Birthplace of Insulin
Hello everyone! My name is Kat MacDonald and I’ll be working at Banting House National Historic Site as an intern for the summer! I am currently completing my M.A in Public History at Western University. I am originally from Kingston and completed my B.A (Hons.) in History and German Studies at Queen’s University. Prior to... Continue Reading →
As an emerging museum professional, my favorite place to be is in the collections. I enjoy working with old artifacts, examining them, treasuring them, and keeping them safe for years to come. Whenever I am given the choice to work on a project within the collections, my friends and colleagues will always find me with... Continue Reading →
In my first week as the new summer student at Banting House National Historic Site of Canada, I was surprised by how little I knew about diabetes. I had a general understanding of what it was and because it did not affect me personally, that was all I remembered. What little I know (thanks to... Continue Reading →
For World Book day, we thought we would dig up one of Banting's books. Although there are many to choose from, his Fellowship Examination Papers booklet can provide some inspiration. In 1918, Frederick Banting took the examinations in the hope of joining the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Unfortunately, it didn't go so well... Continue Reading →
The artifacts on display at Banting House National Historic Site of Canada make up only part of the museum's collection. Sometimes artifacts are too fragile to be on display for long periods of time and there is just not enough space in the museum to display everything at once. Over the last few weeks I've been taking a... Continue Reading →
This week I've been cataloging some of the items that belonged to Sir Frederick Banting when he lived at 442 Adelaide Street, now known as Banting House National Historic Site of Canada. I found some really neat stories on how some of these objects came to be a part of the collection at Banting House as... Continue Reading →
When is a chair more than a chair? What good is a graduated cylinder outside of a science lab? Using objects is a great way to build stories in museums. They are part of what separates museums from textbooks and non-fiction writing; they give visitors something tangible to look at and connect to when they... Continue Reading →
Well, here we are – Saturday, August 30, my last day working at Banting House.I went from a very messy office full of other people’s work, to a mildly messy office full of my own work, to this:I can honestly say I’ve had an incredible experience here, and I’ll definitely miss working at Banting House.... Continue Reading →
As my experience as Summer Intern here at Banting House comes to its close (with only two weeks more until September), I’m starting my second-biggest challenge of all – Grant is on vacation!I say “second-biggest” because nothing can beat how busy we were with Banting & Friends VI (an event that turned out to be... Continue Reading →
This week, my attention was caught by something very inspirational in the news! Courageous Beauty Pageant contestant (now winner of the Miss Idaho title), Sierra Sandison, wore her insulin pump on stage during the swimsuit contest. Her actions sparked a viral, very positive response on Twitter.People who suffer from diabetes and use a pump are... Continue Reading →