Science museum
A science museum is a
While the mission statements of science centres and modern museums may vary, they are commonly places that make science accessible and encourage the excitement of discovery.
The public museum as understood today is a collection of specimens and other objects of interest to the scholar, the man of science as well as the more casual visitor, arranged and displayed in accordance with the scientific method. In its original sense, the term 'museum' meant a spot dedicated to the muses - 'a place where man's mind could attain a mood of aloofness above everyday affairs'.
Museum of Jurassic Technology, Introduction & Background, p. 2.
History
As early as the
In 1683, the first purpose-built museum covering
This was followed in 1752 by the first dedicated science museum, the Museo de Ciencias Naturales, in Madrid, which almost did not survive Francoist Spain. Today, the museum works closely with the Spanish National Research Council (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas).[2]
The Utrecht University Museum, established in 1836, and the Netherlands' foremost research museum, displays an extensive collection of 18th-century animal and human "rarities" in its original setting.[3]
More science museums developed during the Industrial Revolution, when great national exhibitions showcased the triumphs of both science and industry. An example is the Great Exhibition in 1851 at The Crystal Palace, London, England, surplus items from which contributed to the Science Museum, London, founded in 1857.
In the United States of America, various natural history Societies established collections in the early 19th century. These later evolved into museums. A notable example is the New England Museum of Natural History (now the
Modern science museums
The modern interactive science museum appears to have been pioneered by Munich's
In 1959, the Museum of Science and Natural History (now the Saint Louis Science Center) was formally created by the Academy of Science of Saint Louis, featuring many interactive science and history exhibits, and in August 1969, Frank Oppenheimer dedicated his new Exploratorium in San Francisco almost completely to interactive science exhibits, building on the experience by publishing 'Cookbooks' that explain how to construct versions of the Exploratorium's exhibits.[5]
The Ontario Science Centre, which opened in September 1969, continued the trend of featuring interactive exhibits rather than static displays.
In 1973, the first
Also in 1973, the
The massive Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie (City of Science and Industry) opened in Paris in 1986, and national centres soon followed in Denmark (Experimentarium),[6] Sweden (Tom Tits Experiment), Finland (Heureka), and Spain (Museu de les Ciencies Principe Felipe). In the United Kingdom, the first interactive centres also opened in 1986 on a modest scale, with further developments more than a decade later, funded by the National Lottery for projects to celebrate the Millennium.
Since the 1990s, science museums and centres have been created or greatly expanded in Asia. Examples are Thailand's National Science Museum and Japan's Minato Science Museum[7].
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The Saint Louis Science Center's James S. McDonnell Planetarium
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Space exhibit at the California Science Center
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Interactive exhibit at theScience Museum London
Science centres
Museums that brand themselves as science centres emphasise a hands-on approach, featuring interactive exhibits that encourage visitors to experiment and explore.
Urania (Science Centre) was founded in Berlin in 1888. Most of its exhibits were destroyed during World War II, as were those of a range of German technical museums.[8] The Academy of Science of Saint Louis (founded in 1856) created the Saint Louis Museum of Science and Natural History in 1959 (Saint Louis Science Center), but generally science centres are a product of the 1960s and later. In the United Kingdom, many were founded as Millennium projects, with funding from the National Lotteries Fund.
The first 'science centre' in the United States was the
In 1969,
In 1983, the
The new-style museums banded together for mutual support. In 1971, 16 museum directors gathered to discuss the possibility of starting a new association; one more specifically tailored to their needs than the existing American Association of Museums (now the
The corresponding European organisation is Ecsite[10], and in the United Kingdom, the Association of Science and Discovery Centres represents the interests of over 60 major science engagement organisations.[11] The Asia Pacific Network of Science and Technology Centres (ASPAC) is an association initiated in 1997 with over 50 members from 20 countries across Asia and Australia (2022). Their regional sister organisations are the Network for the Popularization of Science and Technology in Latin America and The Caribbean (RedPOP), the North Africa and Middle East science centres (NAMES), and the Southern African Association of Science and Technology Centres (SAASTEC). In India, the National Council of Science Museums runs science centres at several places including Delhi, Bhopal, Nagpur and Ranchi. There are also a number of private Science Centres, including the Birla Science Museum and The Science Garage in Hyderabad.[12]
See also
- List of science museums
- Science education
- Science festival
- Science outreach
- Physics Outreach
- List of natural history museums
References
- PMID 17153170.
- ^ El Museo de Ciencias Naturales alerta de su 'colapso por falta de espacio' | elmundo.es
- ^ "Utrecht University Museum". Utrecht University.
- ^ "Museum of Science and Industry". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ^ "Exploratorium Cookbook Set, Volumes I, II and III". Exploratorium Store. 30 March 2021.
- ^ "Experimentarium". Experimentarium. 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Minato Science Museum". Minato Science Museum. 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin". Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin. 30 March 2021.
- ^ "Smithsonian History". Smithsonian Institution Archives. 31 March 2021.
- ^ "ecsite". ecsite. 31 March 2021.
- ^ "The Association for Science and Discovery Centres". The Association for Science and Discovery Centres. 31 March 2021.
- ^ "The Science Garage". The Science Garage | Walden Ecoversity. 31 March 2021.
General references
- Kaushik, R.,1996, "Effectiveness of Indian science centres as learning environments : a study of educational objectives in the design of museum experiences", Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Leicester, UK
- Kaushik, R.,1996, "Non-science-adult-visitors in science centres: what is there for them to do?", Museological Review, Vol. 2, No. 1, p. 72–84.
- Kaushik, R.,1996, "Health matters in science museums: a review" in Pearce, S. (ed.) New Research in Museum Studies, Vol. 6, Athlone Press, London/Atlantic Highlands, p. 186–193.
- Kaushik, R.,1997, "Attitude development in science museums/centres", in Proceedings of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science, Vol. 40, No. 2, p. 1–12.
Further reading
- Holland, William Jacob (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 64–69.