contact us    |    accessibility    |

The Human Microbiome

Date(s): 11 September 2025

Time: 2pm

Cost: £3

Age Restrictions: 16+

Booking Link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-human-microbiome-tickets-1372961176839?aff=oddtdtcreator



Human Microbiome - FOH SCREEN



Join museum research Fellow Professor Ken Donaldson for this exploration of the human microbiome.

The Dutchman Antony van Leeuwenhoek was the first person to see microbes, which he saw with his new invention, the microscope, in the late 17th century. At the same time he described “very little animalcules, very prettily a-moving”, in scrapings from his own teeth. In the last few decades however, a revolutionary new understanding has developed regarding the trillions of microbes (primarily bacteria: we don’t call them animalcules any more) that live on and within our bodies and now designated as our microbiome. Our microbiome is now known to play a key role in normal health and in disease, although the details of how this works remains almost entirely unelucidated. What is sure is that we stand on the brink of a new understanding of how we might live healthier lives based on tending to, and optimising, our microbiomes. This talk is an introduction to the human microbiome for those age 16+.

Doors open 13:45

Duration: 60mins (approx.)

Age Guidance: 16+

Important Refund Information: Please note that included in your ticket prices is a 96p booking charge which is non-refundable. This is part of Eventbrite terms and conditions and is not at the discression of Surgeons Hall Museums.

Content Warning: Our collections contain human remains as well as representations of anatomy, injury, and disease that some may find upsetting

Subscribe to the Surgeons' Hall Museums News Feed