WELCOME // ABOUT US
Based in Kingston, ON, our mission at the Museum of Health Care is to connect learners of all ages with Canadian health care’s complex and intriguing history.
Explore our blog to learn about select pieces from our 40,000 artifact collection, discover lesser known history about the medical profession, or take a look at our at-home educational activities.
The primary ingredients of the syrup were morphine and alcohol, with approximately 65 mg of morphine per fluid ounce. A teaspoonful of the syrup, then, had the morphine content equal to that of approximately twenty drops of laudanum. … More Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup: The Baby Killer
“Scores of citizens are not in accord and want something done. It is difficult for the layman to get rid of the old idea that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” … More The Reality of the Flu: Kingston’s United Effort Against the Spanish Influenza
Sir Joseph Lister, Bt. was born 1827 in Essex, England. Lister found that 45-50% of amputation patients later died of infection. Spurred by this statistic, he undertook the experiments on the prevention of infection that earned him wide renown. … More A Century Gone – Sir Joseph Lister, Bt. (1827-1912): Antisepsis and the Beginnings of Modern Surgical Medicine
The Story First undertaken in 1935 by Portuguese neuropsychiatrist Dr. Antonio Egas Moniz, leucotomy involves the removal of brain tissue … More Leucotome (From the Collection #15)
The Story Prior to the 1900s, complicated births, particularly where there was a disproportion between the size of the woman’s … More Cranioclast (From the Collection #16)
The Story Trepanning, also known as trephining, dates back at least 7000 years to the Neolithic period. Derived from the … More Hey’s Saw (From the Collection #14)
The Story An early form of ‘doctor’s bag’, a wooden medicine chest was designed to hold instruments and drug supplies. … More Medicine Chest (From the Collection #10)
The Story The management of pain was, and still is, an essential part of medical practice. Until the 1840s, Western … More Yankauer Ether Mask (From the Collection #11)
Apply knowledge of body systems to reconstruct the four stages of the digestive system. Explore how several organs interact to absorb nutrients vital to individual health from their daily dietary selections. … More Activities at Home #3: Yum Yum Munch (Grades 1-3)
Apply knowledge of body systems to reconstruct the four stages of the digestive system. Explore how several organs interact to absorb nutrients vital to individual health from their daily dietary selections. … More Activities at Home #3: Yum Yum Munch (Grades 4-6)
