BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo

Final Post on BODY WORLDS

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:19:00 +0000

Well, all good things must come to an end, as they say. But this really isn't the end, it's just the beginning.

On behalf of the staff and all the volunteers with The Leonardo who helped us make this event successful, I want to say thank you. We had a spectacular time hosting this world-class exhibit. Altogether we had more than 290,000 people see the exhibit over the four months before we closed on January 11th. This job required a lot of hours every day, especially over the final weekends when we had huge crowds of thousands of people coming through from early in the morning to late at night. We owe a lot to all the volunteers who opted to show up and help us, because we were strapped for help at times. (this partially explains why activity on this blog diminished in the final weeks... sorry about that). Definitely we reached a climax over the last three days when we were open for 72 hours straight. Even in the middle of the night we had visitors turning up wanting to buy tickets to get in. It was an incredibly fun and festive atmosphere to be a part of.

The Leonardo has recently presented new plans to the City for renovation of the old Salt Lake City library, along with plans for future exhbits for the space. Those plans are being evaluated now and we hope to reach a decision soon. Given we can move forward The Leonardo is ready to be a permanent museum offering great programming to the Utah public. .

So please stay tuned. And thank you again.

First Night at The Leo

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:52:00 +0000

The Leonardo was a happening place tonight, on the last night of 2008. We had lots of silly hat-making with Youth City Artways, who also set-up computers in the lobby where folks to learn to make stop-motion" movies on computers. We also were selling delicious cookies, hot cocoa and coffee just inside the front doorway. Some comic relief was also on hand, with a gag toting chef who made balloon animals for all the kids.

Our friends from Movement Forum were here delivering their always amazing improv dancing. Around the corner on the same level we had kids doing ink and paper art, which was immediately plastered to the inner-walls by artist Libby Blake. And nearby from there Mr. Anatomy decided to make another appearance, where he was surrounded by curious BODY WORLDS visitors. And last but not least, storyteller Carol Esterreicher entertained folks in our sofa corner.

The Leo was definitely the place to be to bring in the new year.

Human Powered Christmas Trees.

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:17:00 +0000

Some of our in-house Utah Science Center members have set up an exercise bike in The Leonardo lobby where visitors can power up the lights to a couple Christmas trees with their legs. It's a great example of the pure energy in the human body and what we can accomplish by harnessing it. Just think of the possibilities for the future!

Colorectal Cancer Awareness

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 02:02:00 +0000

Today in The Leo Zone I met Dr. Joe Eyring, a colorectal surgeon, who was with a group of other physicians helping to promote Colorectal Cancer awareness.

Something Dr. Eyring said that stuck with me is, "I don't like to lose, and this is really the only kind of cancer you can win." What he meant was that Colon cancer, if detected early, is about 95% curable. He says Colorectal cancer is most often found in people older than 50. Dr. Eyring certainly knows his stuff. Here are a few more facts off the top of his head.

There are roughly 147,000 Americans suffering from Colon cancer.

It is the second leading "cancer killer" in the U.S.

There are typically no early warning signs for Colon cancer.

If you are obese, you have a 30% greater likelihood of getting Colon cancer.

There is also a higher rate of Colon cancer rates for African Americans.

Tonight the physicians were also promoting the State organization UCAN, which stands for Utah Cancer Action Network. It's basically a coalition of different local cancer advocacy groups working together, instead of ordinarily competing against each other for research funding. Take-home "Coloscreen" test kits were made available to visitors, which you can mail in a for a free colorectal test.

Finally, something Dr. Eyring also said was that the average American over age 65 is on 14 medical prescriptions a day. I thought that was a pretty amazing statistic.

Watch Ignite Salt Lake Presentations

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:44:00 +0000

Presentations from the very first Ignite Salt Lake event, hosted by The Leonardo, are now viewable online.

Some of the better presentations that I recommend you watch were Xmission CEO Pete Ashdown's dazzling, yet impossible proposal for global MagLev train travel around the World. Another hilarious talk was given by Josh Coates of Mozy.com, whose presentation was titled, "Effective Tactical Responses in a Post-Apocalyptic Environment or Zombie Defense for N00bs." You should definitely watch this one. Some more highlights were Jeremy Grimshaw, a BYU music professor, who demonstrated why Balinese music is better than any of the crap we listen to. And Adam Price spoke about his famed 337 Project.

Anyway, check out some of these presentations online here.

Happenin' Night at The Leo

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:00:00 +0000

Tonight The Leonardo hosted an integrated blend of simultaneous programming.

Members of The University of Utah College of Humanities School enjoyed a catered dinner with live music, and danced the night away in the 3rd floor Terzo atrium. Meanwhile in the theater across the way, the Salt Lake Film Center screened a controversial film about Lyme Disease. More than 70 people turned out to watch the film and participate in the discussion afterward. And around the corner from that Youth City Artways held their weekly class teaching kids stop motion computer art in the Leonardo classroom.

Downstairs on the first floor, The Leo along with KSL Broadcasting, hosted an "Athlete's Night," where players of local sports teams hung out to sign autographs and talk with visitors. Cheerleaders for the Utah Blaze along with some of their players, Utah's pro indoor football team, greeted people at the door.

All of these layered events hinted at a brand of 'art-culture-and-science' The Leonardo hopes to make a permanent fixture in the old Salt Lake library building. And indeed tonight The Leonardo showed that beyond BODY WORLDS, The Leonardo is functioning as a dynamic venue - a living organism you could say.

Utah NOW program

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 21:58:00 +0000

Recently KUED's Utah NOW program produced a beautiful show about BODY WORLDS 3 at The Leonardo. KUED producers spent several weeks filming at The Leonardo and preparing the program.

The program originally aired on November 21. You can watch it on their website here.

Wall Collage

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:19:00 +0000

Recently The Leonardo got a little more artistic, with the addition of a large wall collage across the way from Cafe Les Madeleines. The collage was created by Liberty Blake and Jann Haworth, a daughter and mother team respectively. The collage resembles colorful books stacked upon each other like cairns. "Libby" Blake, who has worked on other notable projects in Salt Lake like the 337 Project, carefully took time to paste the slices of fabric and illustrations to the wall.

Jann Haworth founded the Art Shack Studios and Glass Recycling Works in Sundance, Utah. Something really interesting about Haworth is that she co-created The Beatles' famous 1967 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. And in 2004 she organized a collaborative project to redefine the cover, with the SLC Pepper Project. You can learn about this project by clicking here.

Also, you can listen to The Leonardo Pocast no. 8 here, to hear Jann Haworth talk about her work and the Sgt. Pepper cover. She also shares her thoughts on The Leonardo concept. Haworth currently has an exhibition in Paris, at the Galerie du Centre.

Mr. Anatomy Hits Salt Lake

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:49:00 +0000

On the day of the big football game last weekend, Utah and BYU fans had a surprise visitor: a man with no skin. No, not a full-body plastinate. It was Mr. Anatomy, wrapped in a muscle-exposed, spandex suit with running shoes.

After getting a detailed makeup job in the lobby of The Leonardo, Mr. Anatomy rode the Trax up to Rice Eccles Stadium and interacted with fans. Mr. Anatomy said it was a lot like Halloween. "I haven't done anything like that. It was cool to step out of my box, so-to-speak," he said about wearing the suit.

Although Mr. Anatomy did have a run in with some wild, tailgating college girls, he said overall it was a great experience.

"It was neat. People wanted to take pictures with me and share their stories," he said. "A few people commented that they saw the exhibit and weren't going to smoke (cigarettes) anymore."

Mr. Anatomy has been a promotional figure for other BODY WORLDS exhibitions as well. Some very cool videos can be seen here on YouTube. Click here to watch this one from Baltimore. And I think this one's from a show in London.

The Big Smoke Out

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:47:00 +0000

Last night a group of excited and vocal teenagers, with signs and banners in hand, demonstrated against tobacco. They marched across downtown Salt Lake from the Gateway mall and ended up at The Leonardo. The November 20th event was part of a national "Great American Smokeout" happening across the country. The event challenges cigarette smokers who are thinking about quitting to try not smoking for a day.

The BODY WORDS 3 exhibition currently on display at The Leonardo advocates against smoking simply by showing the effects of tobacco on the human body, specifically with the infamous "black lungs." The exhibit even provides a box where visitors can deposit their cigarettes or tobacco products on the spot.

The display also includes the famous American Cancer Society commercial by legendary actor Yul Brynner, recorded shortly before his death of lung cancer in 1985. "Now that I'm gone, I tell you, don't smoke. Whatever you do, just don't smoke."

It is said that smoking is the most preventable cause of death and disease in the World. An estimated 400,000 people die every year because of smoking - over 1,200 each day. And in most cases it's young people who decide to start smoking - 60% starting by the age of 14.

Discussing Eating Disorders

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:41:00 +0000

Eating disorders effect an estimated 5 million people in the U.S. And 10% of women diagnosed with anorexia nervosa will die of it.

These were some of the figures given during a screening of the HBO documentary "Thin," shown yesterday in The Leo auditorium. The Salt Lake Film Center presented the film along with Dr. Tess Jones, Professor of Medical Ethics and Humanities at the University of Utah, who led a discussion afterward.

Lauren Greenfield produced the movie Thin, an HBO documentary released in 2006. Filmed inside a Florida treatment center, the documentary focuses on four young women coping in their own ways with severe eating disorders. Greenfield did an incredible job capturing clinic life by almost disappearing, so that the girls and clinic staff appear not to even recognize they are being filmed. The film is intense throughout and emotionally jarring, showing how each of the different women struggle with their own obsessive behaviors, all desiring to be "thin."

Following the film audience members stayed late to partake in discussing the huge challenges women diagnosed with eating disorders face. Many expressed concerns over the growing number of teenage girls obsessing over dieting. A mother/ daughter couple spoke up and shared their own troubles with anorexia nervosa. And some physicians attending commented that eating disorders are in fact just symptoms of larger problems, like unhappiness, depression, or mental illness.

Without doubt, It's a complex problem that extends beyond food, dieting or body image. It's an issue often embedded in personal, familial, mental health, and cultural problems. In our society as a whole it's common for many, many women to have body image anxieties that effect their eating habits. Certainly someone all of us know and love struggles with it everyday. It's important we keep talking about this problem and how it effects all of us, especially young women.

As a side observation, with our on-going Body Secrets project here at The Leonardo, many anonymous submissions by visitors are about body image concerns, and eating disorders. It shows that this problem is certainly effecting our local community as bad as anywhere else.

Some signs of an eating disorder are:
1. Drastic weight loss
2. Preoccupation with counting calories
3. weighing yourself several times a day
4. excessive exercise
5. Binge eating or purging
6. Food rituals, like taking tiny bites, skipping food groups or re-arranging food on the plate.
7. Avoiding meals or only wanting to eat alone.
8. Taking laxatives or diuretics
9. smoking to curb appetite.
10. Persistent view of yourself as fat that worsens despite weight loss.

(This was excerpted from a guide accompanying the film "Thin," Recognizing And Dealing With Eating Disorders. This guide also provides steps to a positive body image. You can find it here).

If you have any experiences with or thoughts about eating disorders, please share.

Ignite Salt Lake

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:27:00 +0000

Last night, Thursday November 13, The Leonardo hosted Salt Lake's very first techie-influenced "Ignite" event. Ignite Salt Lake - for those who don't know what that is, because I didn't - is where people can talk about anything they want, using projected slides. The rules are they have five minutes, and 20 slides that rotate every 15 seconds. Sounds like a fun challenge? It certainly was for quite a number of participants.

A number presenters from the Salt Lake area talked about things like sequential art, photographing neon signs at dusk, zombie defense, Balinese music, "promoting your band," and building a 10,000 lb. jelly fish out of Christmas lights. Peter Giles, Executive Director of The Leonardo spoke about the Leonardo's mission. Also Pete Ashdown of Xmission, Greta deJong, creator of Catalyst Magazine, and Adam Price of the 337 Project presented.

Their presentations will son n be posted on the Ignite Salt Lake website, which you can find here.

Downwinders

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:17:00 +0000

How the U.S. government systematically exposed millions of Americans to harmful radioactive fallout through nuclear testing during the 1950's is a story still hardly known to most people. And it's simply unfathomable.

On November 11th, the Plan-B Theatre Company performed a special reading of Mary Dickson's "Exposed," originally a play about "downwinders" living in Utah during and years after the tests. The Plan-B Theatre Company performed for a packed house here in The Leonardo's 3rd-floor auditorium.

While the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, publicly called the tests harmless, residents "downwind" of the testing later developed serious illnesses including lupus, thyroid cancer, and even severe birth defects passed on to their children. Even now it is still impossible to determine how many people were exposed. The government allowed for few studies.

I was particularly shocked to realize how many people living in Salt Lake City were likely exposed during those years. Common belief about "downwinders" has always been that they were poor farmers and ranchers living in southern Utah or Arizona. But the play, which uses actual interviews, letters and speeches, revealed how much more widespread the fallout was. Also disturbing was how the performance evoked the calls to reinitiate nuclear testing by the last U.S. administration. Because of this, Dickson said, it was very important now to remember these tests, since we live in the "United States of Amnesia."

(PHOTO: From a public government archive. A few minutes after an atomic blast, May 5, 1955, Nevada Test Site.)

Dickson's play premiered in October 2007 and was widely acclaimed by local and national critics. Currently the play has been transformed to a reading, read by seven cast members on stage. The Reading Tour has also traveled to Ogden, Logan, St. George, and Moab.

After the performance audience members were invited to add names to a growing list, placed on a table in the lobby, of other downwinder victims.

The Body Secrets Project

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 18:29:00 +0000

Just over a week ago we started a new project here in The Leo Zone. We're calling it Body Secrets and it's become very successful. Basically we're encouraging Leonardo visitors to write down anonymous revelations about themselves and we're posting them on the windows.

We started with a table near the windows and a stack of colorful stock cards, colored pencils, and a sign explaining the project:

"Body Secrets

Private confessions. Untold stories.
Embarrassing habits. Personal thoughts.

Post your anonymous body secret.

On a note card portray a secret, about your body, that you have never previously revealed. The only restriction on what you tell is that it must be completely truthful and has never been spoken before. Leave your anonymous secret in the box."

Everyday we get a whole spectrum of revelations. Some are silly. Some are tragic. Some are uplifting. Others are simply perplexing. We do filter the submissions to ensure they are legible, creative, and classy, (meaning not juvenile, and taken seriously). Yet every day it's a thrill to find moving revelations waiting for us in the box. This project is very low maintenance; just requiring colored pencils, colored index cards, and plastic tape. And to encourage thoughtful submissions we have even made clipboards available for visitors, so they can take their cards elsewhere in the lounge for privacy in writing.

The idea for this project was borrowed from the Post Secret project, started by Frank Warren a self-described "secret collector," who encourages people to mail him illustrated secrets on post cards. However, while borrowing from that concept, the Body Secrets project is being shaped by the BODY WORLDS 3 experience and the unique crowd visiting The Leonardo. Many of them are revelations about personal health, including health conditions or private concerns about people's own bodies. Some submissions also reflect the impact that seeing BODY WORLDS has made on some visitors and how they have began to view their own bodies.

From my observations the Body Secrets project is successful because it offers a simple and safe way for visitors to express themselves publicly. They can be provocative to read. And the best ones reflect the same concerns, thoughts, and anxieties shared by many.

And for each person who submits a secret on a card (myself included), the very act of writing it can be an emotional release. Even an experience of cleansing pent up emotion.

Here I have posted some examples of recent submissions:

Sketching The Living and the Dead

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:01:00 +0000

Leonardo Da Vinci used to sketch models to study anatomy. Through this practice he came to understand the body's intricate contours and articulations, which greatly helped him as an artist and a scientist.

Now it is understood that figure drawing can improve our understanding of the human body and our perception spatial relationships.

Recently, on Wednesday November 6,here at The Leonardo we held another sketch night in the BODY WORLDS 3 gallery. This time there were male and female nude models present who held poses alongside the full-body specimens. We had over 60 artists show up, all of different ages and different levels of experience. The artists took positions throughout the gallery, some standing while most sitting on the floor. And the models showed incredible poise and patience for the artists, by holding difficult positions that mimicked the plastinated specimens.

Deeply focused, with eyes moving with pencils, and heads moving up and down, the artists collectively found the BODY WORLDS specimens a rich subject matter. It was a unique chance to study the human form - to juxtapose the living and the dead, with eyes, pencil, paper. And with the models taking poses similar to the skinless and fully exposed plastinates, one could better infer what was inside the models.

As it got late and artists began leaving the gallery we made sure to photograph a copy of their best work to post on our site. Very soon you can see the artists' work and even vote for the ones you like. Just click here.

Also, stay tuned for more information about another sketch night.

Our 100,000th Visitor!

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:33:00 +0000

On November 1st, The Leonardo officially welcomed our 100,000th visitor to see BODY WORLDS 3. The 100,000th visitor was Shan Kettle of Kaysville, Utah, who was visiting with her husband and two daughters. Kettle was presented with a gift basket that included books, DVDs, t-shirts and passes to the exhibition.

After just 6 weeks this is quite an accomplishment, exceeding our original expectations.

Because of this The Leonardo is extending its hours too. Starting on November 3, timed tickets to BODY WORLDS 3 will be available every day beginning at 10 a.m., with the last timed ticket available at 7 p.m. The museum closes at 9 p.m. each evening.

The New Frankenstein

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:34:00 +0000

On the night before Halloween, Dr. Therese Jones an Associate Professor at the University of Utah's Department of Medical Ethics and Humanities, spoke about the legacy of Frankenstein here at The Leo. While Jones' talk addressed the history and authorship of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein story, she also spoke about why the story has endured.

The story of Frankenstein remains captivating, she said, because we still marvel at medical technology and tremble at the terrors of modern healthcare. Even after Mary Shelley's time, we still wrestle with many of the same medical ethics issues now as a society. For example, is there a limit to how people can fashion matter, including ourselves, to suit our designs? And, just because we can genetically, chemically or surgically alter our bodies, should we? What do you think?

During a discussion with audience members afterward, one person compared BODY WORLDS creator Dr. Gunther von Hagens to the fictional Dr. Frankenstein. Both Van Hagens and Frankenstein, she observed, faced tremendous adversity and both pushed the limits of medical ethics in "bringing life back to the dead."

You can now listen to Dr. Therese Jones' talk on Frankenstein's legacy here.

A meeting of all the organs

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:04:00 +0000

Recently Laura Simms, an internationally renowned storyteller living in New York City, came to The Leonardo and entertained BODY WORLDS 3 visitors in a corner area of our Leo Zone. But before that she did some recordings in our story booth. Finally we are able to show you one of her stories now posted on our podcast page here (Podcast no. 6).

Simms says that the story is West African, and that she heard it told once by a great Norwegian storyteller named Heidi Dahlsveen. "Just remember, in this life it is important to 'let go'," says Simms. When you listen to her story you'll understand.

Again, listen to Podcast no. 6 to watch her tell her story by clicking here .

More on The Leo Zone

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:19:00 +0000

Today we're happy to have another guest writer. This is from Rodney in The Leo Zone.

The Leonardo on Library Square is currently hosting BODY WORLDS 3-The Story of the Heart. While this traveling exhibit is known worldwide, The Leonardo is having it's coming out party with "The Leo Demo Zone." As visitors come out of Body Worlds the enter an area of hands-on, interactive exhibits developed by The Leonardo programming staff.

In contrast to the exhibits inside BODY WORLDS 3, in The Leo Zone visitors are encouraged and even required to touch the exhibits, explore, and learn at their own pace. What strikes me the most every time I'm working in the zone is how enthralled people get when they finally get a chance to explore and interact with our materials in their own way. They put the digital microscope on their heads, fingers, even in their ears trying desperately to see what the doctor sees when they go in for a check up. They look up various details about their bodies on the Real Anatomy software, and their eyes light up when they hold a real plastinated human heart or liver.

Excitement is the only word to describe the expressions I see on the visitors' faces who come to the Leo Zone. And here's the really cool part; the excitement is on the adults' faces as well as the kids. Normally reserved, even stoic, people are transformed into curious giggling kids totally engrossed in the activity of the moment and the wonder of discovery. Now where else have I witnessed a 12 year old and a 50 year, complete strangers to one another, laughing and sharing an experience based around seeing their hair appear the size of a telephone cord on a 40-inch screen.

As I sit here writing, in fact, a group of teens are 100% immersed in the "Under Pressure" exhibit. A computer program that lets you see how much pressure is on each of your butt cheeks when you sit down. I just overheard one of the girls say "this makes me happy inside." For me, that's what makes this whole place called The Leonardo worth all the effort we've put in and all the work yet to come.

Posted by: Rodney

"Eeewh!"

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 18:12:00 +0000

Seeing your own body up close can be fascinating, even shocking for some. That's what I've noticed here at The Leonardo Zone where we let visitors play with a small digital microscope. It's become a big hit, as people often crowd around the counter, fixating on the screen where someone's knee scab is magnified - in all its pussy glory - for everyone to witness. "Eeewh!," they cry out.

The microscope plugs into a computer via USB and magnifies just about anything on a 36" plasma monitor. It's easy to use for seeing things really close, like ears, eyes, and lips. Sometimes you can see beads of sweat emerging from the skin. Many visitors also seem inclined to sticking it up their noses to see what's inside. Kids like to show their scabs or stitches. Tattoos are another favorite. And women like to see the fine details of their wedding rings.

Also at the demo counter visitors can touch real plastinated organs, as well as cross-section slabs taken from real human bodies. We also have mounted skeletons of both a dog and a cat. I should mention the microscope is a "Dino-Lite," made by Big Catch. The Leo Zone Demo Counter is open everyday, and you don't need tickets to BODY WORLDS 3 to enjoy it. So come on by and magnify your nose hairs for us.

The Maglev Heart Pump

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:32:00 +0000

At BODY WORLDS 3 you can learn a lot about the human heart. Something I didn't know before was how many people are dying of congestive heart failure. It's a massive global problem, one of the fastest rising cardiovascular diseases, and the number one killer of men and women in the U.S. each year. It occurs when the heart becomes unable to pump enough blood to the entire body.

This problem has led to extensive research into how to help people cope with this condition. And some of the cutting edge research and development is going on right here in Salt Lake City, just a few miles from where we're hosting BODY WORLDS 3. World Heart Inc., a medical device company, is now developing a 4th generation LVAD, (Left Ventricle Assist Device) called the Levacor (Trademark) VAD. It's about the size of a hockey puck, and it's designed to be implanted in the chest cavity of a person with congestive heart failure to support them until they get a donor heart, or provide them an alternative to heart transplant. It can also help their heart recuperate and regain strength.

One of the more fascinating features of the small device is how it operates using magnetic levitation. Using MagLev(Trademark) technology means the device uses no mechanical bearings that would wear out quickly. Its speed is easily adjusted to allow safe and efficient pumping of blood cells throughout the body. World Heart cofounder, Dr. Pratap Khanwilkar, explains more about the new LVAD in our 5th podcast interview here. (ABOVE PHOTO: Dr. Khanwilkar holding the Levacor VAD and its larger, 1st generation white predecessor called the Novacor LVAS).

(BELOW PHOTO: a test Levacor VAD with a simulated artificial ventricle at World Heart's laboratories, Salt Lake City, Utah.)

If you come by The Leonardo, either to see BODY WORLDS 3 or just to hang out in the FREE Leo Zone, a representative from World Heart is here every Wednesday afternoon from 3:30 - 5 p.m. and you can see how a prototype of the LVAD works.

Also, below are a couple articles about World Heart's continuing development of the Levacor VAD and LVADs in general.
Business Week
Scientific American

Posted by: Ross

Fishing For Stories

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:06:00 +0000

Each day at The Leonardo visitors, children and adults alike, wander into our story booth and record themselves for a few minutes. After nearly one month since BODY WORLDS 3 opened Every Body's Story (That's what we're calling it), is allowing Leonardo guests to share some remarkable stories.

Unlike in the beginning, when we felt the booth needed constant monitoring and visitors needed to be coaxed inside to record stories, now the booth is selling itself. We're leaving it open for guests to use at their discretion and to say what they want. Even during times recently when our staff are too busy and volunteers are in short supply, visitors are coming into the booth, recording themselves, and even signing release forms on their own (which we need in order to use their recordings on our website). So now, like any patient fisherman, we're leaving the story booth's door open... and waiting to see what we catch. In short, the booth is working but not like we thought.

Every day, this writer's job is to save and archive recorded stories on the computer in the booth. The recordings that BODY WORLDS 3 guests are leaving after exiting the exhibit gallery are all unique, and many are ripe with emotion. Lots of people have talked about scars, or double-jointed fingers, or suffering a sledding injury. One young boy shared by saying, "I'm 6' 2" and I'm only age 15. It's freaky... you know."

For others the booth offers a place to publicly reflect on what they saw in the gallery. "I still can't believe they were real humans," one boy said.

And then, there are stories of people having babies, and others who talk about losing babies. One woman told about having Perry Romberg Syndrome, a rare disease, when she was a kid. And one woman who visited from Los Angeles introduced herself saying she wanted to talk about the heart. "Part of the display talked about dying of a broken heart," she said. "And my husband just died... it was definitely brought on by stress over an extended period of time. And I want everyone to know that stress is a definite killer."

Every Body's Story at The Leonardo is getting people to open up and share very personal things. Sure, sometimes the recordings we're finding are just plain comical as our guests, most of them amateur self-documentarians, fumble with the microphone and speak too loudly into the computer in front of them. And of course some are way too silly, (especially on the days high school groups come through The Leonardo). But when parents and kids, teachers and students willingly tell us about themselves on camera - exposing real moments and emotions in their lives - those are the most meaningful stories for us. In the end this helps us all to better understand what it means to be a human being.

If you'd like to see some of our Story Booth recordings, check them out here. We try to update this page every few days.

Also, you can share your own story with us from home and post it here:
http://theleonardo.org/bodyworlds/community/share/instructions.php
posted by: Ross

Free Health Film Series

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:07:00 +0000

We really don't know enough about the risks of breast implants, much less breast cancer. That was the conclusion yesterday (Saturday, Oct. 12), here at The Leonardo as the Salt Lake Film Center hosted two films dealing with women's health, specifically breast cancer and breast implantation. The films were screened in our third-floor auditorium as part of the Film Center's ongoing HEALTH SERIES during BODY WORLDS 3.

The first film, Dear Taluna, documents a woman who learns she has breast cancer shortly after giving birth to a new child. She and her family and friends help her cope as she undergoes treatment and eventually has a part of her left breast removed. The second film was a documentary called Absolutely Safe, which deals with the troubling breast implant industry in America. This film showed that while silicon breast implants, which after many years proved to be flawed and dangerous for women's health, are still being used, (mostly because some doctors feel they hold a better shape than saline implants). Even still, silicon is still used to encase most saline implants today. With Saline vs. Silicon as the discussion, Absolutely Safe showed two surgeries - one woman receiving breast implants and another woman having them removed. When the doctor who removed the silicon implants removed them with his hand, he vividly showed how both her implants had ruptured, and were then nothing more than a yellowish, gelatin goop. The film illustrated that despite obvious and serious health risks to women who get implants, the 2 billion dollar breast implant industry thrives. Moreover the FDA hasn't seriously addressed the issue since 2005, and no long term studies have really been done.

These films triggered a discussion with the audience afterward lead by Jennifer Jordan of the Salt Lake Film Center and Dr. Villja Avizonis of the University of Utah. If you've never seen these films, I highly recommend them to you.

Next week The Film Center will be screening another film on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. called "Two Angry Moms," about school food. Also on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. the Film Center will show "Frozen Angels," about the future of scientifically created humans.

SLC Bike Collective

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:09:00 +0000

Parking around Library square can be a nightmare, especially on weekends. But why drive when you can ride a bike? Starting today the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is setting up a parking venue outside The Leonardo for BODY WORLDS 3 visitors. Located outside the North East corner of the building, the Bicycle Collective offers a free and safe place to park your bike when you come to The Leonardo.

The nonprofit SLC Bicycle Collective has been operating for five years now and has helped with other venues like the Farmer's Market and the Gallivan Center. As an advocacy organization for bicycle riding they also hold open shop nights every Tuesdays and Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. There volunteer mechanics will teach you how to maintain and repair your own bike. They also refurbish and sell used bicycle there for cheap. There shop is located at 2312 South West Temple. For more information check out their website here.

Our First Sketch Night

noreply@blogger.com (BodyWorlds 3 at The Leonardo) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:22:00 +0000

Last night we left the BODY WORLDS 3 gallery open extra late for a group of young artists. Most of them were art students, many of them in high school, who spent several hours with pencils and sketch pads in hand composing in different areas of the gallery. The after hours event was a rare opportunity for student artists to get uninterrupted time with the specimens on display at BODY WORLDS 3. Additionally, we arranged to have several living models in the gallery for figure drawing. The models held poses to juxtapose themselves with various full body specimens.

Later as the artists emerged from the gallery with their sketches we took digital images of their best work. As part of an online art contest we are posting their sketches on our site where they can be openly viewed and voted on. Artists who get the most favorable votes will win a prize. You can check out their sketches here.

If you're an artist and want the chance to make some sketches in the BODY WORLDS gallery, we'll be holding another sketch night session on November 5th, from 7 to 10 p.m. And next time promises to be captivating and lively, because our live models will be in the NUDE! Please buy some tickets and join us that night. If you're interested or have any questions, call us at 937-4221.