Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center.

Abstract

The Visitor Center at the new headquarters of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation aims to promote awareness of the Foundation’s history, the philanthropic goals of its founders, and its current work in the areas of health, poverty, and education. Located across the street from the Space Needle and other tourist attractions at the sprawling Seattle Center, its interactive exhibits are designed to appeal to tourists and locals, novices and experts, and young and old alike. Although the space without doubt primarily serves a propaganda function for the Foundation and the Gates family, there is much of interest to the historian of medicine. A large portion of the exhibition area, in fact, is devoted to shaping perceptions of the Foundation’s past and ongoing work in public health and global health.