Wellcome Collection facts for kids
 |
|
 |
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Established | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Location | Euston Road London, NW1 United Kingdom |
| Type | Museum, library |
| Collections | history of medicine |
| Visitors | 550,000 per annum, as of 2013 |
| Founder | Henry Wellcome |
| Public transit access |  Euston Square Euston |
The Wellcome Collection is a free museum and library in London, England. It's a place where you can explore the connections between medicine, life, and art. The museum displays a mix of medical objects and artworks. It opened in 2007 and gets more than 550,000 visitors each year.
Inside, you can find modern and historical exhibits, the famous Wellcome Library, a café, and a bookshop. The Wellcome Collection also has a website with articles and pictures about health and medicine.
Contents
The Story of the Museum
The Wellcome Collection is part of a large charity called the Wellcome Trust. The charity was started by Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome (1853–1936). He was a world traveler who loved to collect items related to the history of medicine. He gathered a huge collection of books, paintings, and objects from all over the globe.
Before the current museum opened, there was an older Wellcome Historical Medical Museum on a different street. In 2004, the Wellcome Trust moved its main offices to a new building. This created space for a new public museum, which opened in June 2007.
In 2015, the museum was updated and expanded with more public spaces. Melanie Keen became the director of the Wellcome Collection in 2019.
Inside the Wellcome Collection
The Wellcome Library
The Wellcome Library is a special part of the museum. It holds a massive collection of books, old documents, films, and pictures. These items tell the story of medicine from ancient times to today.
The Reading Room
The Reading Room is a quiet space for visitors that was redesigned in 2015. It's a place where you can relax, read, and explore different objects and books from the collection.
The Hub
The Hub is a unique space on the 5th floor. It's a place where researchers, artists, and scientists can work together on projects. From 2014 to 2016, a group called Hubbub studied rest, noise, and work. Later, another group explored the connection between dementia and art.
Museum Galleries and Art
The collection is shown in several different galleries. The museum often changes its exhibits to show new things.
Being Human Gallery
Being Human is a permanent gallery that opened in 2019. It was designed with help from disabled artists and activists. This makes it one of the most accessible galleries in the world. It explores what it means to be human today.
The gallery is split into four sections:
- Genetics: How our DNA makes us who we are.
- Minds & Bodies: Exploring our thoughts and physical selves.
- Infection: How diseases spread and how we fight them.
- Environmental Breakdown: Our relationship with the planet.
The gallery features art by famous artists like Yinka Shonibare CBE and Kia LaBeija.
Past Exhibitions
For 15 years, the museum had a gallery called Medicine Man. It showed a small part of Henry Wellcome's huge collection. The exhibit closed in 2022. The museum wanted to update its displays to be more respectful and modern in how it presents different cultures and histories.
The main exhibition space changes regularly. It has shown works by many artists. In 2024, an exhibition called Hard Graft: Work, Health and Rights featured art about the challenges workers face.
Art in Public Spaces
When you walk through the building, you can often see amazing artworks. These have included a piece by Pablo Picasso and a sculpture by Anthony Gormley. The collection also has over 17,000 "magic-medical" amulets and charms that Henry Wellcome collected on his travels.
The Wellcome Collection is also working to put its collections online. It has made millions of images from its books, art, and videos available for free on its website.
