Monday - Friday at 3.30pm
Saturday - Sunday at 11.30am and 3.30pm
Join us on a 15-minute tour to discover the story and achievements of Florence Nightingale. See one of the lamps she carried and her pet owl, Athena. Discover how she became a nurse and helped improve the conditions of the soldiers and nurses during the Crimean War. Find out more about the founder of modern nursing, one of our greatest Victorians and a female icon!
Meet in the reception area.
Free with paid admission to the museum
October
Spanish Flu Exhibition:
Nursing during history’s deadliest pandemic
21 September 2018 – 16 June 2019
Building on Florence Nightingale’s work during the Crimean war, WW1 ushered in a new era for nursing. Women from all walks of life were filled with a desire to serve their country. But in 1918, as WW1 approached its end, nothing could have prepared them for what was to come – the deadly Spanish Flu.
Infecting up to half of the world’s population, the death toll from this lethal pandemic far outstripped that of the war, with victims suffering from often terrifying and gruesome symptoms. A type of Avian Influenza, which is still a danger today, there was no cure for Spanish Flu, and doctors were at a loss to know how to prevent or treat it. Good nursing was the only thing that helped, and therefore it was typically women that bore the brunt of trying to halt this deadly killer.
Journey back in time to a field hospital in 1918 and explore the experiences of those that lived and died during the deadliest pandemic in human history, and discover if a similarly devastating pandemic could happen again today.
Pandemic 1918
Spanish Flu talk by author Catharine Arnold
Thursday 11 October
Spanish Flu was the most devastating pandemic in world history, killing up to 100 million people worldwide. Pandemic 1918 traces the course of the deadly virus, its origins and progress across the globe.
As doctors were left powerless against this common enemy, with no obvious cure in sight, nursing staff played an increasingly vital role in caring for the victims of Spanish flu. Many sacrificed their own lives in the process, but their incalculable contribution did much to advance the role of nursing as a profession in the years that followed the First World War. In this talk, author Catharine Arnold presents the personal testimonies of many nurses, civilian and military, and their vivid experiences of what it was like to work in hospitals overrun by Spanish flu.
2.30pm.
Free with paid admission to the museum
Florence Nightingale's London Walk
Wednesday 17 October, Thursday 15 November, Tuesday 11 December
Walk in the footsteps of the 'mother of nursing' and discover the life of Florence Nightingale through the places where she lived and worked. From the house where she spent the last days of her long life, the hotel where she wrote her famous Notes on Nursing, the statue of the Lady with the Lamp, to the hospital where she founded her nursing school. Along the way, we take a look at her life and visit London as she knew it.
This walk lasts approximately 2.5 hours and will be conducted at a reasonable walking pace so please wear appropriate footwear.
Start: 10.30am outside The Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane (nearest underground stations are Hyde Park Corner and Marble Arch)
Finish: The Florence Nightingale Museum in St Thomas's Hospital (nearest underground stations are Westminster and Waterloo).
Prices: Adult £20 which includes admission to the Florence Nightingale Museum
Concession (Over 65's, Students, Disabled, Military, Job Seekers Allowances - with valid ID) £15
Booking required. For bookings and enquiries, please e-mail Kristin@florence-nightingale.co.uk or call 020 7188 4400. We offer credit card payment via the phone. If you have further questions, please feel free to get in touch.
October half term
Meet Florence Nightingale
Saturday 20 October
Come and meet Miss Nightingale. She'll tell you how she became a nurse against her parents' wishes and how she became known as the 'Lady with the Lamp'. You'll even get to meet her pet owl! Florence Nightingale was as famous as Queen Victoria in her own lifetime and is still celebrated today.
Performances at 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.00pm. Free with paid admission to the museum.
Clean Hands
Monday 22nd October
We all know we have to keep our hands clean to stop us getting ill, but come along to find out why. The Infection Control team from St Thomas’ Hospital will be here to show you how clean your hands really are – or not! You can even see the special equipment used by the team to help protect them against infection.
11.00am-1.00pm and 1.30pm-3.30pm. Drop-in. Free with paid admission to the museum.
Mud & Mortar: A WW1 Nurse’s Story
Wednesday 24th October
Do you have what it takes to be a nurse in WW1? Meet Nurse Hermione Godfrey to hear all about her experiences on the Western Front during the First World War. As a Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse Hermione cared for wounded soldiers and now she’s looking to recruit new volunteers as stretcher bearers and VADs. Are you up for the task?
11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.00pm. Free with paid admission to the museum.
Make Your Own Pop-Up Germs!
Thursday 25 October
Popular author, illustrator and paper engineer John O’Leary returns to the Florence Nightingale Museum for more fun, family workshops in pop-up design.
Learn about the Spanish Flu while creating your very own pop-up collection of germs with moving parts – draw different types or invent your own. This is a chance to master some basic pop-up techniques and how to develop simple mechanisms into more complex designs, all in easy-to-follow steps. The workshops are suitable for all abilities. Materials are supplied, just bring your creativity.
