“A Heart to Heart About Your Body”
In the Old Town is a one-of-a-kind exhibition about the human body and mind. Each of the museum’s rooms provides insight into various topics – from evolution to medical history, from conception to death, from sexuality to addictions, while exploring our very being both on a cellular and social level. The interactive exhibits offer inspiration to guests of all ages. For added realism, plastinates – actual modern mummies – are showcased to display the insides of a real human body. All this while not forgetting our individual and cultural complexities, history and personal experiences.
The idea to establish a health museum came from the Union of the Medical Societies of Estonia. Professor Aleksander Rammul, the Head of the Health Care Institute of the University of Tartu, raised the question about the need for such a museum. A medical exhibition staged at the 1st Congress of Estonian Medical Professionals (held in November-December 1921) gave the direct impetus to act when it was decided to preserve some of the exhibits for the future museum. Tartu was selected as the location of the new museum. On 22 November 1922, the working group on the Health Museum was established. The members of the working group were Professor Aleksander Rammul, Professor Aleksander Paldrock, Assistant Professor John Blumberg, Dr. O. Tomberg, Dr. G. Kroll; Stud. Med. Voldemar Sumberg was elected the secretary of the working group.
Health museums are not just depositories of antiquities and historical artefacts
They are educational institutions aiming to educate people about health care issues through illustrative and captivating exhibits, while firmly grounded in the requirements of real life and scientific achievements.
