Bailliewick News- Welcoming New Science of Orthopedics
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BaillieThe January 2008 wick Volume 11, Issue 1 Health Care History in your Home! Page 2 The launch of four online exhibits By Dr. Jim Low, Executive Director and Gjennifer Snider, Museum Manager Museum Highlights In visiting the Museum’s Page 3 website since December, you Executive Director’s may have noticed a new addi- tion. Now available for the Message scholarly and curious alike, we are pleased to offer medical history topics in your home, Page 4 office or classroom through Curatorial Corner our new web feature, Online Exhibits! Funded by the Ontario Page 5 Trillium Foundation, these Museum Events exhibits were created to be ac- cessible and of interest to a di- versely aged audience - sure to intrigue and inspire students, Page 6 professionals, historians and Education Edge researchers alike. MHC Online Exhibits splash page graphics Joint Replacement - echoing the “Joint Page 7 Ventures” exhibit in the Ann Baillie Build- This interactive online version of our ing, this exhibit focuses on the history and popular feature in The Bailliewick news- Welcoming New science of orthopedics. Insight is provided letter provides insight into a few of the & Saying Thanks into the long history of research required interesting artefacts in the Museum’s col- to develop the procedures that contrib- lection. ute greatly to the quality of life for so many Page 8 today. The Museum continues to develop pro- grams to inspire a diverse national audi- Angel Programme Death in a Glass - exploring the history ence, increase geographic delivery of pro- and science of waterborne infections, this grams, and expand youth programming. exhibit has educational implication on Our new online exhibits join the two Vir- ways to better protect our water sources. tual Museum of Canada exhibits currently It is also designed to complement one of on our website: “The Power of Plants” and our outreach programs available for “Athena’s Heirs”. Our new additions cre- schools. ate a virtual component of the Museum that we think increases the relevance of Reading the Trade Cards - offers insight the website experience for the visitor. into the development of mass trade-card advertising for health and healthcare prod- Thanks go to Project Coordinator/In- terpretative Planner, Kathryn Pankowski, Museum of Health Care at Kingston ucts, and shows how advertisements re- flecting the values and attitudes of the late commissioned to work with Museum 32 George Street, Ann Baillie Building Curator Paul Robertson and Education Kingston ON K7L 2V7 Victorian era can provide insight into medical product advertising today. This Coordinator Marjorie Bousfield on this project. Thanks also to iSTORM New Winter Hours: exhibit resonates with the “Potions, Pills Media who also worked on the develop- Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 4pm. & Prescriptions: Remedies in 1900” mu- ment of these programs, including project Summer Hours: seum gallery exhibition. Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm design for content, and design and crea- Name That Artefact – a fun and engag- tion of the site. ing way to learn about healthcare history. All Museum images credited Soodabeh Salehi and Irina Skvortsova 1 Museum Highlights Artefacts of stature migrate to an offsite location in Project Move By Irina Skvortsova, Curatorial Assistant (Summer/Fall 2007) On a typical visit to the Museum of Heath Care one gets to glimpse only a small fraction of the artefacts in Museum’s collection; the remaining thousands are tucked away in storage rooms and sprin- kled around the rest of the building. A steady flow of medical artefacts and curi- osities trickle into the Museum each year, shrinking the limited space there is left. In hopes of creating the most advanta- geous use of existing space for storage and more public areas in the Museum, the curatorial staff embarked on a major PROJECT MOVE this past summer, the aim of which has been to transfer big, heavy, bulky artefacts to an offsite stor- age. PROJECT MOVE went into high gear torial department to ensure the safety of from the penthouse of the Kingston Gen- in July 2007. Artefacts of substantial size each object as it left the building. The long eral Hospital Angada Wing, one with ma- were selected, catalogued, photographed, awaited elevator came to life in Septem- chine dating from 1937 was built at the cleaned and prepped for the move. On the ber, in time to help with the second move. Toronto Sick Kids hospital, while the list were items such as early twentieth After some rearranging and readjusting at other was a 1950s Drinker-Collins model. century dental chairs, anaesthesia ma- the warehouse, the artefacts finally fit Both machines were used at Kingston chines, electrotherapy apparatuses and snugly into their new respective spots. General Hospital. our recent pride and joy, two iron lungs. There were many highlights in the With the PROJECT MOVE now being An offsite climate-controlled ware- whole process, however, one that stands in its final, wrap up stages, the Museum house is the selected new home for large out was the ‘unearthing’ of the Ann already has more breathing space. Stor- artefacts. The placement of shelves was Baillie’s original entrance doors to the age rooms have been cleared considerably, strategically planned to optimise space 1927 addition that was demolished in the making them ready to accommodate more usage and yet make the artefacts easily early 1990s, found in the depths of King- items, and the first floor public space has accessible to museum staff. Bays of shelves ston General Hospital. The peak-arched gained more room for new upcoming edu- were installed, painted and numbered. windows in the overdoor together with cation programs and exhibits. We are the grandiose door size are quite unique looking forward to the expansion of our About a hundred items were transferred and stand as a relic of the old Ann Baillie first floor public area and previously do- in two moves in August and in October. Building. It was also with some trepida- nated items can now be catalogued as they A professional moving company was hired tion and excitement that we moved the have a new storage space to call home. and was under the guidance of the cura- two iron lungs offsite. Recently rescued The Museum Cuts a Rug! In case you haven’t visited lately you should know that the Museum’s main floor and John Dodds Conference Room have received a flooring make-over! With carpeting donated from Kingston General Hospital, the facelift has brought about a refreshed look to our visitor areas. We all look for- ward to continuing to refurbish the Ann Baillie building in the coming years, and expanding our services as space be- comes available. 2 Museum of Health Care - The Bailliewick, January, 2008 Another Step Forward Executive Director’s Message By Dr. James Low, Executive Director In 2005, Phase 1 of the be accessed, with a few restoration and renova- improvements yet to be tion of the Ann Baillie made. The elevator is also Building was a vision. a valuable addition in the Today that vision is a re- operation of the Mu- ality. 2006 saw the com- seum, as staff can now pletion of the restoration move artefacts and equip- of the foundations, the ment easily and safely be- construction of the stair- tween the storerooms on well and elevator tower of level 0 to the public ar- the east side of the build- eas on level 1 and cura- ing and the restoration torial areas on level 2. Tom Wightman and David Page (left to right) and renovation of level 0 development was also highlighted by the to create environmentally The opening of the el- attendance of Barry Kaplan, Accessibility controlled storerooms to evator was formally held Project Coordinator for the City of King- assure the preservation of on October 5. As instal- ston, and Mike Murphy, Executive Direc- health care artifacts for lation was made possible tor of the Independent Living Centre future generations. The by a grant from the Cul- Kingston who spoke to the importance of installation of the Thyssen Krupp eleva- tural Spaces program of the Department providing access to the disabled. tor in the elevator tower was completed of Canadian Heritage and the generosity in the summer of 2007. of donors including the Leroy and Lillian Page Foundation and the Anna and The installation of the elevator provides Edward C. Churchill Foundation, repre- access to the Museum for the physically sentatives were in attendance. The ribbon challenged and improves the functional- cutting to initiate elevator service was ity of the building as a museum. Access performed by Dorothy Neil on behalf of for the physically challenged is important Don Neil our first Board Chair and June for all cultural resources but particularly Buckingham in recognition of Ken Buck- relevant in a Museum of Health Care. ingham of the Churchill Foundation. These visitors can now enter the Museum Speakers at the reception included Alan through the tower door and reach all three Grant on behalf of the Museum, Tom floors by elevator. Several visitors in mo- Wightman on behalf of the Churchill torized wheelchairs have demonstrated Foundation and David Page on behalf of that all public and administrative areas can Page Foundation. The significance of this Guests Brenda Lewis (in front) and Ryan Taylor (in black) Our Annual Holiday Celebration! We expanded our holiday volunteer and staff appreciation event to include those donors who made particularly important investments in the Museum this year (and we dressed up for the occasion, outfitting in festive garland, ornaments, and a curious Christmas tree filled with artefact decorations and an enema syringe in place of a star!).