NOW OPEN: A Collection of Curiosities

Temporary Exhibitions Gallery

July 14, 2025 – January 9, 2026

The David J. Sencer CDC Museum is excited to announce the opening of the newest exhibition, A Collection of Curiosities, which opened on July 14, 2025 and will run through January 9, 2026. This exhibition provides a small glimpse of CDC’s history and public health accomplishments preserved in more than 16,000 artifacts maintained by the museum. The artifacts chosen for the exhibition range from the very small, like the section of a mouse lung on display in the 1918 influenza area, to the large, like Betty Buzz, the 6-foot mosquito created by Hollywood’s Stan Winston Studio for an anti-malaria drug campaign.

Each section in the exhibition tells a story about CDC and the people who have dedicated their lives to public health. The exhibit, created as a complement to the permanent CDC exhibition located in the museum’s  gallery, celebrates great triumphs and milestones in protecting the public both here and abroad. While some stories may be similar, the artifacts on display are not.

The Curiosity artifacts on display cover over a century in the public health timeline from the 1907 San Francisco bubonic plague epidemic to the Ebola outbreak in 2014. There are a few surprises in the exhibition thanks to local museums who loaned their unique artifacts relevant to public health. The Center for Puppetry Arts generously loaned two Muppets – Fozzie Amoeba and Kermit the Protozoa!

From its beginning as the Communicable Disease Center, then after four more name changes before becoming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this agency was present on the front lines, witnessing and creating history in disease control and prevention.

A Collection of Curiosities celebrates CDC’s rich history and the museum’s commitment to preservation. With the help of several CDC staff, and federal and local libraries and museums, we hope this glimpse into the CDC’s museum collection and archives inspires the next generation of scientists and public health servants and reminds us all to stay curious!