Mobile Medical Museum

10/12/2026

Alabama is one of 28 states that celebrate Indigenous People's Day on the second Monday of October, along with Columbus Day. Here it is called American Indian Heritage Day. Here are some of the many contributions that Indigenous Americans have made to public health.

Read about the historical public health trials and triumphs of tribes across the United States.

10/09/2026

The Mobile Medical Museum will be closed today due to the approaching storm. Please stay safe and come visit us next week!

10/07/2026

Bowman lachrimal probe, late 19th century. This tool is used to treat obstructions and disorders of the tear duct. It was invented in 1854 by Sir William Bowman, an English ophthalmologist. It was made of a malleable metal, such as sterling silver, so that both ends of the probe could be bent into the desired shape. The surgeon would grasp the middle platform and insert one of the bulbous tips of the probe into the lacrimal canaliculus to reach the nasolacrimal duct inside the nasal cavity.

10/06/2026

"Pneumonic plague in the wild is what's called droplet-transmissible. So...you have to actually like kind of spit on someone or cough loudly at them. And you would also have to be very sick to be doing that, which would make the likelihood of your close proximity without some kind of PPE unusual...But if genetic modifications are going on, all bets are off as to how transmissible it could potentially be."

The U.S. is closely monitoring a potential case of pneumonic plague in Russia after a laboratory worker who studied the disease fell ill and died. Russian authorities insist there is no cause for alarm, but officials have imposed quarantines and other measures at several medical facilities in Siberi...

10/01/2026

Our lecture series resumes on November 19--don't miss this one!

09/30/2026

Students from Alabama School of Math & Science were here for a tour yesterday. We learned how human anatomy was understood in different historical and cultural contexts, experimented with Alphonse Bertillon's anthropometric measurement system, and made poultices from traditional medicinal herbs!

09/25/2026

"Evidence of Care" by our 2026 artist-in-residence Will Truran, will be closing next week. Come to our 2 pm tour this afternoon to hear all about this fascinating project, which explores questions such as:

>What happens to all the life-saving disposable tools and supplies in hospitals once they are used?

>What are the risks to the environment and to public health when single-use medical materials made of rubber, polyester, and aluminum are improperly discarded on city streets?

>What might another revolution in medical tool design look like?

This Alabama AIR project is a partnership with Alabama Contemporary, and has been made possible by grants from Alabama Council on the Arts and The Daniel Foundation of Alabama. Additional support is provided by Mobile County Commission and Dr. Charles B. Rodning.

09/23/2026

09/17/2026

NEW EXHIBITION ON THE HISTORY OF USA Health University Hospital TO OPEN IN NOVEMBER

For Immediate Release
September 16, 2026
Contact: Daryn P. Glassbrook, Ph.D., Executive Director
(251) 415-1109
[email protected]

Mobile, Alabama – On November 7, 2026, the Mobile Medical Museum will open a new exhibition, King > City > University: A Hospital Older than America, exploring the story of USA Health University Hospital, which can trace its lineage back to a French hospital founded in 1711, making it the oldest operating hospital system in the United States.

The exhibition will outline University Hospital’s many changes of location and administration and present its significant role in the yellow fever epidemics, the Civil War, and the Jim Crow era. Additionally, it will highlight the hospital’s role in supporting medical and nursing education as a clinical training site, from the time of the Medical College of Alabama and the City Hospital Nursing School through its current service to University of South Alabama students and faculty.

A highlight of the exhibition will be a 1964 documentary, The Shame and the Hope, produced by WKRG-TV to gain support for public financing of the hospital’s move to its current location on University Hospital Drive. It shows rarely seen, black and white footage of hospital wards, ambulance runs, and healthcare procedures of the period.

“University Hospital has been serving Mobile through thick and thin since the city’s inception,” said Mobile Medical Museum Executive Director Daryn Glassbrook. “While it has come far from its roots as a Catholic charity hospital, it has remained deeply intertwined with the city’s culture, geography, and economy. Its 300-year history contains many moving and surprising revelations, which we are eager to share with our visitors.”

The exhibition will be on display in the Museum’s Mary Elizabeth and Charles Bernard Rodning Gallery through May 2027. The November 7 opening reception is from 1 to 3 pm and is free for Mobile Medical Museum members and anyone with a USA employee or student ID. Non-members will be charged standard admission fees.

“University Hospital is much more than a building or a place where people receive care. It is part of the fabric of Mobile,” said Josh Snow, MSHA, market CEO for USA Health’s University Hospital and Providence Hospital. “Generations of patients, families, nurses, physicians, students, and caregivers have passed through its doors, each leaving a part of their story behind. We’re honored to see that remarkable history brought to life through this exhibition, and grateful to the Mobile Medical Museum for helping our community remember and celebrate the people and moments that have shaped University Hospital.”

Support for the exhibition is provided by USA Health. Additional support is provided by Mobile County Commission and Dr. Charles B. Rodning.

For more information, please contact Daryn Glassbrook at (251) 415-1109 or [email protected].

09/16/2026

The Mobile Medical Museum is a proud recipient of a Spark Good local grant from Walmart store 5740 in Mobile. Thanks so much for supporting health education for students and healthcare professionals of all ages!