The Deutsches Hygiene-Museum is one of the most unusual museums in Germany: an institution dedicated to the human body, human behaviour, and what it means to be alive. It was founded in 1912 by Karl August Lingner, the inventor of Odol mouthwash, who wanted to educate the German public about health and hygiene. The permanent collection has grown far beyond its origins and now covers sex, food, death, sport, and consciousness, among other topics.
The most famous object in the collection is the Gläserne Frau — the Glass Woman — a life-size transparent female figure made in 1930 for the International Hygiene Exhibition in Dresden. You can see the skeleton, organs, and circulatory system all at once; the figure was a sensation when it was first shown and has been the centrepiece of the museum ever since. A Glass Man (made in 1935) is also on display.
The building itself, a restrained Modernist block by Wilhelm Kreis from 1930, is handsome and well suited to the collections, which mix scientific specimens, historical artefacts, and contemporary art installations in a way that manages to be educational without feeling didactic. Temporary exhibitions are frequently excellent.
The museum is in the Südvorstadt, about 20 minutes on foot from the old town, near the Großer Garten. A good half-day.