organs and systems has influenced generations of artists and scientists. The exhibition’s cutting-edge MicroWorld gallery features high-magnification images of healthy and diseased skin, organ and cell samples. These extremely magnified images allow visitors to investigate otherwise invisible cell levels that impact our health.

The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science is also pleased to announce that VISIT FLORIDA, on behalf of the Florida Commission on Tourism, the private/public partnership responsible for marketing Florida as a visitor destination has awarded an Advertising Matching Grant to The Brogan Museum for Our Body: The Universe Within.

Located at 350 S. Duval Street, Tallahassee, FL, The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m..

For more information about Our Body: The Universe Within at The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science please visit www.thebrogan.org or call 850-513-0700. Our Body:

The Universe Within is produced by The Universe Within Touring Company, LLC.

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