After getting up and having a bowl of cereal, we set out to Balboa Park, where they were having an exhibit that sounded intriguing. We made a stop at the botanical gardens and learned that the pond was deepened during WWII to be used as a physical therapy pool. We then passed through an atrium filled with beautiful plants, trees, and flowers. The colors of some of the flowers were incredible, the patterns and textures of the leaves fascinating, and the height of the ferns growing amazing. It was a breathtaking stroll through a lush garden.
We then made our way down to the San Diego Museum of Man, which was hosting an exhibit called “Strange Bones.” It was captivating and educational. On display was an array of bones with evidence of anomalies or disease paired with a model of a healthy bone so that you could see the difference. The creator of the exhibit was careful to give enough information about the bones you were seeing to help you feel like you could understand the differences. Some of the anomalies included simple things such as lack of growth plate fusion in determination of age at death, poor fracture healing, and evidence of arthritis. It also included evidence of less common diseases such as osteomyelitis, tuberculosis, and Rickets. There was an entire skeleton of a person with a particular form of dwarfism, showing the differences in proportions between the long bones of the limbs and the bones of the trunk. Of particular interest were several bones showing cultural practices such as cutting the skull to allow for healing of brain swelling and skull wrapping to produce elongated or widened skull shapes as a sign of status. What an amazing thing to see some of the thing that occur inside our bodies that we cannot typically see.
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