When you visit Thackray Museum of Medicine, you will learn how the world responds to health crises, view a 19th century-style operating theater and experience a wartime field hospital. This insightful museum takes you from the gritty streets of Victorian Leeds to traditional apothecaries to modern scientific labs, teaching through play, creativity and education what our health heroes are doing for the world today and what the future holds.
Take time to visit 11 immersive galleries, which have been specially curated with the help of the local healthcare community and make it a point to broach difficult health-related subjects. Walk along a Victorian “disease street,” circa 1840, then join the disease detectives as they trace various infections. Gain valuable insights at the Normal & Me exhibit and peek inside a 1970s sexual-health clinic (with whimsical seventies wallpaper to take the edge off formerly taboo subjects). At the Response to Crisis exhibit, wartime field tents are arranged to give the visitor an idea of the space restrictions during conflict and the challenge of administering healthcare in such a setting.
The museum offers daily tours and activities for children, intended to educate youngsters about the history of the medical fields, as well as inspire the scientists of tomorrow. Along the Victorian Leeds street exhibit, kids (and adults) may choose a character, then follow their life story, which is revealed by inputting a card into lightboxes on the walls. Kids can take a quiz about germs, learn about the fake medicines sold as cure-alls to gullible citizens of 19th-century England, and build their own medical tools from LEGO® bricks.
After exploring the museum, stop by the gift shop, stocked with goods from independent designers and makers, from illustrated prints to jewelry to educational children’s toys and games.
The Thackray Museum of Medicine is open daily. It is located next to St. James’s Hospital, with on-site parking available for a fee. Major bus routes from Leeds City Centre stop outside the building. The wheelchair-friendly museum offers accessible toilets and changing rooms for families with babies. Your entrance fee is good for admission to the museum for 12 months. Entrance is free for those under 5 years old and for medical caregivers. A café, with vegan options, is on site.
