International Museum of Surgical Science

1524 N Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60610, USA

Address:	1524 N Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60610, USA
Phone:	+1 312-642-6502
Site:	imss.org
Rating:	4.5
Working:	Closed 10AM–4PM 10AM–4PM 10AM–4PM 10AM–4PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 14

Matt Uhlman

This place was awesome and a great place to hit up for anyone interested in the history of medicine. We came over after reading about the place on Yelp and loved the experience! Im actually kind of baffled with how anyone who has any interest in medicine could not love this place! A cool 15 bones to enter is totally worth you time. Youre greeted at a little gift shop where plush organs and hilarious anatomy themed lapel pins are at your fingertips! We got one for my dentist sister that had gansta teeth saying "Flossin isnt just for rappers"...Classic But onto, the museum. Four total floors of surgical history bliss are at your beck and call. The old school apothecary model room was pretty sweet and gave a glimpse into all the garbage that people were sold for a long time. The Hall of Immortal and Hall of Murals were two of the coolest rooms Ive ever been in. Life size marble statues of medical greats was like being in a Lord of the Rings scene for this Urology resident! The hall of murals had some incredible art and was just plain awesome. The stone exhibit was great and there were a dozen or so rooms with a broad range of historical exhibits that we found fascinating. Not a great place to come with young kids and easy to get through in 60-90 minutes. One of the cooler places weve seen and one medical peeps will love!

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.

Wesley Davidson

My interest in medical/surgical history compelled me to go here, but I expected it would be a one-time visit since most of the collection stayed the same and it didnt have a huge footprint like many of the other Chicago museums. The visiting exhibits and the depth of information to explore has kept me coming back again and again. Im always recommending this spot to people and realizing they didnt even know it existed. I hope interest in this spot grows so that it stays an important part of Chicago, particularly along Lake Shore Drive where overly touristy spots can be the norm.

Caitlin C. Meeter

Its an okay museum. Not nearly as horny as youd want it to be,but has some fascinating old tools,some Florence Nightengale stuff. The old apothecary set up is rather interesting, to see what they used to hand to people as medicine. The house itself is fascinating and formerly owned by a Chicago socialite (she did nothing for her money). The gift store has some cool stuff- cute organ plushies, fancy cuff links, not the usual array of gift store garbage. Worth a visit on a lazy afternoon.

Christina Hernandez

Love the museum! But has anyone had a paranormal experience there? On the third floor when I was in the bathroom, I locked both and bottom locks on the inside of the womens bathroom and as I washing my hands the doors a jarred open...with upper lach out in lock position and bottom lock still in lock position. It was so bizarre. I even had my boyfriend open the door to teat out if it was possible to open it while locked. No. Just curious. Museum is great either way.

Shelby Benedick

I came here on a school trip and cant wait to return here again to explore some more. Its a very interesting place, mostly for those interested in the history of medicine, but still an interesting place overall. The staff was friendly and well-educated about everything that we asked them. The location is great, and the view of the beach is amazing. The threw hour drive from Indiana was worth it. (Also, did anyone else get ghostly vibes from the building?)

Ethan

Very interesting little museum! Like others have said, there is a lot of reading but that brings depth and understanding to the whole experience. Its amazing to see how far weve come with the advancement of medicine and surgical science. Walking around the few floors of this museum made me feel thankful for the doctors and scientist who dedicated their lives to medical research so we all could live happier healthier lives.

Mark Takesuye

Four stories tall, filled with history of surgery. There is a creepy art gallery on the top floor and a study area on the third. Admission is reasonable, and it takes about 2 hours to see everything. This is not like the Mutter Museum or the Museum of death - youre not going to see bodies or gore, just instrumentation and medical advances as far back as the Egyptians. I would highly recommend this to pre-medical students.

Jil Lillich

Make sure you download the app when walking around the house. It knows which room you are standing in & gives you fun facts along the way! As a Dental Hygienist, I was most interested in the dental exhibit, but it turned out to be very underwhelming, just a small window to look into. LOVED apothecary exhibit! I have friends in all sorts of medical fields and loved sending them pictures of where their profession started.

Jessica Rauseo

This place was pretty awesome! LOTS of stuff to read so make sure you are prepared to stay for awhile. You learn and experience more the more you read. Interesting and educational displays, lots of history to learn, really cool collection of antique medical equipment like an iron lung, old surgical kits, original X-Ray machine, etc. Artist in residence room is a really cool touch. Highly recommend.

Angie Venturi

I cant say enough good things about this museum! I loved all the artifacts and displays and will be going back for sure. There is so much to see and learn. Apple users, there is an app you can download to give you more information about the house, family who lived there, and the displays. Android users, the app isnt in the play store, but they have iPhones at the front desk that you can borrow!

Melissa Sanchez

Awesome! There are four floors within this museum - the top 3 have informative readings on the walls as well as instruments that was used back in the day. Really large building that seems more like a mansion than a museum in terms of the feel inside of the place. Beautiful furnishings inside. I loved my time here, especially since i love the uniqueness of the place.

lena mallard

4 floors! Very interesting. Though the parking is non-existant. I didnt even try parking close to the buildin. I just drove around aimlessly looking for public parking. The closest one is a valet parking. The museum also offers some contemporary art installations. If Id ask for one thing Id hope to see some actual human cadavers and more information on that.

Maddy Osman

In a category all its own is the International Museum of Surgical Science (a division of the International College of Surgeons). Although it might sound like the setting of a horror film, it is packed with a lot of cool exhibits that change frequently. Not to give away any spoilers, but expect quite a few, uh, unique examinations of the human body.