For the second consecutive year, a mobile museum exploring funeral customs and the bomb response unit of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will be part of the annual Mortuary Science Open House at Wayne State University (WSU). The event will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 15.
Prospective students, their families, WSU friends, alumni and the public are invited to tour the building at 5439 Woodward Ave. in Detroit. Faculty and staff will be present to answer questions on the programs and coursework. Prospective students also may submit their transcripts for an audit.
Begun in 1991 as a small gathering of alumni, friends, students and parents, "public interest in our annual open house continues to grow with visitors lining up outside our building well before our doors open," said E. David Ladd, Mortuary Science program director. "Last year, we had more than 900 visitors, our largest crowd in recent history, tour the building's teaching environments for Mortuary Science, Forensic Investigation, Anatomic Pathologists' Assistant and Clinical Laboratory Science." The programs make up the Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, one of four departments of the WSU's Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (EACPHS).
Formerly a state psychiatric hospital, today the 44,000 square-foot, four-story facility offers the most advanced teaching and research resources which include embalming, anatomy, restorative arts and microbiology laboratories. There also is a merchandising room displaying caskets, urns, vault, prayer cards and other funeral service accessories.
Another teaching tool for the Forensic Investigation program is the ATF bomb response unit. It will be on-site for the public's review as will the mobile museum on funeral customs.
Reflections: The American Funeral is a state-of-the-art, double expandable trailer which houses a collection of funeral objects, photographs and historical documents. The museum explores the funeral traditions and customs beginning with Native Americans continuing with Abraham Lincoln and notable funerals, such as President John F. Kennedy, Elvis Presley and other celebrities.
There is no charge for the WSU Mortuary Science Open House. The building is located at 5439 Woodward Ave. at Ferry in Detroit, three blocks north of Warren Ave.
Free parking will be available in WSU Lot #33 on Woodward Ave., between Palmer and Ferry streets.
Begun in 1939, the WSU Mortuary Science program was one of the nation's first programs of its kind. Today it is still the only accredited, undergraduate degree program leading to state licensure in Michigan as is the Bachelor of Science degree in Pathologists' Assistant.
"Seventy-five percent of funeral home owners in Southeastern Michigan have graduated from the WSU program.
Additionally, graduates from the Anatomic Pathologists' Assistant program provide more than 95 percent of the service in support of pathology in southeast Michigan," said Peter D. Frade, chair of the EACPHS Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences.
The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, one of the founding colleges of Wayne State University, is committed to advancing the health and well-being of society through the preparation of highly skilled health care practitioners, and through research to improve health care practices and treatment from urban to global levels.
Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students.