Exhibits Overview

The DeWitt Stetten Jr. Museum of Medical Research, preserves and interprets the material culture of the scientific work of the NIH. Through onsite and online exhibits, the Stetten Museum brings these materials to life to inform the public of the breadth and significance of research performed at the NIH, the world's largest research entity dedicated to biomedical and behavioral research and training.

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The AMINCO-Bowman Spectrophotofluorometer

Joseph Goldberger & the War on Pellagra

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In the 1950s, the NIH's Dr. Robert Bowman developed a sensitive instrument called the spectrophotofluorometer, or “SPF”, that allowed scientists to use fluorescence as a way to identify and measure tiny amounts of substances in the body.  This exhibit explores the instrument and its use in scientific studies ranging from anti-depressant medication to AIDS research and the Human Genome Project.

Dr. Joseph Goldberger discovered the cause of pellagra, a disease that killed many poor Southerners in the early part of the 20th century.  His finding that pellagra was caused by a diet deficient in vitamin B was met by political and social resistance.

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Building 1

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A Thin Blue Line: The History of the Pregnancy Test Kit

Margaret Pittman

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Margaret Pittman arrived at NIH in 1936, beginning a career that would span 57 years and make her an internationally renowned expert on vaccines and serums, as well as the first female laboratory chief at the NIH.

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Building 60This looks at the history of the home pregnancy test and examines its place in our culture. Research that led to a sensitive, accurate pregnancy test was done by scientists in the Reproductive Research Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health.

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NIBIB: Improving Health Through Emerging Technologies

Changing Times

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This exhibit places some examples of cutting-edge research, funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, in historical context. The virtual exhibit is under construction but you can visit the NIBIB Emerging Technology Exhibit in person in Building 31.

Who would think that coloring books would provide a glimpse at nearly 40 years of Clinical Center history, each reflecting changing times and telling their own stories about the people who created them?

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Building 10

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Innovation and Invention: NIH and Prosthetic Heart Valves

Pretty Patches

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Because employees designed these patches, they reveal how people thought about their work at the Clinical Center—sometimes as a heroic struggle and sometimes with humor.

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Building 10, 1st floor, near the hospitality desk.

This exhibition describes the discoveries that led to the heart-lung machine and open heart surgery, the number of experimental replacement valves that were invented and implanted, the role that NIH played in the 1960s and 70s in developing and testing these medical devices, and the public safety and regulatory responsibilities that were entrusted to the FDA.

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Cray X-MP/22 Computer

Microscopes

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Learn about the scientists behind their microscopes and the vasy array of microscopes used at the NIH.

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Building 10NIH's first supercomputer, the Cray X-MP/22, was the world's fastest supercomputer from 1983-1986, and the first one devoted solely to biomedical research. Both the physical and virtual exhibits are under development, but you can still see the Cray at its exhibit site located in Building 50.

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Siemens 1-A Electron Microscope

The AMINCO-Bowman Spectrophotofluorometer

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This Siemens 1-A Electron Microscope was used for over three decades by Dr. Albert Kapikian, NIAID. The instrument was used to detect and characterize various viruses.

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The colorful glow of fluorescent chemicals can identify and measure tiny amounts of substances in the body in the spectrophotofluorometer invented by Robert Bowman.

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Varian A-60 NMR

A Thin Blue Line: The History of the Pregnancy Test Kit

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This exhibition describes the Varian A-60 NMRDiscover the history of the home pregnancy test—developed at the NIH—and examine its place in our culture.

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Early Computing at the NIH

Siemens 1-A Electron Microscope

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This snapshot of some of the computing tools used in NIH labs highlights objects that are now in the NIH Stetten Museum collectionAll sorts of viruses were visualized for the first time on this Siemens 1-A Electron Microscope used by Albert Kapikian.

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Early Medical Instruments at the NIH

Varian A-60 NMR

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A cross section of precision instruments used at NIH between 1945 and 1965 is presented.

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The Varian A-60 NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectrometer was the first low-cost instrument of its kind, producing a magnetic resonance image (MRI) that NIH scientists used to study topics such as how the brain develops as children grow.

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Equal Arm Analytical Balances

Early Computing at the NIH

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This type of balance is designed on a “seesaw” principle to measure mass precisely by placing a sample in one pan and a known weight in an opposing pan until an equilibrium was establishedsnapshot of some of the computing tools used in NIH labs highlights objects that are now in the NIH Stetten Museum collection.

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Laboratory Instrument Computer (LINC)

Early Medical Instruments at the NIH

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The story of one of the first supercomputers from its conception in MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, through its use in biomedical research laboratoriesSee a cross-section of precision instruments from our collection used at NIH between 1945 and 1965.

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Equal Arm Analytical Balances

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Discover one of the most important tools in furthering our understanding of human biology and medicine dating back to 5,000 B.C.