"BODIES ... The Exhibition," which features preserved human body specimens, will open June 14 at Ala Moana Center, next to Nordstrom.

The exhibition features whole and partial body specimens, providing an up-close look inside the skeletal, muscular, reproductive, respiratory, circulatory and other systems of the human body.

Many of the cadavers are dissected in vivid athletic poses, which are intended to illustrate the body at work in everyday activities. In addition, specimens show the damage caused to organs by unhealthy activities, ranging from over-eating to smoking. A healthy lung, for example, is featured next to a black lung ravaged by smoking.

The exhibition will "change the way people see themselves," Roy Glover, chief medical director of Premier Exhibitions, Inc., said in a news release. "It is designed to enlighten, empower, fascinate and inspire. Your body is the only thing that you carry with you from the moment you are born until your last breath."

The "BODIES" show premiered two years ago in Tampa, Fla., and is now on display in about a dozen cities in the United States, Europe and South America.

The specimens are preserved through a technique called polymer preservation through which 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, and showcasing the complexity of the body's bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels and organs. The full-body specimens can take more than one year to prepare.

Tickets may be purchased at www.bodiestickets.com. Adults, $26; seniors, $24; children $18; and student/military with valid ID $19; discounted prices are available to groups. Exhibit hours will be 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays. The exhibit is set to run through Jan. 18, 2009. Photography is not permitted. For additional information, visit www.bodiestheexhibition.com.