Good morning all,

My 4th grade teachers spend a lot of time on human body systems. Though we have some favorite websites, many are cartoonish or game-like. That changed when I recently discovered The Visible Body, a magnificent, powerful, free, fully realistic 3D model of the human body and all its internal systems:

Featuring detailed 3D representations of over 1,700 (!) anatomical structures, The Visible Body gives educators incredible capabilities to identify, isolate, present, explore and examine the wonderfully complex systems that comprise the human body. Equally suited for K-12 as well as college study, this tool’s easy-to-use interface makes it simple to identify, select and manipluate body systems and subsystems (in 3D!) Check out these screenshots. These movies give you an idea what it’s capable of. You can even try a demonstration version, though it requires a plug-in.

One important note: this model is not only anatomically correct, it’s photo-realistic. So, if you’re using the site to teach a lesson to children, you’ll need to exercise care to get the lesson set up in advance exactly the way you want it – so that nothing inappropriate appears on the screen in the process. It’s easy to do; a few minutes using the system and you’ll get the hang of it!

This robust simulation has enormous potential in the classroom. Its realism and flexibility are unmatched. If you study the human body you need this site in your toolkit. With an interactive whiteboard it could be even more powerful.

Hope this helps!

-kj-