The Mütter Museum
The Mütter Museum is a Philadelphia-based non-profit medical history museum and division of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, displaying over 25,000 anatomical specimens, medical instruments, and artifacts. It serves general visitors, K-12 and university students, health professionals, and researchers via admissions, memberships, education programs, and a digital content platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1859
- HeadquartersPhiladelphia, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Mütter Museum does
The Mütter Museum is a non-profit medical history museum operating as a division of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, founded in 1787. Established through Dr. Thomas Dent Mütter's 1859 donation of 1,700 objects and $30,000, the museum has grown to house more than 25,000 objects—including approximately 6,500 human remains, the 2,374-piece Chevalier Jackson Collection of swallowed objects, anatomical specimens, and medical instruments—displayed in a 19th-century 'cabinet museum' setting at 19 S 22nd Street, Philadelphia. The collection is paired with the Historical Medical Library, which maintains roughly 2,700 scanned images and archival holdings. The museum is open Wednesday through Monday, 10AM to 5PM, and serves general visitors, K-12 and university students, healthcare professionals, academic researchers, and members.
The museum generates revenue through a diversified mix: walk-up admission tickets, a seven-tier annual membership program ($40–$1,000), charitable donations processed through The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, a museum store (physical and online), facility rentals, public events, virtual lessons ($125/session), and image licensing. Education programs include in-person and virtual Mütter Lessons for grades 6–12 and adults, the Mütter@Home digital platform, ten Civil War lesson plans developed with Gettysburg College, and afterschool/summer programs (Junior Fellows, OUT4STEM, Girls One Diaspora Club, STEM Internship). Distribution leverages a website, online ticketing, the 'My Favorite Malady' podcast, YouTube, social media channels, and in-person visits, with research access offered by appointment.
There is no proprietary technology platform; the digital stack consists of a website, online ticketing system, virtual event delivery, a digital collections catalogue, and Google Analytics. The museum's strategic posture emphasizes ethical collection stewardship, codified in August 2025 human remains and image policies developed with an Ad Hoc Committee of outside bioethics experts. The institution depends on a combined workforce of 40+ full- and part-time staff across The College of Physicians and the museum, and is funded in part through major grants from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
The Mütter Museum firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Mütter Museum
- Legal name
- The College of Physicians of Philadelphia
- Website
- https://muttermuseum.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1859
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Mütter Museum is a Philadelphia-based non-profit medical history museum and division of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, displaying over 25,000 anatomical specimens, medical instruments, and artifacts. It serves general visitors, K-12 and university students, health professionals, and researchers via admissions, memberships, education programs, and a digital content platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Mütter Museum industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Medical History Museum
- NAICS
- Museums (71211), Libraries and Archives (51921)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF), Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)
Keywords
Where The Mütter Museum is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Philadelphia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Mütter Museum business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Museum Admission Tickets: Visitors purchase tickets for entry to the museum. Ticketing is handled via https://muttr.org/ticketing.
- Memberships: The museum sells annual memberships at multiple tiers ($40–$1,000/year) providing free admission, discounts, guest passes, and exclusive benefits, generating recurring revenue from dedicated patrons.
- Donations: The museum accepts charitable donations through The College of Physicians of Philadelphia's donation platform, supporting the museum's operations and acquisitions.
- Museum Store: The Mütter Museum Store sells merchandise and books, both in-person and online, providing retail revenue.
- Museum Store Discounts for Members: Members receive a 10% discount in the Museum Store (in-person and online), incentivizing membership purchases while driving store traffic.
- Space Rentals: The museum rents its space for private events through eventsatcpp.org, generating venue rental income.
- Events and Programs: Revenue from public events, lectures, and special programs including ticket sales for virtual events and discounts for members on private tours.
- Virtual Lessons: The museum offers virtual educational lessons at $125 per session for school groups, generating revenue from educational programming.
- Image Licensing and Reproduction Services: The museum provides imaging and image reproduction services for researchers, media, and publications, with fees for research and production.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Student Membership at $40/year for one high school or college student |
| Subscription | Annual | Individual Membership at $65/year for one adult plus two one-time-use guest passes |
| Subscription | Annual | Dual Membership at $100/year for two adults plus two one-time-use guest passes |
| Subscription | Annual | Family Membership at $160/year for four individuals with ROAM reciprocal benefits and two guest passes |
| Subscription | Annual | Chevalier Circle Leadership at $250/year with expanded benefits for four individuals |
| Subscription | Annual | Orzel Order Leadership at $500/year with recognition and enhanced perks |
| Subscription | Annual | Curie Coterie Leadership at $1,000/year with benefits for eight individuals |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Virtual Mütter Lessons at $125 per session |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels13 records
The Mütter Museum product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Mütter Museum operates a public medical history museum displaying over 25,000 anatomical specimens, medical instruments, models, and historical artifacts in a 19th-century 'cabinet museum' setting, complemented by a Historical Medical Library. It offers on-site and virtual educational programs for students and adults, research access to its collections, a museum store, and facility rentals, all operated as a non-profit division of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia.
Product overview
The Mütter Museum is America's premier medical history museum operated by The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, featuring over 25,000 anatomical specimens, medical instruments, and historical artifacts displayed in a 19th-century cabinet museum setting. The institution offers a diverse portfolio including core museum collections, educational programs (Mütter Lessons, Mütter@Home, Civil War Lesson Plans), the My Favorite Malady podcast, virtual tours and videos, research services, membership tiers, museum store, and docent-guided tours. The museum serves educational purposes through both physical visits and digital content, targeting students, medical professionals, and the general public interested in medical history.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Mütter Museum Collections & Exhibition
- Museum Membership Program
- Museum Education Programs (Mütter Lessons)
- Virtual Mütter Lessons
- Research & Library Access Services
- Image Licensing and Reproduction Services
- Mütter@Home Digital Education Platform
- Civil War Lesson Plans
- My Favorite Malady Podcast
- Mütter Museum Store
- Space Rentals & Private Events
- Docent Tours & Volunteer Program
Companies that use The Mütter Museum
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
The Mütter Museum technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
The Mütter Museum partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core, major and supporting.
- Pennsylvania Academy of Fine ArtsminorMonica Zimmerman, Vice President of Public Education, Engagement, and Museum Operations at PAFA, delivered the 2022 Bernard Behrend Lecture on 'Innovations in Art & Medicine: 500 Years of Collaborations' at the Mütter Museum.
- Dr. Deborah Wexler (Donor)minorGenerous donor who contributed Dr. Seuss and Star Wars vaccination posters to the Historical Medical Library collection, featured in a 'From the Stacks' video.
- Maternity Care CoalitioncorePartnered with the Maternity Care Coalition for the 'Designing Motherhood' exhibition (May 2021 – May 2022), exploring the intersection of design and reproductive health history.
- Gettysburg College (Civil War Institute)coreDr. Peter Carmichael, Director of Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, developed ten online Civil War lesson plans for the Mütter Museum, intended for high school juniors and seniors and first and second-year undergraduates. These are freely available online and include primary source documents.
- Hidden City PhiladelphiacoreThe Mütter Museum partnered with Hidden City Philadelphia for the 'Spit Spreads Death' neighborhood virtual tours of Philadelphia communities (Brewerytown, Bella Vista, South Street West) exploring the 1918-19 influenza pandemic's impact on various ethnic communities.
- Blast Theory (UK Artists)coreThe Mütter Museum commissioned UK artists Blast Theory to create 'Spit Spreads Death: The Parade,' an artwork commemorating the 1918 flu pandemic and thanking public health workers, involving hundreds of Philadelphians in a community parade.
- Pew Center for Arts & HeritagemajorMajor funder of the Spit Spreads Death exhibit, providing significant financial support for the Mütter Museum's large-scale community engagement and artistic programming around the 1918-19 influenza pandemic.
- Institute of Museum and Library ServicesmajorFederal funding agency providing major support for the Spit Spreads Death exhibit and related museum programming.
- Groff Family Memorial TrustsupportingAdditional supporter of the Spit Spreads Death exhibit and related programming at the Mütter Museum.
- Pennsylvania Historical and Museum CommissionsupportingState agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania providing additional support for the Spit Spreads Death exhibit and related programming.
- The College of Physicians of PhiladelphiacoreThe Mütter Museum is a division of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, founded in 1787. The College provides institutional governance, staffing, facilities (19 S 22nd Street), administrative functions including finance, operations, fellowship, and press/media relations. The College also houses the Historical Medical Library, which is closely affiliated with the museum.
- History of VaccinesminorAn affiliated website (historyofvaccines.org) also operated by The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, providing educational content about vaccination history that complements the museum's educational mission.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Mütter Museum competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- National Museum of Health and Medicine: U.S. medical history museum operated by the Defense Health Agency, holding anatomical specimens, medical instruments, and military medical artifacts. The closest direct U.S. peer to the Mütter Museum in mission, collection type (human remains, pathological specimens), and educational programming.
- Dittrick Medical History Center: Cleveland-based medical history museum and archives affiliated with Case Western Reserve University, holding instruments, rare books, and archives on the history of medicine. Direct peer in the academic-affiliated medical history museum category.
- Deutsches Hygiene-Museum: Dresden-based German museum on the human body, health, and hygiene, holding anatomical models and wax figures. International direct peer sharing the Mütter's mission to educate the public on the human body and the history of medicine.
- Wellcome Collection: London-based museum and library exploring health and the human experience, founded on Henry Wellcome's collection of medical artifacts. Closest international peer to the Mütter Museum with overlapping medical-history focus, anatomical/historical collections, and a free-admission cultural-institution model.
- International Museum of Surgical Science: Chicago-based museum operated by the International College of Surgeons, focused on surgical history, medical instruments, and anatomical art. Direct peer sharing the Mütter's specialty focus on surgical and medical artifacts within a historic institutional setting.
- Hunterian Museum (Royal College of Surgeons of England): London museum operated by the Royal College of Surgeons, holding John Hunter's anatomical and pathological specimen collection. Direct peer with overlapping surgical/anatomical collection focus, hosted within a professional medical society like the Mütter is hosted within the College of Physicians.
Others
- Mütter affiliated College of Physicians of Philadelphia Historical Medical Library: The parent organization and affiliated Historical Medical Library provide the institutional context for the Mütter Museum; while not a separate peer, the College's broader fellowship, publications, and programming ecosystem shape the museum's operating model.
Broad incumbents
- Science Museum (London): Major London science museum with significant medical-history galleries including the Wellcome Galleries. Comparable to the Mütter in subject matter but operates at much larger scale with broader science/technology focus rather than medical-history specialization.
- Smithsonian National Museum of American History: Smithsonian museum in Washington, D.C. holding major collections of medical artifacts and instruments as part of broader American history exhibits. Broad incumbent that intersects with the Mütter's medical-history theme but serves a much larger and more general audience.
Emerging players
- The Burns Archive: New York-based private collection of medical, historical, and anthropological photography, frequently licensing images for medical-history publications and media. Emerging/commercial peer that monetizes medical-history imagery in the same image-licensing market as the Mütter's reproduction services.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Mütter Museum social profiles
Digital presenceThe Mütter Museum financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Mütter Museum leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
The Mütter Museum funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Mütter Museum M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Mütter Museum
What does The Mütter Museum do?
The Mütter Museum operates a public medical history museum displaying over 25,000 anatomical specimens, medical instruments, models, and historical artifacts in a 19th-century 'cabinet museum' setting, complemented by a Historical Medical Library. It offers on-site and virtual educational programs for students and adults, research access to its collections, a museum store, and facility rentals, all operated as a non-profit division of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia.
Is The Mütter Museum a public or private company?
The Mütter Museum is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Mütter Museum founded?
The Mütter Museum was founded in 1859. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Mütter Museum based?
The Mütter Museum is headquartered in Philadelphia, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Mütter Museum make money?
Nine revenue lines are on record. Museum Admission Tickets are the primary driver. The others are memberships, donations, museum Store, museum Store Discounts for Members, space Rentals, events and Programs, virtual Lessons and image Licensing and Reproduction Services.
Who are The Mütter Museum's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are National Museum of Health and Medicine, Dittrick Medical History Center, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Wellcome Collection, International Museum of Surgical Science and Hunterian Museum (Royal College of Surgeons of England). Mütter affiliated College of Physicians of Philadelphia Historical Medical Library is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Science Museum (London) and Smithsonian National Museum of American History. The Burns Archive is listed as an emerging player.
Does The Mütter Museum have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Mütter Museum.
What industry is The Mütter Museum in?
The Mütter Museum's product category is Medical History Museum. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAHAA, Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty), with a secondary code of THAJADAF, Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film). Its NAICS code is 71211.