(PRESS RELEASE) The Contact Lens Museum announced that it opened to the public on Tuesday July 30, 2019.
Conceived by Patrick J. Caroline, FAAO, Jiah Pack and Craig Norman, FCLSA, longtime collectors of contact lens artifacts, instruments and publications they welcome visitors from near and far with free general admission to the new facility, located in Forest Grove, Oregon
Established in 2019 to preserve, protect and educate eye care practitioners, researchers, historians and the public about these wonderful optical devices and objects, The Contact Lens Museum has more than 2,000 historical items documenting the history of this field over the past 100+ years.
“Jiah, Craig and I are delighted to announce an opening date, and we are already looking forward to welcoming eye care practitioners and the public to the museum,” said Mr. Caroline.
The new museum features a chronological selection of the evolution of contact lenses from early glass and plastic scleral lenses, the discovery of corneal designs, original soft lenses from Czechoslovakia, gas permeable designs through the recent rebirth of scleral lenses.
Museum entrance
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“We’re really excited to share these treasures with all who have an interest,” said Caroline. “We were fortunate to have the dream of the museum kickstarted by the donation of items from the personal collection of Dr. Don Ezekiel from Perth, Australia and the Dr. Newton K. Wesley Foundation which we feature at the facility.”
Caroline also noted that in 2020 the Museum will travel to at least four major contact lens meetings and education institutions. “We understand that not everyone can travel to Oregon to visit us, so our plan is to take the Museum on the road. Our website at TheContactLensMuseum.org will showcase these treasures, as well.
The Contact Lens Museum is located at 2309 Pacific Ave, Forest Grove, OR 97116. It is open from 10:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Thursday by appointment only.
