My younger siblings used to despise going to museums on family vacations. Me, however? That was all I wanted to do. Forget about going to the beach - take me to the International Spy Museum, the House on the Rock, or any art museum you can find. When I started traveling on my own, I developed a great system: make one wish list for food and one wish list for museums of all kind. Obviously, in Chicago, my top priority was to spend an afternoon strolling through the Art Institute, but my boyfriend had something else in mind: the International Museum of Surgical Science.
I kind of dreaded this visit. Any drop of medical anything gets me feeling queasy within seconds, and I try not to think too hard about all the organs and veins and joints wiggling around inside me. I begrudgingly agreed to go because I figured I'd still enjoy seeing the hundred-year-old mansion the museum is housed in.
The final verdict...I really enjoyed this museum! I may not have been looking forward to it on the L, but I found it to be surprisingly elegant. Gone were the imagined visuals of bloody tools and uncensored photos. Instead, I read about notable figures in the medical field, I compared medical device designs, and I learned how the standards for sanitation and privacy have changed in even the past few decades. And, as I had expected, the house was beautiful and I loved peering around the stately wooden bookshelves into each next echoing room. The IMSS is now on my list of recommendations whenever I hear of someone planning a trip to the Windy City.
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