After opening to the public in 2020, Shawnee’s brief-lived Medicine’s Hall of Fame & Museum is now officially closed.
What happened: After Bruce Hodges spent a lifetime collecting medical artifacts, his goal of opening a museum dedicated to the medical profession came to life in early 2020 — just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
- Hodges opened in the space on Lackman Road formerly occupied by the Johnson County Museum, before it moved to the Arts & Heritage Center on Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park.
- The pandemic meant Hodge’s medical museum and hall of fame couldn’t open as planned, leading to low attendance and ultimately the closure, according to a recent press release.
- Read more about the Medicine’s Hall of Fame and Museum’s story here.
What they’re saying: “After years of preparing the museum’s exhibits, just before it was set to open, COVID-19 restrictions limited the museum’s ability to fully open,” the press release reads. “Low attendance numbers created financial challenges that ultimately led to its closure.”
Where exactly? The museum was in the former Johnson County Museum space at 6305 Lackman Road.
What happens to Medicine’s Hall of Fame & Museum exhibits?
The museum’s more than 5,000 medical artifacts will be auctioned off online next month, according to the press release.
Some of the items up for auction, as outlined in the press release, include:
- A 1940s pediatric iron lung used to treat polio
- A Chippewa wood and rawhide medicine drum
- An 1880 Nigerian Yoruba tribe chieftain sash
- George Washington Presidential Peace medals from 1789 to 1795
- Rare apothecary bottles and jars
More details: The auction will be conducted by the Mayo Auction & Realty of Belton, Mo., according to the release.
- Photos and descriptions will be posted online here.
- In-person previews will be from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4 at the museum.
- Online bidding ends on Monday, Nov. 7, according to the release.
