Wellcome Collection - What's On in October

Booking for events opens at 11.00 on Friday 26 September.   You can book online with our new ticketing system by following the links below, or you can call us on 020 7611 2222.

FREE EXHIBITION

An Idiosyncratic A to Z of the Human Condition

UNTIL 12 OCT

FREE | DROP IN

"A delightful show" - 'Telegraph' This is your last chance to see 'An Idiosyncratic A to Z of the Human Condition' before it closes on 12 October. 'Time Out' called it "compelling” and the 'Daily Mail' deemed it "summer's wackiest exhibition". From Acts of Faith to Zoonoses, we present an idiosyncratic A to Z of what it is to be human. Using Henry Wellcome's strange and wonderful collection of objects (from medical artefacts and paintings to photography and sculpture), we invite you to consider: What is the human condition? But our A-Z is far from perfect, and as fellow experts in what it is to be human, we want you to help shape this show. Do drop in to consider the human condition and contribute to the 26 in-gallery activities. Leave your own human traces in the gallery itself or on Twitter @explorewellcome - #humancondition Find out more about our idiosyncratic A to Z of the human condition before it's gone. › An Idiosyncratic A to Z of the Human Condition - find out more

FREE INSTALLATION

The Human Emporium TUESDAY 28 OCT - SUNDAY 9 NOV FREE | DROP IN   Enter into the curious world of 'The Human Emporium' to explore nine young artists' reflections on identity, the body's architecture and the intriguing nature of being human. › The Human Emporium - find out more

FREE EVENTS

The Worst Journey THURSDAY 9 OCT, 19.00-20.00 FREE | BOOK FROM 26 SEP   Exploration and collecting are closely linked. Offering an insight into the formation of Henry Wellcome's vast hoard of medical curios, this specially commissioned musical performance explores how Apsley Cherry-Garrard, the youngest member of Scott's fateful expedition, risked life and limb to collect emperor penguin eggs in the Antarctic winter. › The Worst Journey - find out more   The Thing Is… Chinese Medicine (audio described) THURSDAY 16 OCT, 19.00-20.00 FREE | BOOK FROM 26 SEP Nancy Holroyde-Downing, a Chinese medicine practitioner and historian, explores conversations between Western and traditional Chinese medicine. › The Thing Is… Chinese Medicine - find out more

Packed Lunch: Language Processing (BSL interpreted) WEDNESDAY 22 OCT, 13.00-14.00 FREE | FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED Mairéad MacSweeney researches how the brain processes language in people who are born profoundly deaf. Join us to discover the ways language experience can shape the brain and how this knowledge could inform education. › Packed Lunch: Language Processing - find out more   Green City? Dealing with Victorian London's waste THURSDAY 23 OCT, 18.00-19.00 FREE | BOOK FROM 26 SEP   We think of recycling as a modern idea, and of the Victorian city as a hellish place of pollution and waste. Join us to challenge some of these preconceptions. Warning: May contain local government and sewage. › Green City? Dealing with Victorian London's waste – Find out more

LIBRARY LECTURES

Preaching, Politics and Philanthropy: The Quakers in pharmacy 1650 to 1900 WEDNESDAY 15 OCT, 18.00-19.00 FREE | BOOK FROM 26 SEP Join us for the British Society for the History of Medicine Poynter Lecture as Dr Stuart Anderson discusses the impact of Quakers on British pharmacy and philanthropic endeavours. › Preaching, Politics and Philanthropy: The Quakers in pharmacy 1650 to 1900 - find out more   Toward a Biography of DNA MONDAY 20 OCT, 18.30-19.30 FREE | BOOK FROM 26 SEP DNA is the 'molecule of life' and has itself gone through many life stages. Professor Nathaniel Comfort contends that we need to de-mythologise DNA in order to understand it in historical context ­ a process that removes it from its central place in our current science-led concept of what makes us human. › Toward a Biography of DNA - find out more   BBC Reith Lectures 2014 MONDAY 3 NOV, 19.00-20.30 FREE | BOOK FROM 26 SEP Hear Dr Atul Gawande deliver one of his four BBC Reith Lectures examining the future of medicine, followed by a Q&A with the audience. Gawande will explore the nature and progress of failure in medicine, a field defined by what he calls "the messy intersection of science and human fallibility". › BBC Reith Lectures 2014 - find out more

COMING SOON

The Institute of Sexology OPENS 20 NOV 2014 FREE | DROP IN   'The Institute of Sexology' is a candid exploration of the most publically discussed of private acts. Undress your mind and join us to investigate human sexuality at 'The Institute', the first of our longer exhibitions. Featuring over 200 objects spanning art, rare archival material, erotica, film and photography, this is the first UK exhibition to bring together the pioneers of the study of sex. › The Institute of Sexology - find out more

COMPETITION

Indulge your appetite: win the Gourmet Guide to Love Making! In anticipation of 'The Institute of Sexology' exhibition opening in November, we are giving away five copies of a special facsimile edition of the classic 'The Joy of Sex'. To enter, just answer one simple question on our Facebook page. 'The Institute of Sexology' will include original sketches from 'The Joy of Sex'. › Find out more on our Facebook page

BOOKS

Forensics: The anatomy of crime, Val McDermid A new book from Wellcome Collection Inspired by the upcoming Wellcome Collection exhibition, bestselling crime writer Val McDermid picks up the scalpel to uncover the secrets of forensic medicine, from the crime scene to the courtroom. Available from 2 October 2014. You can also see Val at her 5x15 event at Wilton's Music Hall this October. › Pre-order the book here for £14.99   Being Mortal: Medicine and what matters in the end, Atul Gawande A profoundly important and moving new book from Atul Gawande (bestselling author of 'Complications', 'Better' and 'The Checklist Manifesto'), co-published by Wellcome Collection and Profile Books, is now available for pre-order. This is a book about the modern experience of mortality - about what it's like to get old and die, how medicine has changed this and how it hasn't, and where our ideas about death have gone wrong. You can also see Atul at his 5x15 event at Conway Hall in November. › Pre-order the book for £12.99

ONLINE

An A to Z of the Human Condition explored We've been asking you to contribute your idiosyncrasies to our current exhibition 'An Idiosyncratic A to Z of the Human Condition'. All of your great Instagram photographs have been gathered on Tumblr and displayed in the gallery. As a thank you, we are using them to explore some of the themes from the exhibition to find out the roles they play in making us human. › A to Z of the Human Condition blog series - find out more   Things that go bump in the night… Muriel Bailly explores what (or who) monsters really are and how different they are from us, if at all. From Titans to the Hunchback of Notre Dame, monsters have featured in religion, literature and our nightmares since the days of old. But how different are these grotesque (or cuddly) caricatures from our modern-day monsters? › M is for…Monsters? - find out more

OUT AND ABOUT

Night at the Museum Mile FRIDAY 17 OCT - FRIDAY 31 OCT To celebrate the release of the new film 'Night at the Museum: Secret of the tomb', in cinemas from this December, 12 museums from London's Museum Mile have come together to offer a host of activities, workshops and film screenings during the October half term, plus a chance for a family to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to LA. Between 17 and 31 October a special 'Night at the Museum Mile' trail will offer visitors a competition entry for every participating museum they visit, with up to 12 chances to win the US trip plus a host of other prizes. Full details of the trail, the activities, the museums taking part and the competition will be online atmuseum-mile.org.uk from 10 October 2014.