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Southern California
Medical Museum

Explore Our Museum

Antique Bottles

HOW TO VISIT THE MUSEUM?  The museum has lost its location. We are in the process of looking for a new home. AT THIS TIME THE MUSEUM IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED. Please keep watching our page for more information. If you have a location that would fit the museum contact us at dlong@sbcms.org to share that information. 

  • The Southern California Medical Museum (SCMM) is the only medical history museum in Southern California and only one of two in the entire state of California. It has been around since 1982, serving our communities for 37 years. During this time we have hosted thousands of visitors from school age to senior citizens, provided the medicine merit badge to hundreds of Boy Scouts (boys and girls) and have consulted on television shows and motion pictures, and provided many displays and presentations. The museum has displays highlighting medicine from ancient Rome and Greece to modern innovations. The collections include rare and unusual medical items, antique texts, an iron lung and other world class displays. SCMM has been an effective and inexpensive way to learn about medical history located conveniently in Pomona, California. Visitors have come from all over the state, even as far as Europe and Asia. A visit to the museum has been part of the curriculum of several professional schools.  Museum Director Dr. Hans Davidson, Curator and Asst. Director Dr. Elliot Weinstein and our fabulous volunteer committee members  and others have put in countless hours making the SCMM the gem of a museum that it is and providing an enriching experience for our guests, We are proud to have been sponsored by Western University of Health Sciences and to have the San Bernardino County Medical Society work closely with our management.  This relationship with Western University has been in effect for five years and has been very beneficial to both parties, with participation by medical students, librarians and SCMM contributions to the community and PR of the school.

    So after this long and very successful arrangement, it came as a shock that our museum was told that we had to pack up all of our displays, materials and stored items and be out of the building in less than 90 days. This will definitely be a damaging blow to the SCMM. We barely have time to arrange storage of our materials, let alone find a new location. 

    So, I am placing an appeal to all who read this note. If you care at all about medical history, if you value education for young people, if you think that preserving the past of our profession has any value in this day and age, then I implore you to help us come up with a solution. Do you know of any organization that may wish to sponsor the SCMM? A city? A hospital? Another medical school, perhaps? If you have any contacts that could be of help, please connect with me, Elliot Weinstein. 

    For your own edification, please go to our website to see what we are all about: www.socalmedicalmuseum.org or our Facebook page.

    You can email me at: elstwein@charter.net or call me at my office: 909-949-8979

DUE TO THE CLOSING OF THE MUSEUM: NO TOURS ARE BEING SCHEDULED AT THIS TIME.   Watch this page for any updated information. PLEASE CONTACT DEBBIE LONG AT DLONG@SBCMS.ORG or 909-273-6000 ext 105.

In this day and age, most of us are accustomed to seeing a doctor or ordering prescriptions whenever we need to deal with illness or chronic conditions or just to maintain our health and quality of life.

A tour of the Southern California Medical Museum gives you a glimpse into what life was like in past centuries and early historical eras, particularly in the areas of healthcare and medicine. The advancement of medical care and technology has dramatically increased the way we live our lives and how we are treated for illness. Our Museum exhibits offer an up close and personal view of this evolution in medical care throughout the history of healing.

Displays and exhibits include: fascinating medical, dental and pharmacy artifacts, wartime surgery kits, an impressive medical library, medical artwork and photographs, rare and antique bottles that were used to hold and dispense salves, pills, powders and elixirs, unusual and often hard to believe quackery devices, a diorama recreation of a doctor’s and dentist’s office from the early 1900’s and numerous other special exhibits.

Museum tours teach, entertain and reinforce the legacy, culture and history of healing and medicine dating back to ancient times and spanning the ages to the current day.

Many schools have incorporated our Medical Museum tours into their curriculum as a valuable part of the student learning experience.

CAREER COLLEGES, TRADE SCHOOLS, GROUPS AND CLUBS

Educational and truly enlightening tours are available by appointment for groups, clubs, professional trade schools, career and medical colleges, corporate gatherings and organizations of all sizes as well as for families and individuals of all ages.

Knowledgeable docents (tour guides) will take your group on an adventure through medical history and scientific developments.

BOY SCOUT MERIT BADGE WORKSHOPS

At this time we are not planning workshops. Watch this page for updated information.

2021 Boy Scout Medicine Merit Badge (July 31, 2021)

 
 
 
 
 

WE LOOK FORWARD TO A NEW LOCATION WITH A NEW DESIGN TO SHOW OUR WONDERFUL ARTIFACTS TO YOU!!!