Education at the Dittrick Museum of Medical History, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, Usa

Abstract

The Dittrick Museum of Medical History pursues an educational mission as being part of a major research university. While the Dittrick dates to 1899 as a historical committee of the Cleveland Medical Library Association, it first affiliated with Case Western Reserve University in 1966, and became  a department of the College of Arts and Sciences of CWRU in 1998. The Dittrick maintains a museum exhibition gallery that is open to the public free of charge, and museum staff provide guided tours on appointment. Much of the teaching and instruction at the Dittrick is conducted by university professors; their classes meet in the museum and use museum resources in the form of artifacts, images, archives, and rare books. Class projects using Dittrick collections may take the form of research papers, exhibitions, and online presentations. Dittrick staff assist in these classes and are available to help researchers use museum resources.