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Mutter Museum
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Mutter Museum

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1,731
#47 of 479 things to do in Philadelphia
Speciality Museums • Science Museums
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10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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About
This museum, located at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, is one of the finest medical history museums in America. The Mütter Museum is a 19th century style cabinet museum displaying medical artifacts such as anatomical specimens and medical instruments. Marvel at the beauty and strangeness of the human body. NOTICE FOR 2017: There will be no elevator access to the Mütter Museum for all of January and February 2017. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, home of The Mütter Museum and Historical Medical Library, will be installing a new elevator from January 1st, 2017. Our new elevator will drastically improve access to our collections and events and visitors will be able to enjoy regular access as of early March, 2017. From January 1st - end of February, anyone unable to navigate stairs will not be able to get into our building. There will not be a ramp. Additionally, due to installation of an exciting new exhibit, access to the gallery currently hosting our Vesalius exhibit will be restricted from mid-January until early March, 2017. More details about this new exhibit will be released shortly. We apologize sincerely for any and all inconvenience that this will inevitably cause, however this vital and important maintenance to our historic building will greatly enhance our visitor experience going forward. Thank you so much for your patience.
Suggested duration
1-2 hours
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The area
Address
Neighborhood: City Center West
How to get there
  • 22nd St • 1 min walk
  • 19th St • 6 min walk
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
1,731 reviews
Excellent
839
Very good
598
Average
223
Poor
45
Terrible
27
Chris M
Pocono Mountains Region, PA437 contributions
Intriguing but not what I expected
Sep 2022
Have always wanted to visit and heard a lot about it. Was not quite what I expected. It has, unfortunately, to me, a bit of the circus freak show element to it. The displays were hard to read because the lighting was dim and the glass distorts the words. Some might find the exhibits disturbing but I thought they were no worse than what you would see on TV. I did think it would be a larger museum.
Written September 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Liz D
Baltimore, MD5 contributions
Interesting place
Aug 2022
My preteen chose visiting the Mutter museum as one of the things we did on a recent Philly visit. As soon as we walked in, they regretted that choice. That said, this is not for anyone who is squeemish or cannot handle the weird things that bodies do and the displays of parts from people, skulls, fetal skeletons etc. However, for those interested in these types of things it is a fascinating place. We visited early afternoon and it was very crowded though so hard to spend time looking at things as the exhibit area is quite small.
Written August 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Larry S
2 contributions
Not what we expected
Aug 2022 • Couples
Was on wife's bucket list to see after working 30 years in medical field. Was very small and most things are replica's of real things. Very interesting but small.
Written August 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
merangel99
Southeastern NC185 contributions
Very Interesting if that's Your Thing
Aug 2022 • Family
Came here while in town for a few days. My daughter and I both found it to be very interesting. My husband not so much. It was fascinating to see how the human body works and what happens when things go wrong. Building itself was beautiful. You do need to buy advance tickets.
Written August 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Liz
Mitchell, IN22 contributions
Impressive Collection
Jun 2022
I spent a great afternoon going through this museum. The wall of skulls was my favorite. The museum was in a beautiful part of the city and the building is really cool.
Written August 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
David M
15 contributions
Mediocre Experience, Repetitive, and Not "Traffic" Friendly
Jul 2022
While I enjoyed the specimens they had, a lot of things got repetitive after a time. There's only so many Siamese twins, examples of cancer, skulls, skin diseases, etc. you can look at before it's just the same things.

It also might just be my own fault for placing expectations, but archaic medical utensils and the history of medicine was completely absent. This was especially disappointing considering the main hall had an iron lung. There was a second floor perfect for space for this but instead was just an empty hall.

The worst part though is how there is absolutely no flow for where to go. When crowded, it's a free for all of just finding a place to stand and look.

WARNING: No photos allowed which really killed the vibe as well.

I loved the gift shop though and the gardens outside were nice.
Written July 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
calliam
Winston Salem, NC99 contributions
Fantastic Museum.
Jul 2022
My whole family found this museum fascinating. Lots of really interesting exhibits and a must see for anyone in the medical profession or interested in science.
Written July 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
archersmom
Atlanta, GA10 contributions
Smaller than expected
Jun 2022 • Family
Much smaller than I expected. Some of the specimens are hard to see because the jars and solutions that house them have become discolored and cloudy. Most specimens are plaster casts. Not worth the $, in my opinion. You can see most of the specimens online if you do a Google search. The good news is that my teenage son loved it.
Written June 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Tina S
4 contributions
Too crowded
May 2022 • Friends
For being so concerned about Covid, they sure had a lot of freaking people in the museum. The one girl at the front ticket counter was wearing a mask and my friend and I could not hear her so she started yelling at us as if we were seniors with bad hearing. Thought it was extremely rude. I understand if your employer requires you to wear a mask, but please, when guests can't hear you, remove the mask quickly and help people understand or lip read what you're trying to say. This is bad customer experience period. I thought the exhibits were very interesting, but you had to bend over to read what was on the bottom shelves and I don't know how older people or people with disabilities handle this. Not to mention, every time you turn around you bump into somebody. Staff yelled at guests taking pictures, which I understand why it's not permitted, but as crowded as it was, why don't they limit the number of people and figure out a way to improve the flow from one side to another and from the top floor to the bottom.

I will say, the rest of the staff was very nice.
Written May 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
jaimeelsabio
Maryland4,149 contributions
One item off the bucket list
Apr 2022 • Couples
I’m not a museum person but this was one museum on my bucket list. Since we were in Philadelphia for a wedding we decided to visit. We bought tickets online the morning of the visit and it couldn’t have been easier. We arrived a few minutes before our scheduled time and we’re allowed on. Photographs are NOT permitted in the main museum. We spent 1.5 hours there and found it very interesting.
Written April 3, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Mutter Museum (Philadelphia) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Frequently Asked Questions about Mutter Museum
Mutter Museum is open:
  • Sun - Sat 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Buy tickets in advance on Tripadvisor. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel at least 24 hours before the start date of your tour for a full refund.
We recommend booking Mutter Museum tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 7 Mutter Museum tours on Tripadvisor
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