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National Museum of Health and Medicine - CLOSED
Category: Arts & Entertainment Museums Museums [Edit]
6900 Georgia Ave NWWashington, DC 20307
Neighborhood: Shepherd Park
(202) 782-2200
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
18 reviews for National Museum of Health and Medicine
18 reviews in English
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Review from Danny V.
7/26/2011
Attention geeks, medical professionals (geeks) and curious cats (closet geeks) seeking medical oddities and preserved specimens of a different kind; this is it.
Here's a preview of what to expect:
Lincoln's actual plaster death mask
Preserved Elephants Limb
Hair Ball removed from a girls stomach- with the hair maintaining the shape of her stomach
Skeletal Remains of bony oddities
Preserved conjoined fetus
Real fetus specimens at various stages of development
A gift shop with cute "stuffed animal" diseases at the molecular level
Photographic evidence of why you should practice safe sex with potentially yucky people (syphilis, STD photos)
I don't know how much longer this museum will be around or if they'll transfer it once Walter Reed has shut it's doors. This museum is educational and honest. It's a small museum and can be incorporated into a busy D.C. sightseeing itinerary. Bring ID, I believe they ask all adults for it. Check the website for more info.
This museum is for the geek in all of us.Listed in: Off the Beaten Path
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Review from L C.
Falls Church, VA
12/16/2011
I went here years ago. It's super creepy and fun! Extremely memorable. Definitely worth checking out.
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Review from Libby F.
3/1/2011
This museum is pretty cool if you have any interest in how certain medical procedures have dramatically improved since the Civil War era.
Most displays have pictures and a brief story about veterans from long ago wars and their injuries. There are even bones and skulls on display. Pictures displaying disfiguring, but not fatal war injuries are a bit gruesome.
Another display with fetuses in varying stages is interesting, but the displays with pictures and skulls of human birth defects are creepy, yet fascinating.
For Lincoln lovers, they actually have bone fragments from his skull where the bullet was removed and the blood stained sleeve of the doctor who worked on him.
The museum is on the Walter Reed campus and you only need picture ID to get on campus. The Museum is all way at the back end. Follow the signs. There is a large parking lot right next to the museum. You need to give the security folks your ID to hold on to while you are there and they will give you a pass to put in your car. You can walk onto the campus, but it would be a long walk from the Georgia Ave entrance since you can't enter off 16th Street anymore.
Admission is free. -
Review from Gayle G.
Woodbridge, VA
11/15/2006
Don't bother wasting your money on fragments of Old Abe's noggin sold on the 'net because pieces of Abraham Lincoln's skull are here If you have ever been to the Mutter Museum in Philly, then you'll know what to expect from this place. I would call it a museum of medical oddities, because that's what is here for the most part.
There's..um...an "exhibit" of baby skeletons is that you can see across the lobby- it is part of a bigger display of fetal development and birth defects. bone. You can also see a HUGE preserved hairball from a young girl who compulsively ate her own hair. Ew!
Also, don't miss the leg bone from a soldier who got it shattered at the Battle of Gettysburg, along with with a replica of a cannonball that did the damage.Listed in: Think You Know D.C??, M Is For..
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Review from High F.
Alexandria, VA
1/11/2009
I did enjoy this place, but didn't think it ranks up there with the other smithsonian treasures. This place can be difficult to find, as its located on the campus behind the Walter Reed Army medical center. You need ID to get in, but its nowhere near as crowded as the other museums.
the part that i did like was the large portion of medicine dedicated to the current battles in Iraq/Afghanistan. they give a thorough history of battlefield medicine, starting from the cival war, to the development of MASH units in Korea, and current engagements. There was a nice section of various "medical anomalies" from siamese twins, elephantitis, and fetuses at different stages of development (just to name a few). This was a great educational experience for anyone interested the human body.
cons: location, old building, one floor, and difficult parking. -
Review from Shieva R.
Towson, MD
5/15/2011
Pretty small, but there are a lot of interesting oddities old and new. Well worth a visit!!
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Review from Adrian L.
San Francisco, CA
3/16/2008
Or the National Museum of Freekazoids as my friend Molly used to call it. This is one museum that is definitely off the beating path and not for the feint of heart, but if you've ever wondered what a limb with elephantiasis looked like, or think cyclops or two-headed babies are the bees knees, this is the place for you. Not only that, they have cool old timey medical tools, like bone saws from the civil war, Victorian bleeding tools. To be honest, there are a few thousand too many microscopes here for my tastes, but overall there is a good balance of cool, gross, interesting, and educational exhibits to make this place worth the security check.
This place is great for anyone who has even a smidgen of interest in medical oddities, history, or microscopes, so spoil your inner geek and check this place out. -
Review from Brandima A.
Burke, VA
2/18/2010
Warning: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
Try not to think about it too much but they have the skeletons to show the gestation of a human from fetus to toddler, including effects of certain birth defects.
Curious minds want to know.
What would my skull look like if it had been hit by a bullet during civil war? Wonder no longer, go to the National Museum of Health and Medicine. -
Review from Susanne J.
Philadelphia, PA
4/4/2010 1 Check-in Here
If you're looking to get off of the beaten path and out of the crowds of the Smithsonian museums, I recommend venturing out to NMHM. I recommend driving or taking a taxi as getting there by public transportation could take a while. If you drive, you'll need your license, registration, and proof of insurance to get into the complex as the museum is behind the Walter Reed Medical Center. All adults will need to show proper state ID as well.
The museum could work a bit on curating its exhibits. Apparently, they have a HUGE collection that they keep mostly in storage. Rumor also is that the director of the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia pulls goodies from the national collection here for his museum's exhibits.
The exhibits are small, but interesting and take you all the way from medical intervention in the Civil War to how they handle trauma in current conflicts like Iraq. I also liked the exhibit on identifying the war dead which has really come a long way. I would have liked to see more regarding medicine in current conflicts or about rehabilitation after injury during a war. Information about medics in WW II or Vietnam would have been really interesting, too. There was a brief video about the use of plasma and blood donation in WW II. I thought the exhibit about human development was a little out of place, though. The museum is free - a definite perk. -
Review from Alice P.
Washington, DC
12/25/2010
I went here for the first time when I was 12 on a class trip and it scared the living daylights out of me. Limbs in jars, shrunken heads, bone saws with blood dried onto them. Not to mention the entire place hasn't been aired out in ages so it's incredibly stale air, and looks a whole lot like something you might find in someone's basement.
I went back a few weeks ago, and it's not as bad as I remember. The museum has that they-cut-the-funding-20-years-ago feel, but it's worth a peek for those into medical abnormalities and other weird stuff. Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not bring your kids. -
Review from C J.
Washington, DC
7/11/2010
Sooo I definitely got lost trying to find this place....so you don't end up wandering around Walter Reed's campus looking like an idiot who obviously does not belong, Enter on the back side, by the museum & NOT the GA ave. entrance. There is a parking lot by the museum so keep driving until you find that one. And they didn't ask for my insurance & such...just ID....
I thought the exhibits were well done and it was more put together than I'd expected since it's pretty low key.
Top 3 sections for me were: forensic anthropology, the artwork (VERY impressive, small sections, but I'd go for the artwork alone), and ...the medical abnormality section...including los bebes. It was crazy to see how a tiny fetus at just a few weeks is still recognizable. -
Review from Jennifer S.
Arlington, VA
9/13/2006
The National Museum of Health and Medicine is a division of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and it is probably my favorite museum to visit yet. Years ago it was located on the National Mall, but was moved so the Hirschorn could settle in. What a diss! Nevertheless, even if you have to traverse all the way out to the Walter Reed Medical Center - IT IS SOOOO WORTH IT.
The museum is full of many interactive and straight learning exhibits. Because this museum is owned by a military hospital there is lots of explanation as to how the military made its mark in medical advances. There is a lot of information on how doctors treated soldiers in the field during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars compared to today. The rudimentary instruments they used are on display along with explanations of how plastic surgery was revolutionized due to war. There are some exhibits that are not for the squeamish like the brain and spinal cord attached and suspended in formaldehyde --- and the brain you can TOUCH. Nevermind the hairball that was extracted from a 12-year old girl's stomach - disgusting! It was definitely fun trying on a 9 months pregnancy suit to see what you look like and what it feels like to be pregnant. It was also interesting to see the stages of the fetus in formaldehyde - 1 month to 9 months in big containers.
THIS IS A MUST VISIT!!! TRUST ME!!!Listed in: DC's LESSER known places to…
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Review from Nadine F.
Updated - 6/22/2009
I have to downgrade this museum. Ever since I went, I've been having nightmares related to their medical abnormalities exhibit. I wish I could go back in time and only visit the exhibits about Lincoln and fancy microscopes. Don't bring your children!
Listed in: Vacation? Staycation!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/18/2009
I had every intention of hating this museum; I really did. First off, it's in the Walter Reed… Read more »
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Review from Thomas m.
San Francisco, CA
7/30/2009 4 photos
This is the strangest, most intriguingly disgusting museum I have ever been to. What other government-funded museum has an assortment of antiquated and highly radioactive medical equipment AND baby fetuses in formaldehyde? None! Do you think this stuff would fly at the Smithsonian on the Mall? There's no way. The hundreds of microscopes that litter the east winglet of the museum feels less like an exhibit, and more like the garage of a creepy dude who collects microscopes. This place is quite reminiscent of the creepiness of the French film "The City of Lost Children," but unlike the movie, you need a security clearance badge to see it. Check the photos if you don't believe me!
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Review from Stuart S.
Durham, NC
7/27/2009
Housed on the campus of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, very near the Maryland border, The National Museum of Health and Medicine is one of the best-hidden museums in DC. Frankly, its relative seclusion and inaccessibility are redeeming factors; assuming you're able to find it, you'll appreciate the low traffic.
Formerly a part of the National Mall, the museum today seems to serve two functions. A good portion of the exhibition space is devoted to battlefield and combat emergency medicine. You can see how dramatically things have improved since the Civil War, when doctors' toolkits included large saws. This emphasis seems to be a fitting tribute to the museum's environment; Walter Reed is a large receiving hospital for troops injured in combat. In a similar vein, there is an exhibit that touches on some of the work done by forensic anthropologists in identifying remains. The focus here is on Iraq.
The other role played by the museum seems to be hosting DC's most official collection of medical oddities (the Palace of Wonders may have a larger collection; not sure about this). You can see a large hairball taken from the stomach of a twelve-year old girl, as well as preserved conjoined (Siamese) twins and an embryo with anencephaly. In short, there's all kinds of ephemera here. Be sure to look at the exhibit tracing the development of an embryo. If you, like me, are a horrible person, play the "how late would you abort it" game.
Perhaps not the most kid-friendly museum, though I would have loved to have come here as a child. There's an exhibit showing original artwork from "The Way We Work," an illustrated book by the creator of "The Way Things Work." This exhibit may appeal more to children than, say, the extensive collection of microscopes, which I thought was among the least interesting museum exhibits I have ever seen.
Some of the information is out of date. Not for the squeamish, but highly recommended for the morbid and scientifically inclined. -
Review from Glaciala A.
Providence, RI
2/25/2009
One of the less visited museums in the city. I think it is quite unique, and worth the trip. Medical abnormalities section (as others have also noted) is quite interesting.
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Review from Jimmy S.
Washington, DC
8/27/2007
Quite possibly the city's best museum. A best kept secret. Metro: Takoma metro is about a 10 minute walk away.
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Review from Elise D.
Arlington, VA
7/9/2010
Best museum in the world, hands-down. Still love the Smithsonian, but sometimes you feel as if you are being spoon-fed pureed knowledge there. Here the exhibits are intellectually stimulating but more austere so you can interpret everything in your own way. AWESOME.
