Two sets of lungs sit side by side at Union Station. One set are the lungs of a smoker, blackened with nicotine. The other set are the lungs of a non-smoker, still pink after death.

Both lungs are real, not models created to discourage smoking. And both offer a closer look at the human body as part of Bodies Revealed at the Bank of America Grand Gallery at Union Station.

The exhibit, which features real human bodies that have gone through a process called polymer preservation, opened Feb. 29 and will run through Sept. 1.

“I think everyone is touched by something different when they come to the exhibit,” says Catherine Morgenstern, director of public relations with Premier Exhibitions.

In addition to the lungs, body parts affected by cancer, broken legs and other common ailments are shown.

“Basically, it’s a journey through nine galleries,” says Rachel Toledo-Miller, community relations manager with Union Station.

That journey begins with the skeletal system, which, Ms. Toledo-Miller says, begins the exhibit because it’s something most everyone has seen before. From there, you’ll get deeper into the human body, including 20 whole body specimens and galleries showing muscles, nervous systems, digestive and respiratory systems, circulatory systems and urinary and reproductive systems.

The effect of the exhibit is twofold, Ms. Toledo-Miller says.

First, it’s hard to hide from the visible consequences of smoking, injuries and cancer which are shown.

“You really become more knowledgeable about healthy lifestyle choices and decisions you make every day,” Ms. Morgenstern agrees.

And second, Ms. Toledo-Miller says, the exhibit might have the effect of sparking interest in the medical field for a whole new generation.

So why use real bodies? That’s been a controversy affecting the exhibit and others like it around the country.

“A model is an artist’s rendering of the body,” Ms. Morgenstern says. It’s open to interpretation. The real bodies aren’t.

“We always say the body doesn’t lie,” she says.

According to Bodies Revealed, the actual bodies all came from people who died of natural causes and donated their bodies “to accredited medical universities in the People’s Republic of China.”

And though the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph spoke out last week against the exhibit as exploiting and demeaning “the dignity and integrity of the human person,” wrote Bishop Robert W. Finn in the Catholic Key, Ms. Toledo-Miller says the public’s response has been largely positive.

The exhibit is recommended for people between grades five and six and up. Any younger requires parental discretion, Ms. Toledo-Miller says, because some full body specimens show genitalia.

In addition to the exhibit, there will be a lecture series, a giant screen movie entitled “The Human Body,” and family workshops at Science City. Visit unionstation.org/bodies for more information.

Tickets cost between $19 and $24. They can be purchased online at unionstation.org, by calling (816) 460-2251 or at the Union Station ticket counter.

Oh, and after you see those lungs, if you decide smoking might not be for you after all, there’s a trash can right there where, organizers say, cigarettes are welcome.