In honor of the Wigton Heritage Center’s one-year anniversary, UNMC’s McGoogan Health Sciences Library is announcing the center’s new online exhibit portal.
One year ago — June 29, 2021 — the Wigton Heritage Center opened as a welcome center to the UNMC campus. Showcasing the history of UNMC as an institution and the health sciences professions across Nebraska, the Wigton Heritage Center serves as a catalyst for understanding, experiencing and appreciating UNMC’s legacy.
The new digital exploration of the current exhibit allows visitors to discover more stories, images and artifacts from the library’s special collections. These include recent oral histories and newly acquired materials related to the historical figures that are highlighted in the Wigton Heritage Center’s inaugural displays. The online portal features exhibits on display throughout the Wigton Heritage Center’s three levels.
The site provides additional historical context as well. There are full-length biographies of the individuals highlighted in the Wigton Heritage Center, with expanded narratives that had been shortened in the physical displays due to space constraints.
The online experience also highlights connections between exhibits. For example, McGoogan Library’s Special Collections & Archives team discovered stories about the WAY (Drs. Wigton, Aita and Young) Clinic that unites the legacy of the Swift-Wigton family with the history of the Department of Psychiatry and the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute.
The SCA team also explored the connective narrative between early anatomist Edward Holyoke, MD, and his work with prolific medical illustrator Rose Reynolds, whose illustrations were a critical teaching and publication tool of the time.
The portal is open for the community to explore the history of UNMC and health sciences in the state of Nebraska.