Online database to increase collections access

Collection of vascularized wet specimens in climate-controlled storage at the Mütter Museum, Philadelphia PA. Photo courtesy of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

Recipient

Grant Year 2021

Grant Amount $360,000

Status Active

Updated May 30, 2023

The development of a user-friendly online catalogue will widen access to the Mütter Museum’s medical history collection for museum audiences, artists, and researchers in Philadelphia and around the world. The digital database will help address the museum’s limited physical capacity by offering images of and information on 15,000 specimens and objects, greatly increasing what can be displayed beyond the gallery spaces. This new collection management software will help staff develop timely programs that explore current health events through a historical and social lens.

The total grant amount represents project funding plus an additional 20% in unrestricted general operating support.

Recipient

The College of Physicians/Mütter Museum

The Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia encourages the public to appreciate the mysteries and beauty of the human body while understanding the history of diagnosis and treatment of disease. The Museum displays its preserved collections of anatomical specimens, models, and medical instruments in a 19th-century "cabinet museum" setting. In addition to long-term displays, museum staff organize short-term exhibitions and commission artists to make work inspired by museum holdings.

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