GATE trip to Anatomy Museum

By Georgie Watts | Posted: Tuesday July 6, 2021

A group of Y7-9 students were lucky enough to get to visit the Anatomy Museum at the University of Otago on Wednesday with Mr Drury. Here are some of their accounts:


On Wednesday the 7th of July a group of 13 students were taken down to the anatomy museum by Mr Drury. Dunedin’s anatomy museum is found beside the hospital and these Yr 7-9 students walked there at the start of morning tea. The department of anatomy has a large collection of human body parts both real and some models. Several of the real body parts were preserved in liquid and others were plasticised to keep the shape strong over the hundred years they have been there. Plastination is the process in which animal or human tissue is dehydrated and the space is filled with a plastic such as silicon. Plastination is just one of the things they learned about. The group got to find out all about human organs and their purposes, diseases and body systems. Plasticised human brains were found in almost every room and many people in the group got to touch them. The pathology room was interesting as it was a room full of organs and body parts preserved in liquid. All of these body parts had a disease of some sort and the students could observe what they do to the appearance of the organs. An extremely creepy room was the one full of real amputated body parts. There was a strange smell noticeable when walking inside and then all you can see are shelves full of heads, arms, legs, and brains. The heads were especially eerie with the hair on their heads and facial expressions giving the effect that they were still alive. The whole experience was very interesting and all of the students enjoyed the trip. Thanks to Mr Drury and the other teachers who organised the event for the group. Everyone would be happy to go again.  

Akein Wickramgedara


On Wednesday morning some of the GATE year 7-9 students were lucky enough to visit the Department of Anatomy (Anatomy Museum) with Mr Drury.

This was a great learning experience for all of us because we got to see real extracts of the body such as a plastinated digestive system, a human skeleton, the inner layer of the kidney and a real-life cross-section of the upper body.

We were directed by the people who oversee the museum. We explored several rooms such as the one that was filled with plastinated body parts such as the head, leg, arm and core. Another room was filled with extracted body parts that had damage or disease in them such as a smoker’s lung, and a liver from a person that had drunk lots of alcohol. This is why we need to take care of our bodies. I found this trip exciting and a good experience to learn new things about the body.

Ethan Then



On Wednesday we went to the Anatomy Museum at Otago University. The Anatomy Museum is used for doctors and physios in training. We saw lots of human bodies and human organs that have been preserved so that students can learn. The bodies are donated by people for medical research.

My favourite part of the Museum was a room that had body parts and organs that were displayed in glass cases. Some of these organs were diseased and you could see the effect that things like tumours, blood diseases, and heart problems had on the various organs and people. What I thought was really special was that they had the history of the person on little cards, which made you remember that these were actual people who lived lives with families and friends.

I really enjoyed this trip and learned heaps from it that I will never forget.

Hermione Sparks