THE SHORT SET: INSIDE OUT

“So that’s where your poop comes from!” Thank goodness that charming -- and loud -- exclamation came from someone else’s kid. The digestive tract on display at “Body Worlds 3: The Story of the Heart” isn’t merely a realistic model -- it’s the real deal. These specimens have all been plastinated, a special process that preserves body parts by replacing fluids with a polymer. “But who were these people?” Nipper asks. I tell him they all agreed to donate their bodies so that we could learn how the human body works. Thankfully, that satisfies him. Bodies are posed in the acts of gymnastics, cycling, archery, dancing and soccer. Seeing a black smoker’s lung against a healthy pinkish one is an unforgettable image. Afterward, I ask Nipper what he thought of seeing all those body parts down to the capillaries. “You can’t tell what the person looked like on the outside,” he says. “So I guess inside we’re all the same.” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, through Sept. 7. California Science Center, 700 State Drive, L.A., (323) 724-3623; www.californiasciencecenter.org

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-- YoM[email protected]