Silver Spring

The National Museum of Health and Medicine stands as America's oldest federally-funded medical museum, established in 1862 by U.S. Army Surgeon General William A. Hammond during the Civil War as the Army Medical Museum to collect specimens for research in military medicine and surgery. This historic institution, now located at the U.S. Army Garrison-Forest Glen in Silver Spring, Maryland, houses an extraordinary collection of approximately 25 million artifacts spanning over 150 years of medical advancement, including 5,000 skeletal specimens, 8,000 preserved organs, 12,000 items of medical equipment, and extensive archives of historic medical documents. The museum's most celebrated exhibits include artifacts related to President Abraham Lincoln's assassination (including the bullet that killed him and fragments of his skull), President Garfield's spine, and Major General Daniel Sickles' leg bone shattered at Gettysburg, alongside comprehensive displays chronicling the evolution of military medicine from the Civil War through modern conflicts. Visitors can explore groundbreaking medical research conducted at the institution, including pioneering work on yellow fever, typhoid vaccinations, and forensic identification techniques, while experiencing interactive exhibits on topics ranging from battlefield surgery and traumatic brain injury to vaccine development and anatomical specimens. The museum serves as both a National Historic Landmark and an active research facility, offering free admission and educational programs that bridge historical medical practices with contemporary healthcare innovations, making complex medical concepts accessible to general audiences while providing valuable resources for healthcare professionals and researchers. The facility's modern architecture at Forest Glen Annex provides a fitting contemporary setting for "the collection that teaches," where medical history comes alive through carefully curated displays that demonstrate the profound impact of military medical research on civilian healthcare advancement.