diary of events

2013

The museum displays human remains which some people may find unsettling. The recommended age is 10+, although we do have younger visitors; under 16s must be accompanied by an adult. If you would like advice on the nature of the exhibitions, please contact us.

Go to Tours & Regular Events

11th from 12:30-3:30 & 13th Feb from 1-4pm: Portraits of Putrefaction

Drawing inspiration from Leonardo Da Vinci, Glenys Barton and David Bailey's representations of heads and faces, these drop in tutored sketching workshops will take you beyond expected representations of anatomy. This class will be led by Artist Jane Weatherly in the Pathology Museum,
suitable for all visitors: turn up on the day or book online

14 &15th Feb, 12:30-1pm & 2:30-3pm: Disease in Focus

tutored Microscope workshops, which will allow you to investigate different diseases, examine histology slides and take a closer look at cells and tissue.
suitable for all visitors: turn up on the day or book online

* workshop cost included in your £5/3 Museum ticket; 2 for 1 offer available: attend Portraits of Putrefaction and Disease in Focus for the price of 1 £3/5 (family ticket £15 for up to 2 adults and 3 children)

12th February at 7:00pm : Blackwell’s Event

William Dalrymple: Return of a King

Don't miss the opportunity to meet historian William Dalrymple as he speaks about his new book The Return of a King, a history of the first Afghan War.

In the spring of 1839, the British invaded Afghanistan for the first time. Led by lancers in scarlet cloaks and plumed shakos, nearly 20,000 British and East India Company troops poured through the high mountain passes and re-established on the throne Shah Shuja ul-Mulk. On the way in, the British faced little resistance. But after two years of occupation, the Afghan people rose in answer to the call for jihad and the country exploded into violent rebellion. The First Anglo-Afghan War ended in Britain's greatest military humiliation of the nineteenth century: an entire army of the then most powerful nation in the world ambushed in retreat and utterly routed by poorly equipped tribesmen.
Return of a King is the definitive analysis of the First Afghan War, told through the lives of unforgettable characters on all sides and using for the first time contemporary Afghan accounts of the conflict. Prize-winning and bestselling historian William Dalrymple's masterful retelling of Britain's greatest imperial disaster is a powerful and important parable of colonial ambition and cultural collision, folly and hubris, for our times.

This event is ticketed, and tickets are priced £6. Concession tickets of £5 are available for students, pupils and members of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS)

Ticket holders will receive a £5 discount on the book on the night (RRP £25).

Tickets can be purchased in person from the Front Desk on the Ground Floor of Blackwell's Bookshop or over the phone on 0131 622 8218.

On the evening, entrance will be via Nicolson Street

14th February, 6-8pm: Dissecting Edinburgh Launch Event

The Shadow of Syphilis

The first of Dissecting Edinburgh’s public reading events: trace the impact of ‘the pox’ on literature and medicine in Scotland from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries through the tales of Robert Henryson, Tobias Smollett, and Arthur Conan Doyle. The readings will be followed by a wine reception to celebrate the launch of the Dissecting Edinburgh project.

Enter via Nicolson Street

Free of charge, book online here

4th March, 6:15-8pm: International Women’s Day talks, with special guest Margo MacDonald MSP

The female malady? The relationship between madness, psychiatry and gender
Dr Gayle Davis University of Edinburgh
This talk will explore the relationship between madness, psychiatry and gender over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, using the Royal Edinburgh Asylum as a case study. It will outline the ways in which psychiatrists linked different types of mental illness to their male and – in particular – female patients, and what values lay behind those differing diagnoses. The talk will also consider why mental illness has been characterised historically as the ‘ female malady , and how accurate this characterisation appears to be within the context of Edinburgh psychiatry

Ms Chris Short, Surgeons’ Hall Museum

A Fair Field and No Favours: Three Edinburgh Surgeons who broke the Mould

Abstract to follow

Enter via Nicolson Street

Free of charge, book online here

7th March, 6-8 pm: Dissecting Edinburgh Event

Medical Women: Licence to Practice

Explore the changing perception of women in medicine during the nineteenth century, and learn about Edinburgh’s unique place in this history through the words of Sophia Jex-Blake, Olive Schreiner, and Arthur Conan Doyle.

The University of Edinburgh was the first UK university to open its doors to women studying medicine. Learn about the Edinburgh Seven, listen to the story of one of the UK’s first female doctors, Sophia Jex-Blake, and find out about Olive Schreiner’s experience training as a nurse here in Edinburgh. With additional readings from short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, this event will illustrate the changing roles for women in medicine during the nineteenth century, and Edinburgh’s unique place in the history of medical women.

Enter via Nicolson Street

Free of charge, book online here

25th Future Artists, 9am-5pm

The study of topographic anatomy and anatomy in dissection is seen as a core activity for artists. This unique workshop, with Artist George Donald, will allow you to study the mechanics of the body with a life model, and also to view the skeletal and muscular structures in dissection with a special tour of the Pathology Collections of Surgeons' Hall Museum. The class will begin at 9am with a special artist’s talk.

Suitable for age 10+

Enter via Nicolson Street

Cost: £12, book online here

27th March 12-4pm (drop in workshops): Future Healthcare

The Pathology Museum contains many samples of advanced diseases which are no longer prevalent in the UK today. These workshops will explore samples of historic diseases from the collection which could come back to haunt us! These workshops will runthroughout the day and look at objects not usually on public view.

Suitable for all visitors, please note these workshops will contain examples of human bone and tissue

Entry with £5/3 Museum ticket, pay on the day or book online here

28th March, 6-8 pm Dissecting Edinburgh Event: Bodies Inside and Out

Explore the experience of nineteenth century surgery from the perspective of both patients and doctors. Compare the experiences of Fanny Burney and W. E. Henley with the clinical notes and memoirs of pioneering surgeon Dr James Syme.

Please note that this event includes passages that describe surgery, some of which are more graphic than other readings: some attendees may find them disturbing.

Enter via Nicolson Street

Free of charge, book online here

28th March, 1-3pm: Future Surgeons

Are you a future surgeon or just curious to learn about surgical innovation, specialities? Join us for a special talk by Professor Gordon Mackay, Orthopaedic Surgeon and a special tour of the upper pathology gallery. Suggested age 12+

Enter via Nicolson Street

Free of charge, book online here

Friday 29th & Saturday 30th March

Live interpretation with Mr Alexander Barber

Mr Alexander Barber is back by popular demand with more tales from 19th century operating theatre. Learn about the experiences of an Edinburgh Surgeon at the birth of modern medicine. Mr Barber’s surgeries will run at 11am, 12pm, 1.30pm, 2.30pm & 3.30pm

No need to book, just turn up on the day

18th April, 6-8 pm: Dissecting Edinburgh Event
Body Snatchers, Sack-em-up Boys, and Resurrection Men

Discover how Burke and Hare captured the literary imaginations of Robert Louis Stevenson and Ian Rankin, and changed the face of medicine in the UK and around the world.

Enter via Nicolson Street

Free of charge book online here

May 4th, 11th, 18th & 25th from 1-3pm: Beautiful Books

Four tutored workshops making books inspired by the collections of Surgeons' Hall Museum with artist Susie Wilson.

Suitable for age 16+

Single classes £5/3 – book all four for £15/9, book online here

2nd May, 6-8pm, Dissecting Edinburgh Event

Writing Medicine in the City of Literature

Three Edinburgh-based writers, Nasim Marie Jafry, Alison Summers, and Tracey S. Rosenberg, share their own medically-inspi red stories, reading from their work and discussing how they approach illness from a creative and personal perspective.

Enter via Nicolson Street

Free of charge book online here

16th May 2013, 6-8pm: Dissecting Edinburgh Event

Literature and Medicine in the Scottish Capital

More info to follow soon

Enter via Nicolson Street

Free of charge, book online here

18th May: Denise Mina - Museums at Night Crime Lecture & Heritage Society Launch

On 18th May at 6pm, Scottish Crime Writer and Playwright Denise Mina will give a talk to celebrate the launch of the Heritage Society. Denise Mina’s first novel ‘Garnethill’ won the Crime Writers’ Associations John Creasy Dagger for the best first crime novel and was the start of a trilogy completed by 'Exile' and 'Resolution'. Since then, Denise has written plays, adapted text for graphic novels and published a considerable amount of novels, including the hugely popular series which followed journalist Paddy Meehan from the newsrooms of the early 1980s, through the momentous events of the nineteen nineties. Her latest novel, Gods and Beasts sees the return of another of her immensely popular characters, detective Alex Morrow. Denise also has a background in healthcare and criminology and is a former teacher of criminology and criminal law. On the 18th, Denise will be talking about her writing and how her background in criminology has influenced the creation of her characters and text.

Enter via Nicolson Street

Free of charge book online here

20th May, 2:30-4pm: Enhancing the Human Body

Family friendly guided tour and event

Family-friendly guided tour of the 'Human Body Trail' which links the Surgeons' Halls exhibits to key debates about medicine, ethics and society, followed by a set of activities aiming to prompt discussion between family members about the future of the human body. The discussion and drawing activity will reflect on the future of the human body, imagining what improvements we might like, and whether science can make these possible. Would we like to be taller, stronger, more intelligent? Could we have superpowers? Or what about traits that other animals have - like seeing in the dark or being able to live underwater?

Free with £5/3 museum ticket book online here

2nd August, 6pm: Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man, a public lecture by Prof Peter Abrahams

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest anatomists ever to have lived. He personally dissected more than thirty human corpses to explore every aspect of anatomy and physiology, and recorded his findings in drawings of unparalleled beauty and lucidity. Had he published his researches, Leonardo would have transformed European knowledge of the human body. Sadly at his death his studies remained unpublished and among his personal papers, and were almost unknown (unseen) until around 1900.

Professor Peter Abrahams , Clinical Anatomist from Warwick Medical school and long-time examiner for RCS Edinburgh will show how many new concepts in anatomical artistic design were unique to Leonardo’s work and how these concepts and ideas have now developed into many modalities of modern medical images.

This talk will celebrate the opening of Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man at

The Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse

Enter via Nicolson Street

Free of charge book online here

15th August: The Artist’s Book

A day workshop drawing inspiration from the amazing collection of books kept in the Library at Surgeons' Hall. Books of anatomy were often called atlases and this workshop will show how to make a book structure originally used for maps. After viewing some of the rare and beautiful books on display, the rest of the day will be spent drawing and printing from the museum itself. The images made will be used as the pages for a unique and personal book.

The class will be led by Susie Wilson.
£13 per ticket: please book here
Under 12s must be accompanied by an adult

16th August: Exposed Spines: French Stitch

A new bookbinding class for 2013, involving beautiful and intricate sewing along the spine.This day will also include a viewing of the rare and beautiful books from the College Archives.

The class will be led by Susie Wilson.

£16 per ticket: please book here
Age 16+

2nd September, 6:30-8pm: Body Bits: Social and Ethical

Guided tour for adults and teenagers

Guided tour of the ‘Human Body Trail’ which links the Surgeons' Halls exhibits to the debates around the social and ethical aspects of using human body parts in biomedicine, followed by a discussion/activity on the ethics of donating biomaterials for medical and scientific use. This activity for teenagers and adults reflects on the ethics of donating different types of bodily materials - questioning whether there is a moral obligation to donate in some cases - and thinking about what this might imply for policy.

Free event: please book here

October 5th, 12th, 19th & 26th from 1-3pm: Medical Notes

Four art workshops with Artist Susie Wilson making journals and diaries inspired by the museum collections

Suitable for age 16+

Single classes £5/3 – book all four for £15/9, book online here

11th November, 6pm: The Remembrance Day Talk: Dr Emily Mayhew, Wounded: From Battlefield to Blighty, 1914-1918

Join us for a special lecture and book signing with author Dr Emily Mayhew. Her new publication (Sep 2013) Wounded: From Battlefield to Blighty traces a journey made by a casualty from the battlefield of the Western Front to a hospital in Britain. It is a story told through the testimony of those who cared for him – stretcher bearers and medical officers, surgeons and chaplains, often mentally and physically unprepared and frequently on the verge of collapse nurses – from the aid post in the trenches to the casualty clearing station and the ambulance train back to Blighty. We feel the calloused hands of the stretcher-bearers; we see the bloody dressings and bandages; we smell the nauseating gangrene and, at London’s stations, the gas clinging to the uniforms of the men arriving home. There are the unspeakable injuries: the officer with a hole in his torso so big the doctor can see the sky beyond him; a man with no legs holding a hymnbook for a man with no arms. Together, the experiences in Wounded encapsulate what it was to fight, live and die for four long years at the Western Front. Wounded is a homage to the courageous and determined men and women who saved hundreds of thousands of lives, and an important contribution to our understanding of the First World War.

Free of charge book online here

30th November, 6pm: St Andrew’s Day lecture with special guest Geoff Palmer

Details to follow soon

Tours and Regular Events - starting in May

Our team of volunteers give regular tours of the galleries and workshops which focus on objects not usually on display. These tours and workshops run throughout the week and will be advertised in the Museum, if you want to check what is on, please call 0131 527 1711 on the day of your visit.

The Real Sherlock Holmes tour
The Skeletal System workshop
Knox, Burke and Hare tour
Mystery object drop in workshops
Exploring Illness through the ages
Live interpretation: Meet Agnes Lister
Upper gallery tours

Tours and Education Visits: Available all year
Specially tailored Private tours for groups between 10-20 and Education visits can be arranged by request.

Highlight tours run every Wednesday from 2-2:45pm, there is no need to book for these tours!

Dissecting Edinburgh Guided Tours: 15 February to 10 May
Dissecting Edinburgh will run weekly tours of Surgeon’s Hall Museum on Fridays at 12 &3pm. See Edinburgh’s medical past as you’ve never seen it before: through the pens of some of Scotland’s most treasured writers. There is no need to book for these tours, just turn up on the day.