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Rijksmuseum Boerhaave is a museum of the history of science and medicine, based in Leiden , Netherlands. The museum hosts a collection of historical scientific instruments from all disciplines, but mainly from medicine , physics , and astronomy .

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69-462: The museum is located in a building that was originally a convent in central Leiden. It includes a reconstructed traditional anatomical theatre . It also has many galleries that include the apparatus with which Heike Kamerlingh Onnes first liquefied helium (in Leiden), the electromagnet equipment used by Wander Johannes de Haas (a Leiden physicist) for his low-temperature research, and an example of

138-485: A cathode tube, a thermograph , drum recorders and a paper tape recorder. Also large (from today's perspective) devices, mostly made from wood and copper, to measure and display electricity (1900–1930): volt meters , a resistance box, radio valves , a universal bridge , mirror galvanometers , a quadrant electrometer . Apparatuses to study radiation: a Wilson cloud chamber , an electrometer with ionization chamber , X-ray , cathode-ray and canal ray tubes,

207-544: A chemist . Each gaper is hand cut and painted using a stone or wood base. They are usually displayed with an open mouth or with their tongues sticking out. Recent research indicates that the open mouth originates from the way the chemist's customers gaped with astonishment when they saw the enormous variety of exotic substances inside. Gapers have facial expressions ranging from innocent to humorous to suffering. Gapers takes on various appearances with each instance being unique. Their individual designs are claimed to be specific to

276-423: A colorimeter (1880), pycnometers (some with thermometer), pipettes , burettes , volumetric flasks , a boiling flask , a spectral burner and spectroscope (1880), polarimeters , a kipp generator (1850), sample collections of experimental chemicals (some in wooden boxes), an evaporating basin , gas burners, an oxyhydrogen voltmeter , apparatus for electrolysis , an analytical balance , cork presses,

345-450: A fluorescent lamp. Equipment to study the properties of light (and radio waves in general), including the wave–particle duality (most 1900–1910): a slit , a polarizer , a photo-electric cell , a Fresnel double mirror, lenses , an induction coil , a photosensitive resistor , a spectroscope , an oscillograph , a wireless receiver , a microphone , standards of self-induction . Also Zeeman's Nobel Prize diploma and medal and

414-594: A national museum . It was renamed to "The Dutch National Museum for the History of the Natural Sciences" ( Rijksmuseum voor de Geschiedenis van Natuurwetenschappen ). An advisory board was installed in which members of Dutch universities would take seat. It underlined the ambition to become a national museum, not a museum solely connected to the Leiden University. Before moving in 1991, the museum

483-509: A phantascope (two discs, one with slits, one with images, which when rotating in opposite directions create a cinematographic effect), a projection lantern (1770–1860). Several telescopes: achromatic telescopes (1770 and 1850) and a reflecting telescope (1830). Several electrostatic devices: batteries composed of leyden jars and electrical machines (1770–1800) that were used to generate electricity . A variety of electrostatic toys and experimentation kits (1770–1820) to amuse and educate

552-429: A polarimeter , a saccharimeter , a spectroscope , a bunsen burner , a solution tube, gas-discharge tubes. Devices to study, demonstrate and explain the physical qualities of light: prisms and lenses , a heliostat and carbon arc lamp (with clockwork)(1820–1870). A collection of applied optics: a camera , sextant , stereoscope , several telescopes , mechanical lantern slides, a repeating reflecting circle (?),

621-453: A protractor and beam compass . A collection of balances , levers , tackles demonstrate laws of statics . A variety of lenses , prisms , a slit, trays and screens explore optics . About ten screw-barrel and compound microscopes (1710–1780) demonstrate how this young science underwent dramatic progress in few years. A variety of curved mirrors, used as anamorphic toys, show how a deliberately distorted image can be restored back to

690-402: A refractometer (1910), a flash point apparatus for petroleum, a circular slide rule . In the early years of the 19th century, 4 Dutch physicists received a Nobel Prize in quick succession. This room is dedicated to their work and legacy. On display are a helium liquefier and associated tools, devices to measure superconductivity (e.g. rheostats ), and to automatically record measurements:

759-432: A boxed collection of microscopic specimens (1870). The museum also contains a fountain pen that was gifted in 1921 by Albert Einstein to Paul Ehrenfest , then the director of the physics faculty of Leiden University. This pen was gifted to Ehrenfest as a thank you gift for the friendship that he and Einstein shared, and because Ehrenfest created a professorship for Einstein. Einstein was a 'bijzonder hoogleraar', meaning

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828-526: A chemist. The first female chemist in the Netherlands (also one of the first female retailers) was Mia Ranke, who opened her chemist's shop in 1934. The gaper referring to illness or a sick patient commonly wore a hat with a hanging point with a tassel or pom-pom attached to it. Some gapers were depicted in uniform, as a fire brigade , police or a Roman soldier. In the French era (1795-1813) there

897-1009: A collection of 150, each box made of wood of a particular tree or shrub and filled with its wood, leaves, seeds and fruits. Also on display cases with butterflies and beetles . Lastly a portrait of Abraham Nieuwland (1780). Shown are a collection of 19th century animal organ specimens (protected against decay with wax and varnish) which had been prepared for research (e.g. comparative anatomy ), and educational purposes (e.g. veterinarian school). Also shown are anatomical drawings from that same period. Many specimens and drawings are from large mammals, cattle but even more large mammals of non European origin. The room shows wax models of human and animal brains (1850–1870), prepared for educational purposes. Also display boxes with carefully arranged human hand bones and foot bones, and several skeletons of small animals. Also some 25 jars containing animals in preservative fuels ( alcohol , formalin ), some anatomically prepared to show inner organs (1830–1910). Part of

966-422: A droplet of molten quartz), the original golden Nobel Prize medal from Willem Einthoven (for developing the first practical electrocardiogram in 1903) The room houses two electron microscopes (1947–1950) and related equipment (gold vaporiser, lens, object holders, a cooler, a goniometer ), a collection of compound and specimen microscopes (some binocular ) (1840–1870) plus accompanying microscope lamps and

1035-399: A hangout known as a recognizable point for business. Pharmacies often decorated their storefronts with 'rarities' to invoke customer curiosities. Exotic items such as a stuffed crocodile or tortoise , ostrich eggs, deer antlers , narwhal teeth, sawfish teeth, elk legs, and peacock feathers were popular decorations. Some say that the gaper was used to taunt non-buying bystanders in

1104-465: A lab diary, an electromagnet with polar pieces, 3D plaster models to visualize thermodynamic properties (e.g. phase transitions ). Pieces at display include: a gigantic microtome , the first heart-lung machine (prototype) by inventor Jacob Jongbloed (1948), the first kidney dialysis machine by inventor Willem Johan Kolff , X-ray equipment, an iron lung , galvanometer tools, a bow and arrow used to draw ultra thin quartz fibres (by shooting away

1173-562: A large decline in the numbers of gapers left in the cities. Recently, gaper figureheads have been stolen from storefronts. However, some have been later returned to new locations throughout the Netherlands. The gaper on the facade of Wijde Heisteeg 4 was stolen and delivered back in 2004 on the sidewalk outside the Municipal Archive on the Amsteldijk. There are stories of gapers being vandalized and used for jokes. A gaper from

1242-641: A layer of lead-mix and flaxseed oil over the paint. Others received a lead plate on top of their hats so the rain did not end up directly on the wood. Some gapers disappeared during the Second World War . The gaper that was hanging on Lange Delft in Middelburg was lost in 1940 during a bombing. Made in 1693, it was the oldest preserved gaper in the Netherlands. The gaper on the corner of Gasthuisstraat in Gorinchem disappeared one morning during

1311-515: A pale skin color or having a facial expression of suffering and pain. These symbolize the patients of the chemist. There were also 'golden' gapers, gapers with a crown and gapers with a monkey on their shoulder. Although women have taken up the chemist's profession since 1950, in Holland , few gapers depict a female. Before 1950, the profession of chemist was an exclusively male preserve. A law of 1865 prohibited women from following education to become

1380-416: A patient who, for example, would picture the miracle provided and instantly healed his illness. This whole play was accompanied by many theatrical gestures and grimaces. Then the quack called everyone who wanted to hear how well the treatment worked, to pull in as many customers as possible. The traveling quack would settle in a store with a wooden sign of the trusted helper placed by the store’s front door. As

1449-821: A professor by special appointment made possible by the Leids Universiteits Fonds from 1920 up to officially 1946. In the first half of his appointment he visited Leiden regularly to give lectures. There is a note with the pen on which is written (In German): 'This pen has been used for years by Einstein, especially during the time between 1912 and 1921 – So that all his designs and calculations relating to general relativity and gravity from this time period are written with this pen. He gave this pen to me in 1921. P. Ehrenfest. ' 52°09′41″N 4°29′20″E  /  52.16139°N 4.48889°E  / 52.16139; 4.48889 Anatomical theatre An anatomical theatre ( Latin : Theatrum Anatomicum )

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1518-420: A symbol for the jester or help, the gaper would perform silly acts outside the store or in privacy to entertain customers and bring in more business. The Oriental dressed gaper possibly refers to the use of ingredients such as aloe vera , opium and gum arabic in medicines. It would "reference to the origin of the opium that is in the store sold in the form of sleeping dumplings." It is difficult to say if all

1587-538: A tall book-shaped wooden chest (1660) filled with simples (basic substances used in medicine). The room shows a reconstruction (1988) of the Theatrum Anatomicum ( anatomical theatre ) (built 1596). A richly decorated instrument chest (1670) which belonged to the Leiden surgeon 's guild . A small collection of objects (largely Egyptian antiquities) that survived from the now gone Leiden Theatrum (one of

1656-399: A tobacco enema Sebald Justinus Brugmans was a Dutch botanist, physician and professor of natural sciences. As an army physician he became notable for his battle against unsanitary conditions, and spread of contagious diseases . The room shows a large collection of fish skins ('the protected body'), human skulls (some affected by accident or disease), animal skulls (mainly birds) and

1725-444: A tool box, a binocular polarisation microscope (1850), several microtomes (a.o. a cryomicrotome ) and ultramicrotomes , a phase contrast microscope , a fluorescence microscope (plus several epi-illuminators , to exploit the difference between emitted and reflected light frequencies that some substances display), compound microscope with transformer in camera installation, a photomicroscope (photo camera with inverted microscope),

1794-406: A variety of other anatomic samples, including some foetuses in a jar. The room houses a large simples cabinet (1760), from Amsterdam physician Hendrik Bosch. Also a large cabinet with butterflies (1760) (content lost) from Christiaan Sepp and son, who published a work on butterflies and insects in several volumes (1762–1860). A large collection of shells. Four book shaped boxes (1809), out of

1863-402: A wide variety of forceps and clamps , spatulas, an elevator, a bullet extractor and brace , several (drill) crowns, two drills , a lenticular, several elevatoriums, a chuck key , a coach screw , a retractor , lithotomy scoops , a Phimosis knife, gorgerets, a catheter , a bistoury cache, a combined syringotome and seton needle , a wound retractor , lithotomy directors, probes,

1932-543: Is a stone or wooden figurehead , often depicting a Moor , Muslim , or North African . The figurehead first appeared in the late 16th century as a hangout sign used outside the storefronts of drug stores in the Netherlands . The meaning of gaper is the same in English; the figurehead is always displayed with an open mouth, sometimes with a pill resting on his tongue.   The gaper's gaping tongue could represent

2001-533: Is dedicated to physician, botanist and chemist Herman Boerhaave , physicist Willem 's Gravesande and instrument-maker Jan van Musschenbroeck . On display are large globes and a tiny pocket globe (all ~1700), each depicting heaven and earth. A table size planetarium by clock-maker Steven Tracy Mercury shows Venus, Earth with its moon, Mars, Jupiter with four moons and Saturn. There is also a large star atlas . Air pumps (1670–1730) and demonstration devices, notably several Magdeburg hemispheres , were made to explore

2070-417: Is dedicated to the scientific and technical progress in fields of electricity and optics in the 19th century. Inventions like telegraphy and the camera had a revolutionary and lasting impact on everyday life. The room shows a collection of 'microscopes (compound, binocular, achromatic, inverted) (1730–1860) and attributes. A set of instruments for optical chemical analysis (1850–1900): a crystal goniometer ,

2139-599: The Leiden jar , among many other objects in the extensive collection. The museum is named after Herman Boerhaave , a Dutch physician and botanist who was famous in Europe for his teaching at Leiden and lived to a great age, receiving brilliant students from all over Europe, including Peter the Great , Voltaire and Linnaeus . Boerhaave Museum's history began in 1907, when a Historical Exhibition of Natural Science and Medicine

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2208-529: The Renaissance there was an urge to study life diligently and not take traditional beliefs for granted. A large collection of baked and painted apothecary jars (1550–1650) and (often ornamented) cast-iron and bronze mortars (1350–1700). The following two rooms are dedicated to an era of blossom for the University of Leiden , the oldest university of the Netherlands (founded in 1575). This large room

2277-519: The University of Uppsala is well-known, having been completed in 1663 by medical profession and amateur architect Olaus Rudbeck (1630-1702). The theatre is housed in the idiosyncratic cupola constructed on the top of the Gustavianum building, one of the older buildings of the university. Rudbeck had spent time in the Dutch city of Leiden , and the construction of both the anatomical theatre and

2346-580: The 17th century, Western European trade with continents such as Asia and Africa introduced new spices from far and unknown places. Many exotic medicine components entered Europe through trade with the Ottoman Empire . Europeans traded with the Ottomans for senna leaves, opium, saffron, turmeric, and various resins, gums, and minerals, incense, myrrh, and bitumen. The spices and ingredients were brought back to Europe and later dried and sold by

2415-484: The Dutch Republic, in which he also earned a degree in medicine, and closely worked together with Boerhaave. At display are paintings of Linnaeus and Boerhaave. Also 18th-century models and scientific measuring instruments: models that demonstrate basic physics principles, and instruments: several antique thermometers , a barometer , a theodolite and several pyrometers . Also two antique globes (one showing

2484-468: The Exercise of Medicine in 1865 declared that the pharmacy had to be separate from the drugstore. Pharmacists were required to have a diploma, if not, then they were no longer considered a chemist. This caused the drug stores to change their appearance. The pharmacy displayed the mortar as a symbol for the ability to prepare medicines, while the druggists continued to use the gaper as a symbol. This caused

2553-611: The Wolvenstraat in Amsterdam was pushed off of its platform by pranksters in March 1960. In 1830, a gaper was stuffed with gunpowder by a group of students and then blown up in the middle of the street. In 1895, the gaper on Heiligeweg 42 was given a large piece of liver sausage in its mouth. The gaper at this address also disappeared in 2008, there is still no clarity as to where it has gone. The reasoning for theft and associating

2622-606: The botanical garden he founded in Uppsala in 1655 were influenced by his experiences there. The anatomical theatre is now preserved as part of the Gustavianum, now preserved as a museum for the general public under the name Museum Gustavianum . Thomas Jefferson built an anatomical theatre for the University of Virginia . It was completed in 1827, but demolished in 1939 after the construction of Alderman Library nearby. Gaper A gaper (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣaːpər] )

2691-409: The centre of which would stand a table on which the dissection of human or animal bodies took place. Around this table were several circular, elliptic or octagonal tiers with railings, steeply tiered so that observers (typically students) could stand and observe the dissection below, without spectators in the front-most rows blocking their view. It was common to display skeletons in some location within

2760-482: The city of Amsterdam . Outside museum collections, fewer than 50 can be seen on buildings. Some have now lent their names to cafes, such as De Vergulde Gaper in Amsterdam . Turkish fashion, Japonerie , and Chinoiserie are said to be a source of inspiration for creating the gapers. The origin of the gaper, mostly Southern or exotic, symbolizes the origin of the ingredients used in the drugstore's medicines. During

2829-529: The collection in the room was prepared by Jan van der Hoeven (1802–1868), professor of Zoology , Comparative Anatomy , Anthropology , Mineralogy and Geology at the University of Leiden . His portrait is on display. Van der Hoeven studied members of 'exotic races' (as it was called at the time), and produced a large amount of visual materials ( drawings , engravings , lithographs ). Three of these visual studies are on display. Anatomical wax models by Petrus Koning (1787–1834), anatomical gouaches This room

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2898-593: The collection) was a screw to unindent a soldiers skull who had been hit by a bullet. Often in those days bullets did not fully penetrate a skull, merely deformed it. Four large allegoric paintings (± 1610) show in stages how the appreciation of a patient for his physician declines, from being a true savior when the illness is at its height, towards being a devil when the bill has been delivered. Three solid figures of Saints Cosmas and Damian , patrons of doctors and pharmacists. Six anatomical books and drawings (1520–1570) and six books on herbs (1480–1590) testify how in

2967-435: The different types of gapers have been around since the beginning. It is also possible that most of the different characters were a later development. The gaper in the late 16th-century functioned as a hangout out sign on the street. Not only did the figurehead communicate information about the origin of the medicines, but it was also a tool for luring in customers. In this period there were no house numbers. The gaper served as

3036-486: The early 15th century. The building had become municipal property after the Protestant Reformation and shortly before 1600 was converted into a pest house and lunatic asylum . The Leiden Academic hospital was founded in this location between 1636 and 1639. In 1967, with the prospect of a new location the name of the museum was changed to "Museum Boerhaave". However, it took more than twenty years before

3105-635: The gaper became the figurehead of pharmacists drug supply. The gaper is now a historical collector’s item. The Royal Archeology Society in Amsterdam received a gaper in both 1882 and 1883. Meanwhile, the Museum of Antiquities in Groningen was given a gaper in 1891 and 1892. Also, Oudheidkundige Vereniging Flehite in Amersfoort received a gaper in 1893. The Haarlem chemist Anton van Os (1889-1982), for example, gathered at least 50 gapers from all over

3174-472: The gaper with jokes are also unclear. There is speculation that the disappearance of the gaper figureheads is caused by the weather. The gapers are hung outside storefronts and exposed to rain for long periods of time. This has caused many wooden gaper figureheads to rot or split. This is clearly visible with some preserved figureheads in museum archives. The decaying or splitting causes the gaper to fall completely apart over time. Some gapers were protected with

3243-498: The heavens, one earth) and two mirror telescopes . The room is conamed after the brothers van Mussenbroeck: Pieter a professor, credited with the invention of the first capacitor in 1746: the Leyden jar , and Jan a famous instrument maker, who shipped his hand crafted precision thermometers all over Europe. Over 30 antique microscopes are shown, most from the 18th century, in a large variety, with different solutions for lighting

3312-415: The intake of medicine and grimace represents the bitter taste of the medicine. The gaper takes on various appearances that are symbolic of the origin for the pharmacist’s practice or medicinal ingredients. There are stories of the gaper as a symbol of the pharmacist’s traveling "quack" or helper. Recently, gaper figureheads have been stolen or removed from storefronts. Now, few remain within public view in

3381-473: The latest technologies and the personal stories of those driven by a passion for the pursuit of knowledge.  The result is science with a human face, inspiring curiosity and amazement as well as engaging a wide public in debates on important scientific and ethical questions issues of our time." The Boerhaave Museum is running a project to document approx. 3000 objects in its collection online, with pictures and descriptions for every single object. In April 2010

3450-511: The many models on display: many human body parts, for example a box set with a model of female sexual organs plus almost 20 embryonic stages , models of the womb for every month of pregnancy. For purposes of comparative anatomy : models of brain or nervous system of diverse animals, models of blood circulation in diverse animals (e.g. a turtle , a crocodile ), models of stomach or alimentary canal (e.g. octopus , honey bee ). Dutch scientist Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff (1852–1911)

3519-629: The museum finally moved. After extensive restoration and expansion, the building is in use as a museum since 1991. Rijksmuseum Boerhaave was elected European Museum of the Year 2019. Founded in 1977, this is the oldest and most prestigious museum award in Europe. The international jury praised the completely renewed science and medicine museum in Leiden: "The exceptional public quality of this museum results from its artful approach to communicating science.  Important and beautiful objects are interpreted using

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3588-420: The museum opened as "The Dutch Historical Museum of the Natural Sciences" ( Het Nederlandsch Historisch Natuurwetenschappelijk Museum ). To the view of Crommelin, the museum was to become a national museum: the 's Gravesande-Musschenbroek collection would form the starting point, to which collections from other institutes were to be added. In 1947 the museum, which was in fact a private foundation, became formally

3657-536: The museum was described in the preliminary statutes of the foundation: "the collection of instruments, tools, slides and specimens, documents and other objects, which are important for the history of the natural sciences; to look after these objects, describe them and keep them in a museum which is to be located in Leiden". The sciences to be represented included: Astronomy , Physics , Chemistry , Botany , Zoology , Pharmacy , all medical sciences – including Physiology , Anatomy et cetera, and Mathematics . In 1931

3726-498: The oldest museums of Europe ) are shown as well. On the wall three paintings: one depicting the magistrates of the Catharina and Caecilia Hospitals (the latter now houses the museum), a second showing a Prussian peasant from whom a 10-inch sword, swallowed in a drinking bout, has surgically been removed, a third showing renowned surgeon and designer of medical instruments Cornelis Solingen (1680). One of Solingen's inventions (part of

3795-504: The original. The room also houses a range of instruments ( levers and forceps ) used to facilitate childbirth. Lastly, shown are models of three out of five of Archimedes ' so called simple machines (lever, inclined plane, wedge, screw and wheel), several hydrostatic balances to demonstrate Archimedes' law and two tables of forces which demonstrate interactions of forces in a horizontal plane. Carl Linnaeus published his famous Systema Naturae in 1735, during his 3-year stay in

3864-436: The properties of the newly discovered vacuum . Other devices did the same for centrifugal force , collisions and laws of momentum , and gravity . Hydrometers , an aerometer , a hydrostatic bellows , a balance and steam pump , several table-top fountains all were used to look into hydrostatic pressure , and capillary attraction . Also shown are a large set of mathematical instruments to measure angles: sectors ,

3933-476: The public. Some show cases still to do. Devices for physiotherapy using the method of Swedish physician Gustav Zander , developed ca. 1865. These devices featured on two world exhibitions. Their success led to 120 Zander institutes worldwide. French doctor Louis Auzoux (1797–1870) pioneered the use of papier-mâché for highly detailed and colored anatomical models, with detachable parts, which allowed mass production for educational purposes. A selection of

4002-407: The site featured over 1750 objects, ordered by room and showcase. This overview is in large part based on the museum's online documentation. The museum has 25 galleries, which are by and large organised chronologically, with thematical subgroupings per gallery. Gapers (wooden heads miming the swallowing of pills) and other shop signs for pharmacies and druggists . Also a 'dictionary of health':

4071-713: The specialties of the drugstore. The oriental gapers are categorized between two identities: the Muslim and the Moor, both referring to people from the Maghreb in North-West Africa. Gapers with dark brown or black skin were used to represent the moors. The common oriental gaper often wore a turban with gold earrings. The turban confirmed an exotic origin that suggested the origin of the medicines to customers. There are also many white gapers, often looking very ill with

4140-417: The street. The gaper could have also served as a mirror image of the drugstore's pharmacist. Historical images show that the cap with a hanging point and tassel, similar to some hats depicted on gapers, was regularly worn by the 16th-century pharmacists. Beginning in 1840, the demand for medicine quickly became unbalanced. This caused many drugstores to close, taking the gaper figureheads with them. The Act on

4209-400: The subject and minimization of lens defects (e.g. chromatic aberration ): simple, compound and reflecting microscopes, so called English microscopes (renowned for their quality), solar microscopes (which project their image on a wall, using sunlight only). Several wooden cabinets with microscopic slides are testimony of the craftsmanship than went into collections of ready made samples, which at

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4278-708: The theatre. The first anatomical theatre, the Anatomical Theatre of Padua , was built at the University of Padua in 1594, and has been preserved into the modern day. Other early examples include the Theatrum Anatomicum of Leiden University , built in 1596 and reconstructed in 1988, and the Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio in Bologna (whose building dates from 1563 and the anatomical theatre from 1637). The anatomical theatre of

4347-494: The time were highly fashionable among well-to-do citizens who took an interest in scientific developments. The room is dedicated to famous 18th-century anatomist Bernhard Siegfried Albinus and his brother and successor Frederik Bernhard Albinus , showing a few of the over 750 wet and dry anatomical samples that Bernhard Siegfried collected, and a wide variety of medical instruments (most 1670–1700) collected by his brother: several amputation saws and knives, cauterizing irons ,

4416-507: The war. It is speculated that it was taken as a war booty , or maybe for wood in someone's stove. There is still uncertainty about the origin and historical reasoning for the gaper. According to folklore , people used to hang monsters with their tongue sticking out off of buildings to ward off evil spirits. Some researchers explore the gaper in connection to certain medieval folklore stories. However, there still isn't much solid evidence as to why certain types of gapers were depicted and why

4485-409: Was a push towards a national policy on medicine sales. The gapers in uniform were introduced during the second half of the 19th century after the government extended authority on the sale of medicines. The gaper had several identities that suggest background information or a story to the onlooker. The gaper as a jester would "refer to the helper of the traveling person or quack". The helper acted as

4554-423: Was a specialised building or room, resembling a theatre , used in teaching anatomy at early modern universities. They were typically constructed with a tiered structure surrounding a central table, allowing a larger audience to see the dissection of cadavers more closely than would have been possible in a non-specialized setting. An anatomical theatre was usually a room of roughly amphitheatrical shape, in

4623-505: Was held in the Academy Building  [ nl ] of Leiden University . The many objects in the exhibition came from all the learned corners of the country. It was a great success and there were immediately calls to set up a permanent science history exhibit. In 1928 a foundation was initiated by physicist Claude August Crommelin , who worked at Leiden university, for a museum for the history of natural sciences. The aim of

4692-799: Was located in the former Boerhaave Laboratory at the Steenstraat 1, Leiden, a building which belonged to the Leiden Academic Hospital ( Leiden Academisch Hospital ), now part of LUMC, Leiden University Medical Center . This location of the museum now houses the National Museum of Ethnology . To create better housing the former nunnery of Saint Cecilia was bought by the Government Buildings Agency ( Rijksgebouwendienst ). This historic building has had various functions over time. The building dates from

4761-577: Was the first person to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for his discovery of the laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions. In the room hangs a painted portrait of van 't Hoff. His golden Nobel prize medal, and a lab journal are also shown. Also a variety of elementary equipment for a chemical laboratory : a distilling apparatus for water (1860), dilatometers , thermometers , hydrometers , alcohol meters, an oleometer ,

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