IEM History Museum

Museum of the history of IEM was opened on the eve of the centenary jubilee of the Institute in 1990. The plan and exposition of the museum were designed by K. A. Lange and Yury P.Golikov. The exposition demonstrates the history of creation and activities of all scientific departments. A hundred years is a long time for one institution, so the periodization of the formation and development of IEM was used which is closely connected with the history of the country. The first period covers the time from the creation of IEM in 1890 and up to the end of 1917. The period from 1918 till 1944 was completed by organization of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences. The last period describes the development of the Institute in the second half of the XX century, and a special part of it is devoted to the beginning of perestroika in the country.

The exposition includes relics, paintings, sculptures and drawings, personal instruments, devices and models of installations, copies of documents, letters, photos of the workers, schemes and diagrams, original articles and monographs, copies of diplomas and rewards. There are materials demonstrating connection of medicine and biology with principal progress in adjacent fields of science, their mutual influence and interaction. The museum has three memorial rooms of academicians I. P. Pavlov, S. V. Anichkov and K. M. Bykov.

Teaching students the history of science in educational institutions of Petersburg, as a rule, includes only a brief course (1-3 lectures) within the frames of the subject studied. So visits to the Museum of IEM and acquaintance with its exposition is an important supplement to the scanty course and gives the students a possibility for a rather short time of excursions to learn the formation and development of main investigations in biology and medicine for more than a century and to see through the prism of medico-biological investigations the connections of certain social and political events with the development of works in the field of theory and practice of medicine and biology. The museum of the history of IEM became not only the center of historic investigations, scientific popularization and education, but also a peculiar school of biological and medical knowledge. The exposition of the museum is unique. The excursion topics cover the history of IEM, history of the "Russian" Oldenburgskys and problems whose development is in progress in the departments of IEM at the present time.