College of Arts and Sciences

Made in Cleveland:The Kay-Cross oxygenator and the history of heart-lung machines Join historian and curator Amanda L. Mahoney, PhD, RN to learn more about the Kay-Cross Oxygenator, the history of heart-lung machines, and the important role Cleveland played in the history of cardiac surgery during the mid-20th century. This free event will be held in the Ford Auditorium, Allen Memorial Medical Library, 11000 Euclid Avenue. The Dittrick Museum's Kay-Cross Oxygenator will be on exhibit along with other heart-lung machine technologies in our newly-reopened museum gallery! More details are available on our events page. Hope to see you there! Register for this free...

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Check out our newest mini-exhibit, What's new (and old) at the Dittrick? Portable lab kits and testing devices! Did you know that the Dittrick displays two recurring mini-exhibit series on the second floor of the Allen Memorial Medical Library? What's New (and Old) at the Dittrick? displays modern medical devices alongside their technological ancestors. The other, At the Dittrick, we're exploring..., presents new themes and ideas we're developing for larger exhibits, events, and research projects. Our most recent mini-exhibit includes some rarely displayed hemoglobinometers and other testing equipment from the 20th (and 21st!) century. Click here to see the online version of...

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The Dittrick Medical History Center is sad to announce that donor and longtime friend of the museum, Percy Skuy has passed away. Our retired chief curator, Jim Edmonson, worked with Mr. Skuy to bring the Skuy History of Contraception collection to the Dittrick, creating a decades-long partnership with the museum. Mr. Skuy also generously created a history of contraception lecture series and actively engaged with the museum and University to support new research and scholarship based on the collection. Dr. Edmonson has graciously shared the following essay, which chronicles how Mr. Skuy came to have such an impact on...

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For our recent "exhibit in process," At the Dittrick, we're exploring...disposables, Dittrick Chief Curator Amanda Mahoney had a difficult time narrowing down artifacts to include in the display. We’ve asked her to share a behind-the-scenes peek at the exhibit process and discuss why some really interesting objects were ultimately excluded from the exhibit. You can view the virtual version of the completed exhibit HERE. Read on to learn more about the artifacts that didn't make the final cut! Curator Conundrum: Editing Exhibits We’ve been experimenting with informal “mini exhibits” at the Dittrick as a way to put more of our collections...

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