At The Plastinarium

The week begins in Berlin

A private introduction to BODY WORLDS and FR:EIA

For most of our courses, the week begins in Berlin, where the group meets outside the BODY WORLDS museum before travelling on together to Guben. This first meeting point is intentional. Rather than arriving straight into the lab, you will begin with a shared introduction to the wider anatomical context of the work.

The day starts with a private tour of BODY WORLDS, guided by Gary Carter and Jihan Adem, and ends with an insider introduction to FR:EIA, the world’s first fascia-focused human plastinate. Because Gary and Jihan were closely involved in her creation, this part of the experience offers something few visitors would otherwise encounter: a direct account of what it took to bring a fascia-focused plastinated body into existence, and why that work matters.

Beginning in Berlin allows the week to open with perspective, context, and connection. It also reflects something central to the ethos of Fascia Anatomy Labs: that the journey into the work matters. Before you reach Guben, the Plastinarium, and the lab itself, the process has already begun.

Travelling to Guben together

From Berlin to the Plastinarium, guided every step of the way

After the museum visit, the group travels on together to Guben. This is not simply a matter of being given an address and told where to arrive. Gary and Jihan guide participants through the journey itself, helping with train tickets, travelling alongside the group, and accompanying everyone all the way to the Plastinarium.

Guben sits on the German-Polish border, and reaching it is part of entering a very particular environment: quieter, more spacious, and far removed from the pace of a city. Travelling there together helps ease uncertainty, creates connection within the group, and allows the transition into the week to feel supported from the outset.

On arrival, you are shown to your room, given time to settle in, and welcomed properly into the rhythm of the week. Accommodation is onsite, either within the Plastinarium itself or in the adjacent guest house, which helps the group remain close to the work throughout the week. The first evening usually includes a shared meal at a local restaurant — a chance to land, meet the rest of the group more fully, and arrive at the work together before the course begins the following morning.

Space to absorb and integrate

Most days run from around 8am to 5pm, creating a rhythm that is focused and immersive, while still leaving space in the evenings to rest, reflect, or spend time with the group more informally. Some evenings are shared over meals, while others are left open for quiet time, self-catering, or exploring the local area.

By the end of the week, participants have not only spent significant time in the lab, but have moved through a carefully held process of observation, enquiry, embodiment, and reflection. The final evening often includes a shared meal out as a group — a chance to consolidate the week’s learning, mark the experience together, and bring the course to a close.

Why this setting matters

Throughout the week, you are surrounded not only by the work happening within your own group, but by the wider anatomical environment of the Plastinarium itself: exhibition spaces, plastinated specimens, working laboratories, and an extraordinary concentration of anatomical knowledge under one roof.

This is part of what makes studying here so distinctive. The setting is not simply practical; it shapes the depth, seriousness, and quality of the experience.

The Plastinarium is not only the home of BODY WORLDS, but an active centre for anatomical education and specimen production used around the world. For Fascia Anatomy Labs, this creates an unusually rich context in which to study: one where fascia-focused enquiry sits within a wider culture of anatomical research, display, and technical skill.

There is nowhere else quite like it.