Field Trip: Banting House, London, Ontario

I can't remember what day we went to Banting House anymore.   I know it was before my father passed away and after New Years. :)   We went.

It was an interesting visit.

Normally when we go to a museum we are free to roam as we will.   As soon as we arrived though, a young lady came out and immediately started doing a tour with us.   This COMPLETELY through my boy for a loop.  

By the end of the tour we decided that in the future, since Dad and I like doing tours, that we would, if offered a tour, ask if we can have a tour after we look through the museum, that way, if we have questions we can ask the tour guide.   Seemed like an equitable decision to me.  What do you think?

Our tour guide did an excellent job of walking us through the Museum, adding detail we would have otherwise needed to take a long time to read through.   There were numerous plaques set up to add detail, but having a real person talk it through with you was an added dimension that I appreciated.  I hadn't known before I went to Banting house that Frederick Banting was also an artist.  

Before insulin was discovered, one of the ways they dealt with diabetes was by putting people on an almost starvation diet.   My son was surprised at how thin one boy was, and how very little he was given to eat.  "Why did they have to write everything down that he ate mom?   Why couldn't he just eat what he wanted to?"   Then to see the letter after he was given insulin about how now he was a healthy fat boy.   It made us both grin.  :)

Frederick Banting also worked with mustard gas, how to minimize it's reaction in people.  He actually subjected himself to mustard gas which got badly infected when he exposed it (not on purpose) to smoke from a backyard fire (from what I recall).   If one works with risky substances, then one must be prepared to take risks was the prevailing opinion of the day.

A highlight of our visit to Banting House was my lad's realization that knowing how to treat diabetes has a delightful benefit.  CATS can be treated if they get diabetes.  My son LOVES cats, so this made the work of Banting VERY relevant to him.  :)   He was pleased to learn that cats will often learn that the needle is a good thing as it makes them feel better, so they will actually come asking for the needle when they are feeling tired and poorly.    "That's smart of them isn't it mom?"

It was a good visit to Banting house.  I would have no issues going again with a homeschool group to learn more.  :)