Museum of Health Care at Kingston

What Museum of Health Care at Kingston does

The Museum of Health Care at Kingston is a registered Canadian charity founded in 1991 and operated from the Ann Baillie Building, a National Historic Site in Kingston, Ontario. It holds approximately 35,000 to 40,000 artifacts spanning Canada's medical and health history and is the country's only standalone museum devoted entirely to that subject. The institution operates nine permanent exhibit galleries and serves roughly 10,000 visitors per year, spanning families, school groups, healthcare professionals, academics, and the general public.

The museum generates revenue through a diversified mix of earned and contributed income: admissions and individual memberships priced at $35 to $150 annually, one-time and recurring donations, gift shop and retail sales, program fees for camps and educational workshops (including Health Adventures Camp at $150 per child and PA Day Camp at $50 per camper), and a Gift Circle giving program ranging from $100 to $1,000+. As a registered charity, donations and grants are likely the largest revenue contributor, with earned income providing supplementary support.

The museum's strategic positioning is pivoting from a regional Kingston-based identity to a national one. The planned 2026 rebrand to the Canadian Museum of Health Care, the 2024 appointment of Dr. Simge Erdogan-O'Connor as director, and new partnerships with Connected North and Streamable Learning all point to expanded geographic reach via virtual programming. Founding partnerships with Kingston General Hospital and Queen's University underpin its institutional credibility, and the museum continues to develop new educational products such as the Health Adventures Camp and rotating exhibits like "A Fantastical Medical Bestiary."

Name

Museum of Health Care at Kingston

Legal name

Museum of Health Care at Kingston

Website

https://museumofhealthcare.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Museum of Health Care at Kingston is a registered Canadian charity and the country's only standalone museum dedicated to medical and health history. Founded in 1991, it operates from a National Historic Site in Kingston, Ontario, serving families, schools, academics, and healthcare professionals through exhibits, educational programs, and a collection of roughly 35,000 to 40,000 artifacts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Heritage Museum

NAICS

Museums (712110), Museums (71211), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

akta.pro primary industry

Science & Technology Museums (THAJADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF), Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF), Archives, Special Collections & Preservation Operations (Rare Materials, Conservation) (EDAEAGAJ)

Keywords

• Medical heritage museum
• Healthcare history exhibits
• Educational museum programs
• Historical artifact preservation
• Community museum services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kingston

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Admissions and Memberships: Revenue from museum admission fees and membership subscriptions at multiple tiers (Individual $45, Dual $65, Senior/Student $35, Dual Senior/Student $50, Corporate $150 annually)
2. Donations and Charitable Contributions: One-time and monthly donations from supporters, plus gift circle giving levels ($100-$1000+) with varying benefits
3. Program Fees: Revenue from educational programs including Health Adventures Camp ($150/child), PA Day Camp ($50/camper), and special event tickets
4. Gift Shop and Retail: Discounts available at gift shop for members

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Canadian Museum of Health Care operates a physical museum in Kingston, Ontario, preserving and exhibiting Canada's largest medical artifact collection (approximately 35,000 items spanning from the 1750s to present). It sells admission access, educational programs (camps, virtual classroom sessions, guided tours, walking tours), an annual research fellowship, an annual academic symposium, and membership/donation programs.

Product overview

The Canadian Museum of Health Care (formerly Museum of Health Care at Kingston) operates as a physical heritage institution with a unified offering centered on preserving and sharing Canada's medical history. The core product is the museum itself, housing the country's largest collection of medical artifacts (approximately 35,000-40,000 items) in the historic Ann Baillie Building. The institution offers a portfolio of programs including permanent and temporary exhibits, educational virtual and onsite programs for schools, Health Adventures Camp for children, the annual Teaching and Learning with Cultural Heritage Symposium, and the Margaret Angus Research Fellowship. Additional revenue programs include museum memberships, the Gift Circle giving program, walking tours (Pulse of the Past, Sick City), and image request services. The museum partners with Connected North and Streamable Learning to deliver virtual educational programs to classrooms across Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Exhibits (Permanent and Temporary) Permanent and temporary exhibits showcasing Canada's medical history, including approximately 35,000 artifacts (surgical tools, laboratory instruments, WW1 gas mask exhibit, 1920s doctor's office, 1930s iron lung display). The current temporary exhibit is 'A Fantastical Medical Bestiary'. Open to general visitors; free admission during select community events.
• Virtual Programs Live-stream educational programs delivered via Connected North and Streamable Learning platforms, bringing Canada's healthcare history into classrooms and homes. Programs include 'Funny Bones' (Grades K-3), 'Science of Snot' (Grade 1-4), 'Mixing Medicine & Media' (Grade 4-6), 'Careers in Care' (Grade 7-12), and museum tours for all ages. Targets remote Indigenous communities and North American classrooms.
• Health Adventures Camp Summer camp for children aged 5-12 featuring hands-on activities including making fake snot, examining bones and x-rays, microscopic exploration, herbal remedy mixing, and Teddy Bear Hospital. Sessions run July 27-31 and August 10-14, 2026 at $150/child. Morning session 9am-12pm for ages 5-8, afternoon 2pm-5pm for ages 9-12.
• Teddy Bear Hospital Interactive program where children bring stuffed animals for 'check-ups' with trained 'teddy doctors and nurses,' designed to help children feel comfortable with healthcare settings. Delivered onsite and via community outreach.
• Pulse of the Past Walking Tour Guided outdoor walking tour tracing Kingston's medical history, including the establishment of one of Canada's oldest public hospitals and Queen's School of Medicine. Tour is 1 hour duration. Open to the general public and tourists.
• Sick City Walking Tour Popular outdoor walking tour included with museum membership, exploring Kingston's historical medical sites. Available to members and the general public.
• Annual Symposium: Teaching and Learning with Cultural Heritage Annual health humanities symposium held in Kingston in partnership with Queen's University, bringing together academics, healthcare professionals, educators, students, and museum workers to explore the intersection of health, humanities, and cultural heritage.
• Margaret Angus Research Fellowship (MARF) 16-week summer research fellowship (May-September) for scholars investigating topics relevant to the history of health and healthcare. Fellows communicate results via blog posts, scholarly manuscripts, and public presentations.
• Museum Membership Annual membership program with multiple tiers: Individual ($45/year), Dual ($65/year), Senior/Student ($35/year), Dual Senior/Student ($50/year), and Corporate ($150/year). Benefits include free museum access, exclusive event invitations, complimentary guided tours, Sick City walking tour, newsletter access, gift shop discounts, AGM voting rights, and annual report.
• Gift Circle Giving Program Annual giving program with four levels: Friends ($100-$249), Partners ($250-$499), Associates ($500-$999), and Patrons ($1,000+). Includes recognition, newsletter access, special event invitations, and curated tours.
• Onsite and Guided Tours Educational tours of the museum's nine galleries and collection spaces, led by knowledgeable guides. Available for groups and individuals.
• Image Requests Service allowing researchers and institutions to request images of artifacts from the museum's collection of approximately 35,000-40,000 medical artifacts spanning from the 1750s to present.
• PA Day Camp PA Day Camp program for ages 6-12 at $50 per camper, running 9am-5pm. Offers a museum-based activity option for school PA Days.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves over 10,000 visitors annually

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Connected NorthcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVirtual education platform partnership delivering museum programs to students in remote Indigenous communities across Canada. Programs include curriculum-linked content on health history topics.
• Streamable LearningcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLive-streaming partnership allowing students across North America to experience educational programs from the museum in their own classrooms.
• Kingston General HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistoric partner and founding supporter. Museum is located on KGH campus in the Ann Baillie Building. KGH helped transform the building into museum space in the 1980s-1990s.
• Queen's University Faculty of Health SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner that supported the museum's establishment. Ongoing partnership includes annual symposium collaboration, student placements, and research opportunities.
• W.D. Jordan Rare Books and Special Collections, Queen's University LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on temporary exhibit 'A Fantastical Medical Bestiary' providing rare books and special collections materials.
• Kingston Frontenac Public LibraryminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for community outreach programs including Teddy Bear Hospital on-the-Go events at library branches.
• Murney Tower MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint programming partner for events like Escape the Museum (Halloween), Eggs-treme Easter Fun, and Murney Fest.
• Daft BrewingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBeverage partner for Sips and Spirits adult Halloween event at the museum.
• Screening Room (Kingston)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCinema partnership for monthly Medical Horror Film Series with curator introductions and film scholar commentary.
• Cinema Society of KingstonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-presenter of the Medical Horror Film Series at the Screening Room.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mütter Museum: The Mütter Museum is a Philadelphia-based medical history museum renowned for its historical medical specimens and educational programming. Its visitorship scale and profile provide a relevant benchmark for a Canadian medical history museum pursuing national prominence.
• Dittrick Medical History Center: Located in Cleveland, the Dittrick is a museum and archive of medical history housed within Case Western Reserve University. Its hybrid academic-public museum model closely parallels the Canadian Museum of Health Care's Queen's University partnership approach.
• National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM): NMHM is a U.S. federal museum dedicated to medical history and military medicine, operating a comparable curatorial and exhibit-focused model. It mirrors the Canadian Museum of Health Care's mission of preserving and exhibiting medical heritage artifacts.
• International Museum of Surgical Science: Chicago-based museum dedicated to surgical history and medical sciences, with collections and exhibits comparable in theme and niche to the Canadian Museum of Health Care. Both serve as specialty medical history museums with educational programming.

Broad incumbents

• Canada Science and Technology Museum: Canada's national science and technology museum in Ottawa, offering overlap in audience and science education programming. While broader in scope, it competes for the same family, school, and government funding pools as the Canadian Museum of Health Care.
• Royal Ontario Museum (ROM): Toronto-based natural history and world cultures museum with significant medical/scientific collections and educational programming. Operates in the same Ontario visitor market and competes for cultural tourism and school group visits.
• Wellcome Collection: Wellcome Collection is a London-based museum and library focused on health and the human experience, making it a direct functional comparator to the Canadian Museum of Health Care's health-medicine niche. Both institutions blend curatorial collections with public programming and research.

Regional players

• Canada Agriculture and Food Museum: Another Ottawa-based federal museum in the Ingenium portfolio, targeting similar family and school audiences with a hands-on educational focus. Useful as a benchmark for visitor programming and educational program revenue models at Canadian heritage museums.
• 1000 Islands History Museum (Gananoque): Small regional history museum in the same Ontario tourism corridor that shares a former staff member (Anna Collett) with the Canadian Museum of Health Care. Provides peer reference for similar-scale community museums and joint programming.

Emerging players

• Bethlem Museum of the Mind: London museum exploring mental health history with connecting board members to the Canadian Museum of Health Care. Shares a health-and-medicine institutional focus and a similar museum-scale audience and programming footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/museum-of-health-care-at-kingston

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Museum of Health Care at Kingston