Pacemaker

 Side by side, two variants of the same device. The autosal is a laboratory instrument used by oceanographers in the measurement of salinity. Its counterpart at left is a portasal, simply a more portable version.

Western society has a long tradition of astronomy, with names for stars, constellations, and other phenomena taken from Greek and Arabic roots. The same stars seen in the northern skies were seen by indigenous tribes in North America, who called constellations by their own names. 

Wintermaker is the Ojibwe name for what we call Orion, and it fits, as it starts returning to the northern skies in late August and stays through to the spring. 

Much of what appeals about this museum is its hands-on quality, especially looking through microscopes and seeing things in a whole different way.

I moved over into another area, which concentrates on technology that is wearable. And in a manner of speaking, a pacemaker is precisely that, worn on the inside, regulating the heart and keeping people alive and well in a way that was impossible a century ago.

An early external model is seen here, alongside a contemporary version.

Every once in awhile people get hurt. Splints and braces might be used to assist recovery. Multiple examples of them are seen here.

These are examples of prosthetics that have been customized to look different, to stand out, to be expressive. They certainly accomplish that.

Crazy Kitchen

 The Crazy Kitchen is one of the most popular features in the museum. Your eyes tell you the room is flat and level, but it is in fact tilted, and the rest of your body contradicts your eyes as you pass through it, creating a dizzying effect. Going in here with assisted mobility is not a good idea.

The next thematic area looks at different technologies used in exploration- both of the vastness of the universe and the microscopic world.

Here we see microscopes and slides.

And more microscopes, both older and new.

The visitor can place their phone atop a lens for this shot, featuring a small but intricate piece of jewelry.

There are many kinds of telescopes- conventional, radio telescopes, neutrino observation, and even orbiting satellites like the James Webb Telescope that give us insight into the universe.

Art Of Anatomy

 Technology has developed over time to help doctors diagnose patients, looking into the body without being invasive. These include the x-ray, the ultrasound, CT scans, and MRI machines. The last time I was in an MRI machine was when I broke my nose. It was a relaxing experience.

In the 1950s, some indigenous peoples were removed from their communities to undergo treatment for tuberculosis. To this day, owing to the shortage of doctors in the far north, Inuit are often brought south for treatment. A parka made by Augatnaaq Eccles commemorates this.

Doctor Maude Abbott was one of the first women to practice medicine in Canada. She also became chief curator of the medical museum at McGill University, where she would make the museum a classroom for medical students.

These illustrations date to the 19th century, from medical schools in France.

Skirting the edge between one thematic area and another is a display case containing a one-man  Canadian submersible, the Deep Rover.

As Time Goes By

 We start today where we left off, with printing.

Typewriters were part of that process. Some are very old indeed, while others not so much.

This looks complicated. The linotype machine used molten metal as part of its process in casting lines of type.

Here we have a display case filled with different ways to listen to music.

Antique clocks and antique phones.

Old computers, and old cameras.

Above, a radio, camera, and old television.

Another radio, and a pinball machine.

I moved off from Artifact Alley into one of the thematic sections, this one dealing with science and medicine. Here we see physicians' tools, many of which are not so different today.

William Osler was a Canadian doctor who taught at McGill. He became hugely influential as a medical doctor and teacher, emphasizing that the classroom should be the patient's bedside. He would later become one of the founders of the world renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital, and then teach at Oxford.