Reviews of International Museum of Surgical Science (Museum)

Kevin Krayer

If you're a doctor, or better yet - a surgeon - then boy, is this the place for you! If you're a person just walking in off the street with a general sense of curiosity about medical procedures, you may find this enjoyable. If you're like me, who happened to have a 7yo kid in tow, looking to kill an hour or two, maybe consider other options. The building itself used to be a single family mansion, and honestly - the information about the history of the building is what I found the most engaging. It's a truly impressive piece of architecture. Beyond that, there are four floors of historical artifacts about medicine, surgery, X-rays, skulls, birthing, and more. Some rooms have cool old machines that look like something out of a 50's era science fiction movie. Other rooms have giant, creepy paintings of people (doctors?) doing disturbing things to other people (patients?). Some of these paintings are extremely graphic. I actually rushed my son away from several of these paintings. There was a strange art gallery on the top floor, with a theater playing an odd video on a loop. It didn't have much explanation, and didn't seem to fit with the rest of the exhibits. There was a hall of giant statues, and nothing else. The most charming room was tucked away in the back of the first floor - an old fashioned pharmacy, complete with a wooden pharmacist who spoke when you pushed a button. Again, my kid thought it was creepy and wanted to leave. In summary, your overall enjoyment of this museum will be tied entirely to your interest in medical history. There's not much else there. The gift shop at the start had some strangely kid friendly toys, though from personal experience, I would not recommend bringing young kids to this museum. We were in and out in about an hour, and for my son - that was 30 minutes too long.

Rob Cardeiro

This is a very interesting and good museum. You have to read a lot. The exhibits are informative and well-written. It took about 2 hours to get through the whole thing.

Charity Watchdog

Excellent exhibits, fascinating concept. This is a great place to bring kids who have an interest in science and medicine.

Tariq Mufti

Great museum to visit and tour. Lays out the development of surgery from the very beginning to what it is now. I do have an issue with the chronological consonance with the layout. But still a great way to spend a couple of hours and learn something about what keeps us going.

Omar Barnhart

Exactly what you expect from a place like this. Great exhibit. Comparable to The Mutter Museum in Philadelphia but on a smaller scale. We got stuck in the elevator but managed to get ourselves out. Staff were super helpful and had a good sense of humor about the whole thing.

Jayan Pari

Wouldn't recommend for people in non medical background unfortunately. Or at least go with someone who is one. Some exhibits were interesting and accompanied with videos or fact charts. The country based ones were closed when we were there. There was a special exhibit by the National Holocaust museum which was pretty intense. Definitely not for weak hearted.

E Grgurich

Hidden secret. Must visit.

slim lzbn

Very informative and just an awesome experience. Desk clerk was very friendly and greeted everyone w a smile. There is so much to look at and read. I loved it. A place for your coat..for free..that was nice. Aside from a few visitors that were loud and ignorant it was a pleasant experience. Also thought it was pretty neat that it used to be someone's house. The history in this place is literally through and through.

Bogda Rudzińska

Surgery through ages. Scary and fascinating. Thank God we live in world with anesthesia.

Kat Lowe

Loved all four floors

Lucky Lucian

This is a pretty interesting and educational museum on all sorts of medicinal, historical, and scientific information. It did feel a little underwhelming but it has enough to keep you entertained for a couple of hours, nothing too out of the ordinary here. Wouldn't really recommend it for kids as it doesn't have too much for them but if you're studying or practicing in the medical field, you will have a lot of fun here. Also, the admissions office can easily be skipped here as there is no one that works here that checks if you actually paid to get in or not so I don't know how they overlooked that here.

Alexandra Limmer

The murals were lovely.

Forrest Lloyd

Definitely worth a visit! Learned a lot and was able to see tons of interesting medical tools and paraphernalia from the past. To top it off the museum is housed in a beautiful historic mansion that has been restored wonderfully.

Magdalena Niemiec

I wasnt thwre

kristina reed

This is a truly unique collection of art and artifacts. I reside in Detroit and after a trip to Chicago a friend asked if I had visited. Since i had never even heard of it i made a trip back within a few months to check it out. It was totally worth it. There are multiple floors but the top floor gallery felt as though they ran out of ideas. There were a few anatomical posters just taped on the walls which struck me as strange when comparing to the first two floors which had jawdropping displays. Overall I enjoyed my experience. It's definitely worth checking out!

Jennifer Consorte

Worth the visit. Priced right

Matthew Schultz

A very unique museum exploring the history of medical sciences. Rather niche, but if the subject matter is of interest, the museum will not disappoint.

Rits M

Wowsa this place is COOL. I had no idea it existed and I came here to see an exhibit of paintings made from blood. Gory, I know but they were gorgeous pieces of art. Entrance is 15$ and there are 4 floors with historical and literary information about surgery from around the world as well as lots of exhibits. Nice to take your nerdy teen to!

Jack C

Really neat exhibits. Bigger than I expected - took probably 2 hours to work through

Gerardo Gutierrez

I love this place

Jean Ray

Visited for a cocktail reception. It was VERY loud and conversation was difficult. Also got warm and it was not that warm outside.

Megan Matthew

Very interesting museum! lots of medical history. Feel like most people would enjoy even if you weren't in a medical background. Would highly recommend checking it out! They have a small gift shop, with some cool medical/biology/science-y things. On tuesdays (I think) Illinois residents get free entry. Otherwise, bring your student ID and there's a discount. Accessibility: There is an accessible entrance around to the side of the building. It seemed like hardly anyone used the elevator - it's incredibly old and you need to ask the person working to show you how to use it. It also seemed narrow, so I would call ahead before visiting.

Megan Virginie Stephenson

I like this museum. It has very good exhibits on surgery, very detailed! The building is also gorgeous and worth going into. They have lots of artifacts and are a very good museum. The prices are a little costly, with it being $17 for an adult, but I would definitely come again!

Alexandre Onishi Assanuma

Mad science. Hitler was bad.

Jessica Creager

This museum had a lot of reading about medical procedures, research, and issues. It is great to get a detailed overview of the history of medicine, and was an interesting read! The issue I had was that I usually expect a museum with items on display to talk about those items. For example, I would have liked to have heard more about the tongs they had on display that they said were used to help pull babies out during birth. They could have said not about how they were used, why they would be needed, and how often they would be needed for example. A lot of other items on display had even less information. I felt like the museum would be very interesting if I was a medical doctor who had some baseline knowledge about the tools. As a person with little medical knowledge the museum was a lot like reading a textbook. It was a nice amount of curated information but not really a museum in the traditional sense, in my opinion.

Arika Kaosa

The museum sounded more interesting on paper than in person. It was a good place to check out vintage surgical instruments and machines. Otherwise, I was underwhelmed.

Ralph Martins

This is a nice little museum with some fascinating exhibits, but one does wish they'd make the text descriptions for each exhibit a little more readable. The way it is now, there's a lot of peering involved.

Slava Maslennikov

Go see what crazy sociopaths have been doing since nineteen always

Katlas Saltak

Fascinating displays, rich architectural details, captivating artwork...a testament to human ingenuity and endeavor

Luc Vinaja

You’ll probably love this place if you are a history or science person. My girlfriend and I found it a bit underwhelming considering the cost to get in. Friendly staff.

Chelsea Niemi

Interesting museum. Lots of reading, which I'm fine with, although the explanations for a few things are blocked by display cases and other objects. There's also a surprising lack of explanations for most of the objects on display - you're told what they are, but not what they're for or how they're used. The exhibits feel rather sparse, and despite having 4 floors you'll see everything in an hour or two. This also makes the normal entry fee feel steep, although Illinois residents get in free on Tuesdays. Overall, not a terrible museum, but definitely a place you only need to go once.

Mery Garcia

It was so informative. Their featured exhibit brought tears to my eyes. I will definitely be returning to see what new exhibits they bring. I do wish it was bigger.

Weilun

I do not understand how his museum has a 4+ star rating. By no means is this museum a rip off. There is substance. However, the organization of objects and their description could be vastly improved. A lot of times I have to look for a description for an object, but have a hard time finding it. In addition, the interior and the display cases of the museum are old. The paintings and sculptures look low quality. Perhaps you can justify the quality of this was 8-10 dollars, but at 17, I do expect something better.

Jacolynn Sommer

Very interesting museum. Did the free tour and they pointed out things we did not notice. Will go back again!

Deborah Maisonet

So very interesting. Rooms full of medical devices from the beginning of there time

Alex Griggs

Historical medical instruments and equipment (also skulls, an old pharmacy, and jars of gall, bladder and kidney stones). I saw the eugenics exhibit here. I spent about 2 hours to go through the museum thoroughly on Friday afternoon in July. Not particularly mobility accessible (4 stories, tight rooms - this is an old house), though they do have an elevator that you can use with staff permission.

david fehr

The museum was great! Lots of interesting tools and great information to back it all up. It was so cool to see how little things have changed since the early days of medicine. The receptionist was great and helpful and super sweet considering we came in from the driving rain soaking wet. We walked around for about 3-4 hours reading everything while we dried out. At 10 til five we headed down to check out the gift shop and there was a second incredibly rude “worker” there. She was being very condescending to those who were trying to check in and buy tickets for an after hours opera and she was controlling the only register even though her patrons were forced to download and use a specific app to buy her tickets. We were told that we had 1 minute to find everything and check out. When another patron asked about an item that didn’t have a price sticker (nothing was marked), she was told to wait while an opera patron was given preferential treatment. Then we were all told to leave with out being given prices after our minute was up. When we raised objection we were told to shop online. She was incredibly rude. Maybe if the store allowed patrons to purchase souveniers they would have more money to afford more polite staff like the first lady who greeted us when we walked in. Rating based on staff friendliness that ruined an otherwise amazing experience.

Amber Fredrickson

There are some really interesting things on display. I was bummed at the lack of appropriate preservation for many things. Though funding is always a challenge, considering the subject matter, in my opinion there could be more effort made. I also found myself wishing they explained things with general population audience in mind as well. Almost everything was labeled and written specifically geared toward medical/surgical field only. If you hadn't had exposure to this field of study, it might be difficult to grasp much of it.

Paris Lara

Great museum!

mandeep kohli

Very cool place if you have any interest in the medical field

VICE CHANCELLOR

Perhaps the worst museum ever on a specialty subject. The inclusion of American Apothecary in a surgical museum says it all!

Natalie Good

Very interesting.

jane val

Going to school in the medical field, or just Interested in the history of Surgical Science? Then this museum is a must for you! I did not even know of it's existence until I was invited to a private VIP after hours event here. This is "North America's only museum devoted to surgery". Located on Lake Shore Drive in an architecturally gorgeous former mansion, with a breathtaking view of Lake Michigan, it is easy to pass by without knowing what a treasure of a museum awaits inside. When you enter the foyer, you are taken back to the early 1900's when the mansion was built, and marvel at the Italian marble, brass fixtures, stone fireplaces, limestone statues, and gilded metal staircase that have been preserved for us. The museum is 4 floors of Surgical artifacts, paintings, illustrations, murals, and sculptures. It is a museum dedicated to early treatments, discoveries, and successes that have led to how modern medicine is applied today. Make sure to visit the Early American Apothecary, the hall of statues, the eyeglass exhibit, the iron lung (this blew my mind) ,and the rare books display in the former study. There are also a lot of artifacts in cases such as amputation kits, and early x-ray machines. Don't miss the Nursing exhibit, it is an awesome tribute to the Nursing profession. There are paintings and murals throughout that depict some of the early practices of surgical medicine. Make it a point to read the large plaques that are installed on the walls behind the exhibits, they make it easy and more enjoyable to understand with all the information that they supply.

DrM3DS

I went to this as an "exposure" which is an exposure where I learned many things about medicine mainly surgery. My group went in for free. I don't know if the adults had to pay for it or not but if it does, its worth it seeing real human bones and great statues of great men. If you enjoyed the review, click on the like button!!!

Jarett Woodard

Lots of cool stuff. It was interesting reading about the ancient doctors.

Vickie Ferrari

Very informative and interesting

Chris Thompson

Wildly surprised. Lived in the area most my life and had never been. Highly recommended.

Yolanda Pace

Always crowded never any registers open or the lines are too long but prices are good

Pedro Hernandez

Interesting a must to visit .

B. Booth

Interesting Museum to spend 2hrs which is what it will take to see everything. I wouldn't take kids. The museum exhibits are displays of instruments, descriptions of surgery and medical practices. There is also art with detailed or graphic depictions of surgery.

Juan Horie

I was expecting a bit more for the price of the ticket. We had a nice visit

Christy McGovern

Really interesting museum! Mixture of cool and horrifying looking at the techniques that have been used throughout history.

Nicole DeGeorge

Interesting place to wander around.

Matthew Maynard

Huge place full of lots of interesting stuff to see. Don't bring kids if they're squeamish.

Sinister Sadie

Very cool place

Anthony Salciccioli

Very eclectic, unique museum. It was part architecture, part medical oddities, part art museum, part homage to medicine, with a smattering of history. I want to comment how nice and considerate the young lady was who took our money at the door. She answered all our questions and made us feel welcome.

Joseph Rakita

Good but needs more detail about the transition or progress of surgery. I. E. A specific surgery was done this way at first, then progressed to the next step, and finally, this how its done now.

Oliver Newton

Great exhibits and art and the most beautiful girl in the world

Tabitha Alford

This is a great museum to visit if you are remotely interested in medicine or dentistry. I've been to Chicago multiple times and didn't even know it existed until we found it on Atlas Obscura. It is definitely worth the visit and is in a beautiful historic building.

Allison

I loved this place! I work in Health Information Management and this was so informative and shows how we have definitely advanced. I highly recommend this museum to anyone interested in the medical world.

Vic Lam

Parking was difficult - had to park in one of the neighbouring apartment buildings - 8 min walk away - not a great option in the winter... if you want to come here - uber it or use public transit. Great for anyone interested in slightly morbid history and has a background in health sciences. We probably spent 1.5-2hrs there

Shreya Tulsiani

Unique and interesting museum

Gene Mccormick

Fascinating museum!! Four floors housing seven surgical displays. Covers ancient times through present day. Tuesdays are free for Illinois residents. They also host a variety of events on site. Their collection of medical artifacts is impressive.

Janet Lowe

It was an interesting good time

Bobby Baer

If you're looking for something different to do in the city look no further. After having visited the other main museums dozens of times when visiting the city this was a very unique change of pace. They have a wide array of medical tools and artifacts and I learned quite a bit. It's crazy to see how much progress we have made in just the last 100 years in medicine. They also had a really cool modern art exhibit on the top floor of the museum which was very unique.

Alicia Gonzalez

Interesting array that they had. I wish they would expand dental section, but otherwise it was great.

Amy Gonte

It was ok not great. I love medicine. I guess I just expected a little more. There were many display cases with numbers on different items. Then you had to look up at the wall and match the corresponding number and find out what the item was. A lot of good information though on the history of surgery

Mishawn Bryant

Easily one of Chicago’s hidden gems along the lakefront! I used to come every now and then during their free admission days and look at the exhibits. Parking can be tricky to find, but it’s not too hard to reach it using CTA instead. I also like that they change out the exhibits regularly so they’re not showing all the same stuff all the time.

Becka M

Some real gems here. No super odd oddities if that's what you're after, but a good little medical museum.

Sue Baumgartner

This is a great place. I have lived in Chicago my whole life, and never knew this place existed. They need to advertise.

Alex S.

One of the most unique museums in the Chicago area. Tucked away on the edge of Goldcoast and Lakeshore Drive the surgical science museum offers a trip through time of surgery. Its held in an old house (a very nice one I might add) and occupies about 4 floors. The jar of gallstones was one of the most intriguing of the exhibits. Worth checking out.

Steve Mansee

There wasn't as much on display as I had expected, but what was on display, yikes!, it made me damn glad for 21st century medicine. Also serves as a very unique concert/event venue.

Neha S

The Museum is located in Northern Chicago and it in a nice building that used to be a home. It has 4 floors of exhibits and ranges from all of the different body systems and includes antique medical tools and supplies and various paintings and the history of medicine. It was interesting, but I would not recommend this place to someone who is not interested in the medical field. I went using a Groupon and I am glad I used that deal because I don't think it was worth the actual admission price. Overall, good way to spend about an hour or two if you are looking for something to do.

Izzy Page

This place was super cool!! Gnarly bones and stuff. Plus an interactive room for kids. It's a little small, but the gift shop had some cool stuff. I was surprised by how inexpensive it was.

Dylan Jensen

Very interesting medical information, just not too interactive and had lots of stairs. Otherwise, nice place with friendly staff.

Nathan Rivera-Melo

Lots of fascinating surgical stuff. Kinda stuffy, but worth the trip.

Noelle Holly

As a medical geek I truly enjoyed the museum. Might need to update some of the posters but all the artifacts are in great shape and displayed well.

Roshmi B

The lady at the front desk was incredibly rude. My friend took about 10 seconds looking for her student ID when she stated “we don’t have time; there are 8 people behind you.” There was actually a grand total of one person behind us. Maybe don’t hire someone with absolutely no people skills to sell tickets. Maybe someone who could count would be helpful too.

Joe Mama

Really fun interesting museum looking into surgical science I would definitely recommend going to check it out

Jacqueline Reyna

Very interesting content to look at, friendly staff and beautiful building

Eric Mathiasen

It's interesting, but just like American health care, it's overpriced for what it is.

Faith LaVoie

Fascinating, disturbing, worth it. It's the kind of place that will have you wondering, "why am I here again?" but coming continually to the conclusion that you don't care because it's cool as hell.

Jason Szczesniak

Great little museum in a beautiful former mansion lots of skulls and surgical equipment guides for the tour are well educated and knowledgeable tried useing the link on the facebook page and it lead us to a completely different place

Nasreen Moursi

This museum was interesting but just a little lacking. I love surgical and medicinal stuff, so seeing artifacts from earlier eras of medicine was cool and so was learning about the history of surgery. However, there were a few rooms that were clearly sponsored, as in they didn't have any artifacts. In those rooms, there was mostly large blocks of text about the history of some country's branch of the surgical organization that runs this museum. There were also too many large, amateur paintings of surgical historical figures. I wanted to learn about those people, but I'd rather see their work or their instruments along with a picture of them. I was expecting a science museum, but it was more like an art museum in that nothing was interactive. Everything was either reading text or looking at objects or paintings. I still learned a lot though, and had a nice time.

Propht Droid

Pretty neat, but I'm not sure that I'd spend $20 on it. Just not very big. Very specific demographic, but me and the other medical students I was with enjoyed ourselves.

Danielle C

You are missing out if you do not visit on a day where they have a special themed event. Had the time of my life during their war medicine day!! I'm not even a medicine or war history fan. Thank you to all of the volunteers that really made that experience and brought the old sciences to life!

Ricardo De Leon

Smaller scale Museum but very informative. Definitely a place to check out and support

Ety Anon

Visited on a whim during a quick trip to Chicago. As a medical history nerd (and big fan of the Sawbones podcast), it exceeded my expectations.

The eye of the guy

Neat place in a historical house.

Arlena Hay

I love museums like this. Human anatomy/medical science is a huge interest of mine. The only downside to this museum is the size - I wish it were a bit bigger and that there were a few more exhibits particularly with specimens.

andres lopez

Interesting museum and very interactive.

Chelsea Shurmantine

Cool place. Not graphic enough but the real skeleton and the massive collection of body stones is enough for five stars to me.

Natalie

Really nice extensive 4 story museum. A lot of themed spaces, dedicated to different specifications, as well as a lot of curated pieces. The tiny shop has cute finds as well (reasonably priced microbe plushies) Recommended.

Liz Barber

I really enjoyed the exhibits at this museum. They had great paintings, and artifacts, and paired them well with written text to help really bring to life the history of the museum. The staff was slightly aloof, however, and the building gives off a little bit of a creepy vibe. If you have any interest in surgical history or just want to kill an hour learning something new - this place is the place to be!

Doug van Dyke

I've lived in Chicago for over 25 years and didn't even know this place existed. My niece, a nursing student, came to visit and suggested we check out IMSS. It was fascinating! Don't be deceived by the outward appearance of size. This former home to Eleanor Robinson Countiss holds 4 floors of densely organized exhibits, including one about the history of the mansion and its former residents. Walking in I silently thought we would be there for an hour at the most. We left three hours later. The museum also makes known connections with another Chicago name, Dr. Max Thorek, who founded the International College of Surgeons with the museum's humble beginnings in the college's Hall of Fame. The history held here spans from ancient Egypt through to modern times. The exhibits are a bit old school with no real interactivity in the contemporary sense. But they are meticulously displayed, labeled, and maintained. Another significant surprise the the amount of *art* on display, from pencil drawings, to busts to larger-than-life sculptures, to wall-sized painting. Indeed, it makes sense as art -- particularly painting and drawing -- would have been the only way to depict surgical procedures prior to the ages of photography and video. All the art is breathtaking and surprisingly intimate. The gift shop is tiny -- a single, small room mostly taken up with a desk and some display cases. Nevertheless, the items for sale are clever and unique and will lighten your wallet significantly if you're not careful. This is a hidden gem in this city of excellent museums. Be sure to check out the museum's website where you'll find a lot of surprising information about the museum's art residency, NASA learning camps, internships, hosting events, alongside the usual info about exhibits, maps, etc. Whether you're into medicine and science or not, you'll find this a fascinating way to spend a couple hours on a weekend afternoon!

Courtney Breining

Great display of medical and surgical history, informative and intriguing. Thankful for our current state of surgical advances. Worth the stop. Self-guided tour of four stories of a former home that is laden with gorgeous marble floors, wrought iron stair cases and an admirable library.

Rob walsh

Ok, in full disclosure, I am a surgeon. But if you have any interest in the history of medicine, this place is fascinating. The paintings and sculptures just take up space, but the exhibits are great! The Wound Healing exhibit documents things used throughout the ages. The Blood Transfusion show equipment used over the 2 centuries, before it was even safe! The X-ray machines (Roentgenograms) are frightening as how little controlled this was just 50 years ago (when they used them to size shoes!). It is best approached by bus coming up Michigan ave or down LSD. No parking anywhere near!

Adrián de la Torre

Interesting compilation about medical tools and technics at the last century. The place is divided in 3 floors

Randy F

I was there in the early 1990s it was and I hope still is the best museum I have ever been to, even better then the Smithsonians.

T Zwerling

Fascinating museum. If you are looking for something off the beaten path and have an interest in the medical sciences, this place is for you.

Victoria Mack

I must say it is a very interesting museum, I really enjoyed myself!

Lonna Gordon

Excellent museum if you are a science nerd or in healthcare

Michael Marsh

One of the best hidden gems in Chicago. A must see for locals, and macabre tourists.

T

Wonderful little gem of a museum in a city with a million of them. You'll see things here that you won't find anywhere else.

Radu Mondescu

This is one of the truly hidden gems in Chicago - a very peculiar museum theme if not for some mildly disturbing :-) artifacts and stories ( check for ads of early uses of the x-rays) located in one of the architecturally meaningful old mansions along the Gold Coast. When in doubt the wonderfully helpful and extremely knowledgeable staff will clear-up your confusions!

Kimberly-Anne Jaco

Definitely an underrated experience in this busy Chicago neighborhood. We stumbled upon this museum while we got lost headed towards Navy Pier and we loved it! At the time, my brother was considering going into medicine, so it was really nice to explore the timeline and evolution of surgical medicine. It was really easy to navigate, didn't take a whole lot of time and was in a perfect location to keep the tourism momentum going!

Jennifer Pennington

The house and the Museum collection are both worth the visit. The house is a beautiful old mansion on the lake. The collection of medical and surgical devices and the stories they tell are so interesting. The docents were friendly and helpful. The building still has the original, working elevator, which I was able to use because I have trouble with the stairs. Don't forget to visit the gift shop!

Kara Mealer

$17 admission fee? No thanks. I was expecting better curated exhibits with plaques that were easier to read. I was also expected more interesting historical instruments, oddities...or something. The Mutter museum in Philadelphia is my gold standard for historical medicine museums. This place was not worth the price. It could be something so amazing though. Major disappointment.

Elaina Razo

I loved this museum - anyone with interest in medical history should visit. I learned some truly intriguing things and the building it is in is beautiful.

Belle Lopez

Apothecary with Life-like Pharmacist, AND Napoleon's Death Mask is a MUST see. A ride in the original house elevator is a MUST do. Inspiring bust of intellectual LOUIS LINK who became a wrestler to capitalize on his acromegaly. Inspiring room of tattoo designs after mastectomy. Some get a much desired breast size. Some get tattoos (my first knowledge). House is much more interesting than the entire museum. Need modernization. Learn from Barcelona's Museum of Hemp to properly integrate historical house and museum. Anybody can read about history these days.

Anjali Patel

I went there for a field trip. It was a pretty cool museum. In my opinion, there were some boring exhibits and there were interesting ones. This museum is not recommended if you are looking for something that is hands on. What disappointed me the most was that I was supposed to experience a live amputation. I thought it was going to be a video. But, it really turned out to be one of my classmates sitting in a chair while a lady took a plastic knife and motioned how the leg would have been amputated. Such a disappointment.

Jessica Goldin

An overlooked treasure among Chicago's mega museums, the Museum of Surgical Science is dedicated to medical history. It's in an elegant old Gold Coast house along Lake Shore Drive. There's no available parking, so that's a drawback. Checking out its interesting exhibits will take you about 2 hours.

Matias Carvajal

Great stroll awesome info

Gregory Heller

Cool museum covering history of medical sciences

Rayna Allinger

Cool, priced in line with the other museums in Chicago. I recommend taking public transit as there is no parking available.

Mustaque Ali

Very welcoming staff/volunteers.

Maya Davis

Interestingly unique museum. Conveniently located near CTA route 151. There were some areas where I would've like to have seen more detail. There was an area with paintings of what seemed to be people of Eastern Indian descent performing medical procedures...but no explanation on what was being depicted. I especially enjoyed the display of patent medicines; the things we will do for the "perfect cure." I was also astonished by the fish bowl of various gall stones! I also appreciated the sculpture of Nobel prize worthy woman of science & medicine...Marie Curie.

Louie Playford

Stopped as someone who works in EMS and enjoys the weird and morbid. Honestly, was woefully underwhelmed. It was quality, with some cool artifacts, but fair warning, definitely not worth the regular admission price. Try to go on a discount day or free day.

Ian Devine

Learn about medical history and the tools physicians used. A lot to read on printed pieces of paper taped to the walls. If you have an interest in anatomy or history you have to check out this place

Doug Hopkins

There is so much to see! You really need to devote half a day to truly see and read everything. If you're into medical things this is your place to go.

Christopher Fiske

Surprising enjoyable. Much larger than I expected. Anyone interested in either medicine or history will enjoy it.

kelly ann

If you are into medical science then you should visit this magnificent place. If you aren’t into medicine professionally then you still should visit it. From ancient times to today’s modern technologies....this museum covers many aspects of medical field, including old fashioned apothecary with life size pharmacist doll who’s about to prescribe you one of those XIX century medication.

Monica Galang

Definitely worth a visit. I am intrigued by vintage pharmacy products. I think I took 50 photos. I will return to see new exhibits.

Daniela Sommers-Dawson

Unfortunately, the two people working the front were extremely discourteous. Didn’t seem like they knew what they were doing. My friend and I came in closer to closing than we’d like so we were rushing and definitely didn’t want to be rude, and be sure to leave before five. However, the courtesy of just being professional and considerate wasn’t returned. Enjoyed the exhibits even in a short time. I will stress the importance of interpersonal skills and service as a curator/volunteer counts for a lot. It represents your site! It’s unfortunate to have one as such for this place.

Shaley Sogan

wow what a place , amazing exhibition

Shenika Chenault

Very nice place to gain historic information

Bevan Jenkins

Loved this museum. Well laid out, and there was a lot of informative placards to read about the collections. Definitely recommend visiting.

Malik Earl

Very good and informative if you have a wheel chair they might make you go up stairs that's what I had to do for a member of my party

Laila Metwali

Nothing, just some surgical tools.. U must be specialzed to follow..

Malia Nichols

Such a cool place! There's so much to see here and it's so unique! The location is right new downtown Chicago, which was perfect, and they have a great student discount! Highly recommend, and will definitely be back!

Anna Kaczmarek

I’m a doctor myself so I found it extremely interesting to learn a bit more about the history. The place is great !

Shida R

As a medical student, this was a great place for a study break or just to go back in time to appreciate how far we've come in western medicine. Also, so insight on eastern healthcare .

Bill Norman

Small but kind of cool to see surgery tools and techniques from the.past

Ben Beaumont

We saw a Civil War brain surgery reenactment, that was fantastic

Tim Disher

This was definitely a... quirky... museum. Although it was focused around surgery it still felt somewhat eclectic -- there was a room dedicated to eye wear and a few that were exhibits to seemingly random countries surgical history. Plus some odd modern art type stuff. It was still very interesting, and we had a great time! Maybe not the first choice of museum in Chicago, and not large enough to dedicate a full day to exploring, but if you're nearby and have any interest in the medical field, it's worth stopping in for an hour or two.

Rob williams

Got to see it during open house Chicago. Very interesting. Have always wanted to see it.

Angelica Gonzales

A cool little museum that while small is fill with as much information and history that they can place in there. They also home a number of old surgical books that are just too interesting to not think on what's in them. This place was also a home and the museum has images of what the rooms used to look like back when it was actually a home.

Brian R

Super interesting. Be warned, lots of stairs. Probably not great for little kids. A lot of reading and while I didn't feel like any of the exhibits were really graphic, I could see a couple being an issue. Loved that they acknowledged Nursings contributions.

Sarah Lee

Has so much interesting things! If you are more of a listener than a reader, I'd recommend taking the tour. Make sure to not miss the apothecary. It's a small building filled with great information with many tools and skeletons.

Darren Hron

Great little museum of surgical sciences. Cousins wedding here was fun.

Andrea Baldwin

Went with a senior group. Very informative

steven owinns

very interesting place in Chicago, worth checking it out! Probably won't impress any medical students but they have stuff historically used in medicine, like an actual iron lung!

Melanie Marie

Bigger than a thought. Very interesting information. Love the way it's all set up. Love that they put information about when it was a house.

Sy Guzman

Museum is well worth a visit but I will throw caution at anyone with a weak stomach. The old OB/GYN medical tools were sick! We've come a long way from devices that look to be more pain-inducing than pain-relieving! As far as parking, I parked at the Chicago History Museum Parking lot and walked across Lincoln Park to get to the Surgical Museum (about 10 minute walk). Show your school or military ID and get a discount on your ticket.

Catalin Olaru

Meh

Edward Sudzilovsky

I was hesitant because the reviews mention this is for experts. This is not true.

Maria K

Not exactly what I expected. Expensive and not very fun. Nice for people seeking solely history

Jess Watson

Nice place to learn some history, especially if it’s not so nice weather wise out. They have an app you can download to do your own self paced walking tour. Some of the exhibits were cooler than others, would appreciate a few more videos or narration of some of the exhibits as you complete the walking tour.