What
Barts Pathology Museum, designed in 1878, is housed within St Bartholomew’s Hospital in West Smithfield, London, and is leased by Queen Mary, University of London. Founded in 1123, the hospital is one of the oldest in the world.
Opened
2011. The museum opened in 1879 but it fell into disrepair in the 1970s. Two years ago it received funding to renovate its collection and is now undergoing an extensive period of conservation.
Collection
The museum has over 5,000 medical specimens in pots and jars, including forensic and historical examples of human body parts.
Help at hand
Technical assistant curator Carla Valentine is the only full-time member of staff. There is additional help from three university staff, including a professor of pathology education, who work to oversee the collection, carry out funding applications and promote the museum.
Highlights
“Our oldest specimen is a hernia dating back to 1750,” says Valentine. “It was preserved by one of the museum’s first curators, Percivall Pott. We also have the skull of John Bellingham, the man who assassinated Spencer Perceval, the prime minister, in 1812. Bellingham was hanged for his crime.”
Budget
Income comes from evening lectures, events and daytime workshops including taxidermy, Georgian fascinator-making and film screenings. The museum is only open for events so there is no income from admission fees.
Visitors
“Evening events seat 100 people and tend to sell out,” Valentine says. “When we were open for three days in 2012 for the Eat Your Heart Out anatomical cake shop, we had around 5,000 visitors.”
Sticky moment
“Our first challenge was actually opening the museum because the Human Tissue Authority dictates that only human tissue over 100 years old can be displayed to the public,” Valentine says.
“I rearranged the museum and moved all the specimens over 100 years old to the ground floor where people enter the museum. By blocking off the other floors, we were able to let people inside.”
Survival tip
“Try to appeal to as wider demographic as possible,” Valentine says. “Public engagement is important because the powers that be want to help once they see people are interested.”
Future plans
The museum hopes to open daily so that people can drop in. A bigger team would also help improve what the museum offers.
http://potts-pots.blogspot.co.uk/
Barts Pathology Museum, designed in 1878, is housed within St Bartholomew’s Hospital in West Smithfield, London, and is leased by Queen Mary, University of London. Founded in 1123, the hospital is one of the oldest in the world.
Opened
2011. The museum opened in 1879 but it fell into disrepair in the 1970s. Two years ago it received funding to renovate its collection and is now undergoing an extensive period of conservation.
Collection
The museum has over 5,000 medical specimens in pots and jars, including forensic and historical examples of human body parts.
Help at hand
Technical assistant curator Carla Valentine is the only full-time member of staff. There is additional help from three university staff, including a professor of pathology education, who work to oversee the collection, carry out funding applications and promote the museum.
Highlights
“Our oldest specimen is a hernia dating back to 1750,” says Valentine. “It was preserved by one of the museum’s first curators, Percivall Pott. We also have the skull of John Bellingham, the man who assassinated Spencer Perceval, the prime minister, in 1812. Bellingham was hanged for his crime.”
Budget
Income comes from evening lectures, events and daytime workshops including taxidermy, Georgian fascinator-making and film screenings. The museum is only open for events so there is no income from admission fees.
Visitors
“Evening events seat 100 people and tend to sell out,” Valentine says. “When we were open for three days in 2012 for the Eat Your Heart Out anatomical cake shop, we had around 5,000 visitors.”
Sticky moment
“Our first challenge was actually opening the museum because the Human Tissue Authority dictates that only human tissue over 100 years old can be displayed to the public,” Valentine says.
“I rearranged the museum and moved all the specimens over 100 years old to the ground floor where people enter the museum. By blocking off the other floors, we were able to let people inside.”
Survival tip
“Try to appeal to as wider demographic as possible,” Valentine says. “Public engagement is important because the powers that be want to help once they see people are interested.”
Future plans
The museum hopes to open daily so that people can drop in. A bigger team would also help improve what the museum offers.
http://potts-pots.blogspot.co.uk/
