While preparing for my quick Trip to Chicago (to run in the O’Hare Runway Run) I wanted to find a place that was unique, interesting and different to visit.

To help me in my search I turned to Atlas Obscura, a fun and interesting site where you can browse around to find “curious and wondrous travel destinations”.

After taking a few minutes to search Altas Obscura, I came across a museum that sounded perfect. It seemed to be just what I was looking for. From the description, I thought the museum might have some things on display similar to the Mutter Museum.

The Museum of Surgical Science is located at the International College of Surgeons. It is housed in a gorgeous, historic mansion which was built in 1917.

We did a self-guided tour of the museum, starting from the top floor and working our way back down. There was loads of information about surgery and it’s history. Some of the info was pretty interesting but I can’t say that I was in the mood to do much reading.

I was really interested in seeing the odd, medical displays that were all over the building.
The items on display were medical tools & instruments, art work, statues, organs and bodies on display in various forms. A couple were similar to the ones seen in the Bodies Exhibit seen around the country.

Here are some photos of what we saw:

Old Wheelchair

Wall of Prosthetics

Surgical Tools

Medical Art

Male In Motion

Conjoined- Twins Fetus

I really enjoyed visiting the International Museum of Surgical Science. If you’re interested in medical/ surgical history or just curious about medical oddities then this museum should be on your list of places to visit. The building alone is worth checking out!

To find out more about the International Museum of Surgical Science, click HERE