My daughter is studying the history of medicine in her history GCSE and has a keen interest in science. She asked about a possible trip to this museum which is in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, just around the corner from Holborn. Like any parent, when a child shows an interest in anything other than smart phones and social media – and especially when there is an educational angle – I organised it so we could go the very next Saturday :D
I wasn’t sure quite what to expect. John Hunter gathered the most comprehensive collection of human and animal anatomy specimens in the 18th century Europe. And this year marks the bicentenary.
Free entrance and facilities
There was only a little brass sign outside the rather grand building of the Royal College of Surgeons showing the way and when we entered the rather office-like reception we weren’t sure whether we were in the right place. However, the friendly security chap on reception gave us visitor passes and opened the electronic entry gates. Entry is free. Yayy!
It was rather warm so we first went downstairs to drop off our coats in the unattended cloakroom, pay a visit to the loos and quench our thirst at the water fountain. Very child-friendly. Then we went up to the first floor. There were lots of rather grand portraits of former RCS presidents. No women in sight though. There is a sign outside warning that the exhibition contains preserved human remains – that only increased her interest.
The tiny open-plan shop is right near the entrance and we picked up a guide for £5 but were a bit disappointed that they didn’t sell notebooks so that she could collect materials for her project. Luckily I had a spare pad in my bag.
Gruesome curiosities
The first exhibits were a bit gruesome. Huge wooden slabs (Evelyn tables) showing the extracted nervous systems from adults and children. These date from 1620-1706. Further along there were glass cases showing how people tried to understand the human body before science came to the fore like little ivory figures showing internal organs. There were some oddities here too – like a four legged chick.
Early surgeons
Then there was information about the Company of Barbers and my daughter was surprised that originally surgeons did not train at university. And even more surprised that they didn’t use pain relief and that the bodies of executed criminals were used for dissections as a deterrent!
All life is here – in the Crystal Gallery
Browsing in some glass jars of preserved creatures (we liked the foetal sloth that looked like an alien and also the series showing kangeroos at various stages of development) we then entered the Crystal Gallery which is an awesome room filled with glass jars of animals and human bits and pieces (loved the dental display) – and you can even see up to the exhibits in the upper gallery.
Paintings and sculpture
We looked at skulls and spiders. Flying fish and frogs. Then moved into an area of paintings and sculptures. It’s hard to believe that in times before the Internet and television, it was the only way to understand what a dwarf or a Native American (Cherokees) might look like.
Interesting to see a George Stubbs painting of a rhino – thought he only did horses. There were also paintings of medical conditions – piebaldism, Siamese twins and a 52 stone mad (maybe obesity isn’t so new then). There was a slideshow here showing the history of the museum.
Surgical Instruments and MacCrae Gallery for hands-on exploring
With somewhat alarming wall panels explaining some early surgical procedures – like removing kidney stones without anaesthetic – there’s a bank of drawers containing all manner of surgical instruments and contraptions.
There’s further glass displays surrounding a large open class room where no doubt student groups get to draw and examine specimens more closely. Loved the aprons where you can stick body organs onto the right place.
Science of surgery – military and modern surgery in Moyniham Gallery
Then we went up the stairs (there’s a lift for those who need it) to learn about Lister and antiseptic (and Florence Nightingale) and how plastic surgery emerged from dealing with casualties in the world wars.
Then there were sections on modern brain surgery, microsurgery (including videos of actual procedures) and cancer (breast and prostate in particular) surgery. I wasn’t sure whether it was the explicit images, the heat or that hint of formaldehyde (evoking memories of times gone past in laboratories) that made me feel a little queasy here and we decided that we had had our fill of all things surgical.
Further information at the excellent web site http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/hunterian Open Tuesday - Saturday 10am-5pm. There’s also an events programme with kids activities such as “Meet Jones the Bones”.
Note that Lincoln’s Inn Fields outside offers some green space if your small people need to run around a bit and stretch their legs. And on the other side of the square is Soane Museum http://www.soane.org/ for those who like to balance their science with some art and architecture.
