Museum Month: Madness And Badness At Psychiatric And Crime Museums

It’s no secret amongst my friends (and I suspect, most of my readers) that I’m obsessed with the more sordid aspects of humanity. Why? Hell if I know. As with most things, I blame my dad, the veterinarian. I’m pretty sure a childhood spent playing necropsy assistant has something to do with it.

My love of forensics is only the tip of the iceberg: psychiatry, taxidermy, eating weird shit and serial killers also make my list of fun things to read about or watch documentaries on when it’s time to relax. I know – I’m a total freak.

Obviously, I’m not alone (do a quick Google search of “forensic television shows” and you’ll see what I mean). There are also scads of museums and the like devoted to the seamier side of life, all across the U.S. My picks, after the jump.

P.S. If you find this reprehensible yet you’ve read this far, well, that makes you a bit of a voyeur, as well. Embrace it, and click away.Glore Psychiatric Museum
A part of the St. Joseph Museum located in St. Joseph, Missouri, the Glore was once housed in “State Lunatic Asylum No. 2.” Founded by George Glore in 1903, the museum is essentially a history of the treatment of mental illness (including keepsakes from patients that include “items ingested” and contemporary artwork). There are also interactive exhibits, replicas and documents. Expect to see everything from lobotomy instruments to treatments for patients “possessed” by witchcraft or demons.

Glore worked for the Missouri Department of Mental Health for nearly 41 years, and despite the thematic content, his museum contains what’s considered the largest and most well curated exhibition of mental health care in the U.S. According to its website, Glore’s goal was to “reduce the stigma associated with psychiatric treatment for patients, their families and their communities.”

The Glore Psychiatric Museum is located at 3408 Frederick Avenue, and is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays 1 to 5 p.m. – closed on major holidays.

The National Museum of Crime and Punishment
Washington, D.C.‘s “Crime Museum” opened in the Penn Quarter neighborhood in 2008, and boasts 28,000 square feet packed with artifacts, interactive exhibits, including an FBI shooting range and high-speed police chase simulator, and forensic techniques ranging from ballistics analysis to facial reconstruction. There are also historical exhibits focused on colonial crime, pirates, the Wild West, the Mafia and serial killers, and law enforcement uniforms, firearms and other equipment.

Other educational offerings include public forensic workshops, CSI summer camps for teens (it’s never too early to become the next Marg Helgenberger, kids) and rotating exhibits. Don’t forget your night vision goggles.

The Crime Museum is located at 575 7th Street NW, Washington D.C, and is open seven days a week. Hours vary by season. Click here for details. If you’re traveling by Metro, take the Green, Yellow or Red lines, and get off at the Gallery Place/Chinatown station.

[Photo credits: Michael Myers, Flickr user Chepe Leña; Crime Museum, Wikipedia Commons]

Thoughts on woman who died at Phoenix airport

This morning, Jeffrey wrote a post about Carol Anne Gotbaum’s family suing the city of Phoenix for her death. Right after she accidentally strangled herself with her handcuffs while she was in police custody at the Phoenix Sky International Airport, I wrote about it. Her mental illness and desperation, plus the heightened security at airports, and the anxiety that goes with air travel made for a bad combo. Regardless of whether procedures were followed or not, I wonder what the procedures are exactly? If one goes off ones rocker, one hopes for a better result.

In the movie, “Meet the Savages,” there’s a brief scene when Laura Linney’s character is helping her father who has dementia make it to the bathroom of an airplane when flying with him back to New York from where he was living in Arizona. His pants fall down while he is standing in the aisle. No one reacts. What if someone had become irate? A small scene could have become a big one.

I was just in the Phoenix airport two weeks ago Friday dashing with a group of thirty to catch a plane since our Southwest flight was almost two hours delayed. The jaunt between the two gates was a goodly amount and I had the task of keeping track of the five people assigned to me. Everyone in my group was sane and not drinking and kept checking to make sure we were all accounted for. I can’t imagine navigating an airport of that size if under duress.

I feel bad for both sides and it’s unfortunate Gotbaum isn’t around to explain what was going on in her head that day. As a person who has worked with people with mental illness, when I watched the tape back when I wrote a previous post, I did think, “Oh boy. What an unfortunate mess.”