WorldWideScience

Sample records for science museum exhibit

  1. Comic Strips to Accompany Science Museum Exhibits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Beom Sun; Park, Eun-mi; Kim, Sang-Hee; Cho, Sook-kyoung; Chung, Min Suk

    2016-01-01

    Science museums make the effort to create exhibits with amusing explanations. However, existing explanation signs with lengthy text are not appealing, and as such, visitors do not pay attention to them. In contrast, conspicuous comic strips composed of simple drawings and humors can attract science museum visitors. This study attempted to reveal…

  2. Sponsorship and exhibitions at Nordic science centres and museums

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Davidsson, Eva; Sørensen, Helene

    2010-01-01

    Science and technology centres (STC) and science museums tend increasingly to rely on external economic support in order to create new exhibitions. But in what ways may the economic situation affect what is presented in their exhibitions? This article aims to explore how staff members consider...

  3. The Particular Aspects of Science Museum Exhibits That Encourage Students' Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaby, Neta; Assaraf, Orit Ben-Zvi; Tal, Tali

    2017-06-01

    This research explores learning in science museums through the most common activity in a science museum—interaction with exhibits. The goal of this study was to characterize the learning behaviors exhibited by students as they engage with interactive exhibits in order to draw insight regarding the design of the exhibits. In order to do so, we used a qualitative method of observation as well as the Visitor Engagement Framework (VEF) model, a visitor-based framework for assessing visitors' learning experiences with exhibits in a science center setting. The combined method produced a framework of nine learning behaviors exhibited during the visitors' interaction with the exhibits, grouped into three categories that reflect increasing levels of engagement and depth of the learning experience. Our research participants consisted of a total 1800 students aged 10-12 (4th, 5th, and 6th graders) who came to the museum with their class for a day visit. We observed nine exhibits, each visited by 200 students. Our observations revealed several design elements that contribute to engagement with exhibits in science museums. For example, exhibits that have familiar activation encourage visitors' interaction, exhibits that facilitate social interaction are more likely to increase engagement, and the highest levels of engagement can be found in exhibits that support large groups.

  4. Considerations for Producing Media for Science Museum Exhibits: A Volcano Video Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sable, MFA, J.

    2013-12-01

    While science museums continue to expand their use of videos in exhibits, they are also seeking to add engaging content to their websites in the hope of reaching broader audiences. As a cost-effective way to do both, a project is undertaken to develop a video for a museum website that can easily be adapted for use in an exhibit. To establish goals and constraints for the video, this project explores the needs of museums and their audiences. Past literature is compared with current exhibitions in several U.S. museums. Once identified, the needs of science museums are incorporated into the content, form, and style of the two-part video "Living in Pele's Paradise." Through the story of the spectacular 1959-60 eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i, the video shows how research and monitoring contribute to helping communities prepare for volcanic hazards. A 20-minute version of the video is produced for the web, and a 4-minute version is developed for use in a hypothetical science museum exhibit. The two versions of the video provide a cross-platform experience with multiple levels of content depth.

  5. Preventing Youth Pregnancy: Dialogue and Deliberation in a Science Museum Exhibit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navas-Iannini, Ana Maria; Pedretti, Erminia

    2017-01-01

    In this article, we explore how visitors engage with a science museum exhibit that displays controversial topics. Through a case study methodology, we focus on the Brazilian exhibit "Preventing Youth Pregnancy" that delves into teen pregnancy, sexual practices, and sexually transmitted diseases. Using the lens of science communication…

  6. Content Analysis of Life Exhibitions in Japanese Science Museums and Centres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazama, Tomoko; Ogawa, Masakata

    2015-01-01

    Life exhibitions in Japanese science museums (SMs) face difficulties in coping with rapid progress in the life sciences owing to certain constraints around the frequency of exhibit renovations, and the Japanese indigenous understanding of the natural world (Shizen) that Japanese visitors unconsciously bring with them. To what extent do current…

  7. The Science Museum and the Leonardo da Vinci Quincentenary Exhibition of 1952

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Professor Jim Bennett

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available A large and successful exhibition to mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of Leonardo da Vinci was held at the Royal Academy, Burlington House, London, in 1952. It was an important event for the public appreciation of Leonardo’s genius. The proposal for the exhibition had come from the Science Museum, whose staff arranged a ‘scientific section’ of the exhibition, providing and displaying photographs and models. The story of these early models is particularly interesting in the light of the subsequent expansion in the use of mechanical models and animations to interpret and present Leonardo’s work. Questions that surrounded their introduction are accentuated by the ubiquity of models today. Some of the 1952 models will be displayed at the Science Museum in 2016, alongside an exhibition of a large group of ‘historical models’ first displayed in Milan in 1953. The occasion should provoke some thoughtful consideration of the current influence of this tool for research and display.

  8. STEM promotion through museum exhibits on cardiac monitoring & cardiac rhythm management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Countryman, Jordan D; Dow, Douglas E

    2014-01-01

    Formal education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) does not successfully engage all of the students who have potential to become skilled in STEM activities and careers. Museum exhibits may be able to reach and engage a broader range of the public. STEM Exhibits that are both understandable and capture the imagination of viewers may contribute toward increased interest in STEM activities. One such topic for such an exhibit could be cardiac pacemakers and cardioverter defibrillators that sustain life. Although museums have existed for centuries, the available types of exhibit designs has dramatically increased in recent decades due to innovations in technology. Science and technology museums have especially taken advantage of the progression of exhibit design to developed new ways to communicate to their viewers. These novel presentation tools allow museums to more effectively convey to and engage viewers. This paper examines the techniques employed by museums in exhibits and considers the practices of several museums with exhibits related to cardiac monitoring (CM) and cardiac rhythm management (CRM).

  9. Scientific support of SciTech museum exhibits and outreach programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peshkin, M.

    1995-01-01

    SciTech (Science and Technology Interactive Center) is a small hands-on science museum located in Aurora, Illinois, not far from Argonne National Laboratory. Its constituency includes prosperous suburbs and economically disadvantaged minority communities in Aurora and Chicago. Its mission is to contribute to the country's scientific literacy initiative by offering hands-on experiences on the museum floor and through outreach programs extended to school children, their teachers, and other groups. Argonne's participation is focused mainly on the development of exhibits to carry the ideas of modern science and technology to the public. This is an area in which traditional museums are weak, but in which SciTech has become a nationally recognized leader with the assistance of Argonne, Fermilab, nearby technological companies, and many volunteer scientists and engineers. We also participate in development and improvement of the museum's general exhibits and outreach programs. Argonne's Director, Alan Schriesheim, serves as a member of the museum's Board of Directors. Murray Peshkin serves part-time as the museum's Senior Scientist. Dale Henderson serves part-time as an exhibit developer. That work is supported by the Laboratory Director's discretionary funds. In addition, several members of the Physics Division voluntarily assist with exhibit development and the Division makes facilities available for that effort

  10. Seeking the "museum of the future": Public exhibitions of science, industry, and the social, 1910-1940.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charles, Loïc; Giraud, Yann

    2018-06-01

    Using as case studies the initiatives developed by two museum curators, the Belgian bibliographer Paul Otlet (1868-1944) and the Austrian social scientist Otto Neurath (1882-1945), and their subsequent collaboration with an extended network of scientists, philanthropists, artists, and social activists, this article provides a portrait of the general movement toward the creation of a new form of museum: the "museum of the future," as Neurath labeled it. This museum would be able to enlighten the people by showing the nature of modern industrial civilization. The promoters of the "museum of the future" intended to reform museum practices by organizing exhibitions of social facts, but also by integrating several dimensions - architecture, commerce, entertainment, pedagogy, and science and technology - to create a holistic frame to address their audience. However, the effortlessly circulating museum Neurath and Otlet envisioned stood in sharp contrast to the many, often immaterial, boundaries they encountered in their attempt to implement their vision. Ever-growing nationalism, the professionalization of social science, and the increasing commercialization of scientific vulgarization are some of the factors that help explain their failure.

  11. Unlocking Resources: Self-Guided Student Explorations of Science Museum and Aquarium Exhibits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirkby, K. C.; Phipps, M.; Hamilton, P.

    2010-12-01

    Remarkably few undergraduate programs take full advantage of the rich resources provided by science museums, aquariums and other informal science education institutions. This is not surprising considering the logistical hurdles of class trips, but an even more fundamental barrier is that these institutions’ exhibit text seldom explicitly convey their information at a level suitable for undergraduate curriculum. Traditionally, this left the burden of interpretation on individual instructors, who rarely have the time to undertake it. To overcome these hurdles, the University of Minnesota has partnered with the Science Museum of Minnesota and Underwater Adventures Aquarium to test the efficacy of self-guided student explorations in revealing the rich data encoded in museum and aquarium exhibits. An initial module at the Science Museum of Minnesota focused on interpreting animal designs, specifically exploring how differences in dinosaur skeletal features reflected variations in the animals’ lifestyles. Students learn to interpret diet and lifestyle not only from characteristics of the skull and teeth, but also from variations in vertebrae and rib design or the relative proportion of limb elements. A follow-up module, based on exhibits at Underwater Adventures Aquarium focuses on interpreting energy flow through ecosystems from the behavior of living organisms. Students explore the information on lifestyle and diet that is encoded in a sturgeon’s ceaseless glide or a muskellunge’s poised stillness. These modules proved to be immensely popular with students. In classes with up to 500 students, half to two-thirds of the students volunteered to complete the modules, despite the additional expense and distances of up to 13 miles between the University and partner institutions. More importantly, quantitative assessment with pre-instruction and post-instruction surveys demonstrate that these ungraded, self-guided explorations match or exceed the efficacy of

  12. Science collection, exhibition, and display in public museums in Britain from World War Two through the 1960s

    OpenAIRE

    2009-01-01

    Science and technology is regularly featured on radio, in newspapers, and on television, but most people only get firsthand exposure to ‘cutting-edge’ technologies in museums and other exhibitions. During this period, the Science Museum was the only permanent national presentation of science and technology. Thus, it is important to acknowledge the Museum’s history and the socio-political framework in which it operated. Understanding the delays in the Museum’s physical developmen...

  13. ‘Something simple and striking, if not amusing’ – the Freedom 7 special exhibition at the Science Museum, 1965

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr Jean-Baptiste Gouyon

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available From October 1965 to May 1966, the Science Museum in London displayed the American spacecraft Freedom 7, the first capsule in NASA’s Mercury programme to take a human on a suborbital flight. Archival records concerning this temporary display are extensive and contain photographic sources as well as written ones. This case therefore lends itself to a study aimed at evaluating the comparative merits of these two types of records, for understanding the logic at play in the display, and for retrieving at least part of the visitors’ experience. Visual sources emerge from this comparison as invaluable records for accessing the materiality of this temporary exhibition. They demonstrate that the Freedom 7 special exhibition was a key moment in the establishment of a space science and technology section at the Science Museum, as it enabled the Museum to begin historicising what was then a new field of scientific and technological enquiry. The exhibition follows a logic of display theorised in 1950 by Henry Calvert, a senior curator, in a note recently discovered in the Science Museum’s archives. It is based on the display of a star object that draws visitors’ attention towards less charismatic exhibits.

  14. History of Science and Science Museums

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faria, Cláudia; Guilherme, Elsa; Gaspar, Raquel; Boaventura, Diana

    2015-01-01

    The activities presented in this paper, which are addressed to elementary school, are focused on the pioneering work of the Portuguese King Carlos I in oceanography and involve the exploration of the exhibits belonging to two different science museums, the Aquarium Vasco da Gama and the Maritime Museum. Students were asked to study fish…

  15. How to Modernize the Academic Museum. Exhibition Activity of the Museum Group the ARAS as a Pilot Project of the Museum of History of Russian Academy of Science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Korneva-Chaeva Irina A.

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The article on the example of the Museum group of Archives of Russian Academy of Science is demonstrating new possibilities of representation of archival documents in the museum space. The authors focused on the potential exposure of the museum based on the principle of visualization. They explain the special role of representing scientific knowledge for education of youth. They offer a new form of interactive communication with the museum’s scientific heritage, based on the method of comprehending the reality as a “co-experience” and “re-discovery” that leads to the attainment the new generation to the new intellectual and spiritual experience. The experiment, the research paper, the science, the war, and even the modern art are the main themes of our exhibitions. The authors use the special new methods of exhibition to create the intriguing image of scientist. They use light boxes and interactive demonstrations. The main aim of the exposition is to show the documents of Archives of Russian Academy of Science, so we rely on the following materials: personal fond of academicians A.N. Nesmeyanov, V.L. Komarov, M.V. Keldysh, I.V. Kurchatov and others. Authors successfully solve the problems of the development of new theoretical principles exposing archival documents by modern methods.

  16. Mobile Technologies in Museum Exhibitions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Medić

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In order to be up–to–date and give visitors a memorable and unique experience, museums are including usage of digital technologies in their exhibitions. Even though museums in Serbia are very important part of tourism offer, they still have traditional settings that are poorly interpreted. The majority of them have a scientific and historical review which is unattractive for various target groups of visitors and for museums it’s important to continually try out new ways in interpretation of their settings. Because technology continues to rapidly change the way we communicate, cultural institutions should adapt to new ways of communication with their visitors. This paper examines mobile technologies that can be used in museums to give visitors a different experience and transfer the knowledge innovatively. In that way it will be presented the modern concept of presentation of museum exhibitions, focusing on usage of mobile devices through mobile applications and QR codes. The paper provides the broad understanding of usage mobile technologies in museum exhibitions with its advantages and limitations. The research results can help the museums management to improve interpretation and communication with visitors and enrich the visitor experience.

  17. Mid-Victorian science museums and exhibitions: 'the industrial amusement and instruction of the people'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lightman, Bernard

    2013-06-01

    The Royal Polytechnic Institution, Wyld's Globe and the Royal Panopticon were part of a family of institutions that existed in the post-Great Exhibition era that shared a common approach to popularizing science based on the blending of education and entertainment. Studying them helps us to understand the Victorian fascination with science, especially in the third quarter of the century. It draws our attention to the important role of popularizers of science who worked in these museums and exhibitions. Once their role is added to our account of the cult of science, a very different picture emerges that forces us to reconsider the standard story of the dominance of the scientific scene in the second half of the century by figures such as Darwin, Huxley and Tyndall. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. How Can Museum Exhibits Enhance Earthquake and Tsunami Hazard Resiliency?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olds, S. E.

    2015-12-01

    Creating a natural disaster-ready community requires interoperating scientific, technical, and social systems. In addition to the technical elements that need to be in place, communities and individuals need to be prepared to react when a natural hazard event occurs. Natural hazard awareness and preparedness training and education often takes place through informal learning at science centers and formal k-12 education programs as well as through awareness raising via strategically placed informational tsunami warning signs and placards. Museums and science centers are influential in raising science literacy within a community, however can science centers enhance earthquake and tsunami resiliency by providing hazard science content and preparedness exhibits? Museum docents and informal educators are uniquely situated within the community. They are transmitters and translators of science information to broad audiences. Through interaction with the public, docents are well positioned to be informants of the knowledge beliefs, and feelings of science center visitors. They themselves are life-long learners, both constantly learning from the museum content around them and sharing this content with visitors. They are also members of a community where they live. In-depth interviews with museum informal educators and docents were conducted at a science center in coastal Pacific Northwest. This region has a potential to be struck by a great 9+ Mw earthquake and subsequent tsunami. During the interviews, docents described how they applied learning from natural hazard exhibits at a science visitor center to their daily lives. During the individual interviews, the museum docents described their awareness (knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors) of natural hazards where they live and work, the feelings evoked as they learned about their hazard vulnerability, the extent to which they applied this learning and awareness to their lives, such as creating an evacuation plan, whether

  19. Informal Learning in Science Museum: Development and Evaluation of a Mobile Exhibit Label System with iBeacon Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Guang; Xin, Youlong; Chen, Nian-Shing

    2017-01-01

    Informal science learning has drawn the attention of researchers, educators and museum administrators for a long time. However, the problem of how to better support visitors to be more engaged while visiting exhibits and improve informal science learning performance is still missing. Context-aware technologies have the advantages of fostering…

  20. History of Science and Science Museums

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faria, Cláudia; Guilherme, Elsa; Gaspar, Raquel; Boaventura, Diana

    2015-10-01

    The activities presented in this paper, which are addressed to elementary school, are focused on the pioneering work of the Portuguese King Carlos I in oceanography and involve the exploration of the exhibits belonging to two different science museums, the Aquarium Vasco da Gama and the Maritime Museum. Students were asked to study fish adaptations to deep sea, through the exploration of a fictional story, based on historical data and based on the work of the King that served as a guiding script for all the subsequent tasks. In both museums, students had access to: historical collections of organisms, oceanographic biological sampling instruments, fish gears and ships. They could also observe the characteristics and adaptations of diverse fish species characteristic of deep sea. The present study aimed to analyse the impact of these activities on students' scientific knowledge, on their understanding of the nature of science and on the development of transversal skills. All students considered the project very popular. The results obtained suggest that the activity promoted not only the understanding of scientific concepts, but also stimulated the development of knowledge about science itself and the construction of scientific knowledge, stressing the relevance of creating activities informed by the history of science. As a final remark we suggest that the partnership between elementary schools and museums should be seen as an educational project, in which the teacher has to assume a key mediating role between the school and the museums.

  1. Exhibitions as learning environments: a review of empirical research on students’ science learning at Natural History Museums, Science Museums and Science Centres

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nils Petter Hauan

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available One aim for many natural history museums, science museums and science centres is to contribute to school-related learning in science. In this article we review published empirical studies of this challenging area. The review indicates that the effectiveness of educational activities at different types of science-communication venues (SCV in supporting students’ science learning varies. There is also evidence of interesting differences between activities, depending on how these activities are designed. Firstly, these activities can stimulate interest and conceptual focus through a well-designed combination of structure and openness. Secondly, they can stimulate talks and explorations related to the presented topics. We have identified two possible areas which might prove fruitful in guiding further research: an exploration of the effects of different designs for guided exploratory learning, and an evaluation of the effectiveness of educational activities by studying the presence and quality of the learning processes visitors are engaged in. 

  2. Exposições sobre Comunicação Humana em museus interativos de ciências Exhibitions about Human Communication in interactive science museums

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    Tainá Soares Ferreira

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVOS: Investigar a existência de exposições ou exibições sobre temas relacionados à Comunicação Humana em museus interativos de ciências nacionais e internacionais e analisar o conteúdo para verificar quais são os assuntos, relacionados à área de Fonoaudiologia, abordados nos museus. MÉTODOS: Análise dos sites de 40 museus de ciência e/ou tecnologia internacionais e 20 nacionais para identificação de exposições ou exibições relacionadas ao tema "Comunicação Humana". RESULTADOS: A maioria dos museus pesquisados possui exposições ou exibições relacionadas ao tema Comunicação Humana. Dentre os nacionais apenas quatro possuem uma exposição inteira relacionada ao tema e dentre os internacionais treze possuem exposições inteiras. A quantidade de exibições internacionais é maior que a encontrada nos nacionais, e a qualidade do material também diverge. A maioria dos museus trata da acústica e em segundo lugar da recepção da mensagem pela audição e fala menos sobre produção da mensagem, linguagem, e anatomia e fisiologia da voz. CONCLUSÃO: Os museus de ciência abordam as ciências básicas e por esse motivo a acústica é muito explorada. Foram encontradas muitas exibições sobre temas relacionadas à Comunicação Humana que possibilitam aos indivíduos conhecer o funcionamento do corpo humano, despertando a curiosidade em relação ao tema abordado. Como os museus são instituições de divulgação científica e educação informal que colaboram para a alfabetização científica da população a Fonoaudiologia pode aproveitar seus espaços para divulgação de suas pesquisas e de seu conhecimento sobre a Comunicação Humana.PURPOSE: To investigate the existence of exhibitions and displays on topics related to Human Communication in national and international interactive science museums, and analyze the content to determine what are the issues related to Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology

  3. Geology Museum-Based Learning in Soil Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikhailova, E. A.; Tennant, C. H.; Post, C. J.; Cicimurri, C.; Cicimurri, D.

    2013-01-01

    Museums provide unique learning opportunities in soil science. The Bob Campbell Geology Museum in Clemson, SC, features an exhibit of minerals and rocks common in the state and in its geologic history. We developed a hands-on laboratory exercise utilizing an exhibit that gives college students an opportunity to visualize regional minerals and…

  4. Science Fiction Exhibits as STEM Gateways

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robie, Samantha

    Women continue to hold less than a quarter of all STEM jobs in the United States, prompting many museums to develop programs and exhibits with the express goal of interesting young girls in scientific fields. At the same time, a number of recent museum exhibits have harnessed the popularity of pop culture and science fiction in order to interest general audiences in STEM subject matter, as well as using the exhibits as springboards to expand or shift mission goals and focus. Because science fiction appears to be successful at raising interest in STEM fields, it may be an effective way to garner the interest of young girls in STEM in particular. This research seeks to describe the ways in which museums are currently using science fiction exhibits to interest young girls in STEM fields and careers. Research focused on four institutions across the country hosting three separate exhibits, and included staff interviews and content analysis of exhibit descriptions, promotional materials, a summative evaluation and supplementary exhibit productions. In some ways, science fiction exhibits do serve young girls, primarily through the inclusion of female role models, staff awareness, and prototype testing to ensure interactives are attractive to girls as well as to boys. However, STEM appears to be underutilized, which may be partly due to a concern within the field that the outcome of targeting a specific gender could be construed as "stereotyping".

  5. Mobile Technologies in Museum Exhibitions

    OpenAIRE

    Sandra Medić; Nataša Pavlović

    2014-01-01

    In order to be up–to–date and give visitors a memorable and unique experience, museums are including usage of digital technologies in their exhibitions. Even though museums in Serbia are very important part of tourism offer, they still have traditional settings that are poorly interpreted. The majority of them have a scientific and historical review which is unattractive for various target groups of visitors and for museums it’s important to continually try out new ways in interpretation of t...

  6. Engaged Learning and Youth Interest in STEM Careers: A Science Museum Exhibit on Air Pollution and Urban Sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stuart, A. L.

    2012-12-01

    Enrollments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curricula currently lag workforce needs. Participation of women and minorities in STEM careers also remains low despite efforts to improve their representation in these fields. We discuss the development and evaluation of a science museum exhibit aimed at stimulating interest of middle school children (particularly girls) in STEM careers. The exhibit was designed to teach science, while addressing two factors identified as limiting the interest of girls in STEM fields — perceived lack of social relevance and lack of female role models. Further, it was designed to apply best practices in science education, including inquiry-based learning and interdisciplinary content. The exhibit was developed through collaboration between students and faculty researchers at the University of South Florida and science education and evaluation specialists at the Museum of Science and Industry of Tampa. A few stages of formative and summative assessment, including focus group discussions, visitor observation, and surveys were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the exhibit to educational project goals. The installed exhibit is focused on teaching content related to interactions between air pollution, urban design, and human health. The approximately 25 square foot exhibit space involves four different types of components. A three-dimensional model of a city, with underlying dynamic computer simulations, allows visitors to interactively explore relationships between city design, air pollution and exposures. A computer game, with quiz questions requiring user decisions on personal to community behavior, provides visual feedback regarding impacts on air pollution. Traditional panels with graphics and text, including results of current research, display integrative scientific content with open-ended questions to stimulate discussion. Finally, personal profiles highlight the diverse family, work, and social lives

  7. A Hurricane Hits Home: An Interactive Science Museum Exhibit on Ocean Mapping and Marine Debris

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butkiewicz, T.; Vasta, D. J.; Gager, N. C.; Fruth, B. W.; LeClair, J.

    2016-12-01

    As part of the outreach component for a project involving the detection and analysis of marine debris generated by Super Storm Sandy, The Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping / Joint Hydrographic Center partnered with The Seacoast Science Center to develop an interactive museum exhibit that engages the public with a touchscreen based game revolving around the detection and identification of marine debris. "A Hurricane Hits Home" is a multi-station touchscreen exhibit geared towards children, and integrates a portion of a historical wooden shipwreck into its physical design. The game invites museum guests to examine a number of coastal regions and harbors in Sandy affected areas. It teaches visitors about modern mapping technology by having them control boats with multibeam sonars and airplanes with lidar sensors. They drag these vehicles around maps to reveal the underlying bathymetry below the satellite photos. They learn the applications and limitations of sonar and lidar by where the vehicles can and cannot collect survey data (e.g. lidar doesn't work in deep water, and the boat can't go in shallow areas). As users collect bathymetry data, they occasionally reveal marine debris objects on the seafloor. Once all the debris objects in a level have been located, the game challenges them to identify them based on their appearance in the bathymetry data. They must compare the simulated bathymetry images of the debris targets to photos of possible objects, and choose the correct matches to achieve a high score. The exhibit opened January 2016 at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, NH.

  8. Museum nuclear science programs during the past 30 years

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marsee, M.D.

    1990-01-01

    The American Museum of Atomic Energy was opened as a program of the Atomic Energy Commission. The name was changed in 1977 to the American Museum of Science and Energy to reflect an expanded roll of the Department of Energy. From 1954 until 1980 the museum was the base for a Traveling Exhibit Program that visited schools, state fairs, shopping centers and malls, libraries, summer camps, and science museums throughout the United States. Today the museum transfers information on the research and development of all the energy sources, the environmental impact of these sources and possible solutions to these impacts. The museum also manages an Outreach Program to area schools and coordinates several special events for student visits to the museum

  9. Engaging Experiences in Interactive Museum Exhibitions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borup Lynggaard, Aviaja; Langballe, Line; Geert Jensen, Birgitte

    2005-01-01

    and history museums. There is considerable potential in the development of experiences and in the communication of information customized to visitors in the museum apart from personally held information devices. The paper will present background research for developing solutions to a new media museum......The aim of the present paper is to outline possibilities for the development of combined IT and architectural concepts supported by joint engaging experiences for visitors to the room of the museum of the future. Focus is upon a joint experience, as many existing IT-systems designed for museums...... primarily appeal to a strong individualised experience where the visitor views a PDA or similar, rather than experience the atmosphere and interaction of the room. In this context, there are several examples from practice and in the research literature of IT-systems for science centres, art museums...

  10. Meaningful Learning in the Permanent Exhibition Hall of the Natural Science Museum of Universidade de Caxias do Sul

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabiana Setti Zulian

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The Museum of Natural Sciences, University of Caxias do Sul, the space of non-formal education, has great potential for the development of activities related to environmental education. In the permanent exhibition room are provided information on the concept of ecosystems, flora and fauna of regional ecosystems, the interaction between them and the environmental impacts that suffer be performed. In tutoring questions occur and students are to report give opportunity knowledge they have acquired in school and in everyday experiences, adding new insights to these, thus making meaningful learning. Aiming to conserve natural resources and enhance ecosystems of Rio Grande do Sul, with the familiar design to preserve: the ecosystems of the Rio Grande do Sul - The Natural Science Museum goes to School, in partnership with the Municipal Primary School Jardelino Ramos, we elaborated a different methodology in addition to visitation. After explanations of ecosystems, various activities, including game of questions and answers on ecosystems, bingo and interactive storytelling history were under taken in accordance with the age range of students. Participated in these activities about 450 students of the partner school. The result was significant, it was noted that in later activities in school the occurrence of transferring the knowledge acquired in visits to the Natural Science Museum, through the reports and actions of students.

  11. The development of a virtual science museum for the public understanding of science in eastern China and in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delello, Julie Anne

    2009-12-01

    In 1999, the Chinese Academy of Sciences realized that there was a need for a better public understanding of science. For the public to have better accessibility and comprehension of China's significance to the world, the Computer Network Information Center (CNIC), under the direction of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, combined resources from thousands of experts across the world to develop online science exhibits housed within the Virtual Science Museum of China. Through an analysis of historical documents, this descriptive dissertation presents a research project that explores a dimension of the development of the Giant Panda Exhibit. This study takes the reader on a journey, first to China and then to a classroom within the United States, in order to answer the following questions: (1) What is the process of the development of a virtual science exhibit; and, (2) What role do public audiences play in the design and implementation of virtual science museums? The creation of a virtual science museum exhibition is a process that is not completed with just the building and design, but must incorporate feedback from public audiences who utilize the exhibit. To meet the needs of the museum visitors, the designers at CNIC took a user-centered approach and solicited feedback from six survey groups. To design a museum that would facilitate a cultural exchange of scientific information, the CNIC looked at the following categories: visitor insights, the usability of the technology, the educational effectiveness of the museum exhibit, and the cultural nuances that existed between students in China and in the United States. The findings of this study illustrate that the objectives of museum designers may not necessarily reflect the needs of the visitors and confirm previous research studies which indicate that museum exhibits need a more constructivist approach that fully engages the visitor in an interactive, media-rich environment. Even though the world has moved forwards

  12. Functionless: science museums and the display of ‘pure objects’

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr Jean-Francois Gauvin

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available I argue in this article that the tangible proximity, the sensual evocative power of things is lost in a visit to the museum. Too often the aesthetic form of the exhibition utterly destroys the objects’ core material function. One of my contentions is that we cannot think with objects we are unfamiliar with, or cannot fully grasp and manipulate. In a museum we are compelled to admire the objects’ formal and abstract ‘beauty’. They have been robbed of their function: they are functionless. I address this long-standing dichotomy between form and function. I argue that Art has undesirably become one of the chief criteria of museum exhibition design. Though artistic attributes can at times acquire epistemic value, as I will illustrate with an example taken from the French Enlightenment, modern science exhibition design tends to utterly obscure the latter in favour of the former. Science museums, I propose, need to better adapt their discourse and presentation to the research programme developed over the last thirty years in the field of science studies: the history, philosophy, and sociology of experimentation, in which instrumentation and laboratory performance play a crucial analytical role in our understanding of scientific practices.

  13. Library exhibits and programs boost science education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dusenbery, Paul B.; Curtis, Lisa

    2012-05-01

    Science museums let visitors explore and discover, but for many families there are barriers—such as cost or distance—that prevent them from visiting museums and experiencing hands-on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning. Now educators are reaching underserved audiences by developing STEM exhibits and programs for public libraries. With more than 16,000 outlets in the United States, public libraries serve almost every community in the country. Nationwide, they receive about 1.5 billion visits per year, and they offer their services for free.

  14. Parents' Metacognitive Knowledge: Influences on Parent-Child Interactions in a Science Museum Setting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Gregory P.; Anderson, David

    2013-06-01

    Despite science learning in settings such as science museums being recognized as important and given increasing attention in science education circles, the investigation of parents' and their children's metacognition in such settings is still in its infancy. This is despite an individual's metacognition being acknowledged as an important influence on their learning within and across contexts. This research investigated parents' metacognitive procedural and conditional knowledge, a key element of their metacognition, related to (a) what they knew about how they and their children thought and learned, and (b) whether this metacognitive knowledge influenced their interactions with their children during their interaction with a moderately complex simulation in a science museum. Parents reported metacognitive procedural and conditional knowledge regarding their own and their children's thinking and learning processes. Further, parents were aware that this metacognitive knowledge influenced their interactions with their children, seeing this as appropriate pedagogical action for them within the context of the particular exhibit and its task requirements at the science museum, and for the child involved. These findings have implications for exhibit and activity development within science museum settings.

  15. Informing the Development of Science Exhibitions through Educational Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laherto, Antti

    2013-01-01

    This paper calls for greater use of educational research in the development of science exhibitions. During the past few decades, museums and science centres throughout the world have placed increasing emphasis on their educational function. Although exhibitions are the primary means of promoting visitors' learning, educational research is not…

  16. The relationship between visitor characteristics and learning-associated behaviors in a science museum discovery space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lozowski Boisvert, Dorothy; Jochums Slez, Brenda

    As informal educational institutions, science museums must do more than entertain and amaze visitors. Museum educators must design exhibits that attract and hold the attention of visitors long enough so that the visitors become engaged with the exhibits and learn from them. In order for museum educators to develop such exhibits, more information is needed about the variables associated with learning in museums. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on informal education by examining the relationship between visitor characteristics and attraction, holding power, and visitor engagement.One hundred fifty-four visitors to a science museum discovery space were observed as they interacted freely with the exhibits. Trained volunteers recorded the subjects' movements including the exhibits at which they stopped (attraction), the amount of time spent at each exhibit (holding power), and behaviors indicative of subjects' engagement levels with the exhibits. Data indicated significant differences between age group and the holding power of exhibits. Though not significant statistically, a similar trend was noted between age group and attraction and visitor engagement level. No significant differences were found between gender or social grouping and attraction, holding power, or engagement levels.

  17. 'Science in action': The politics of hands-on display at the New York Museum of Science and Industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sastre-Juan, Jaume

    2018-06-01

    This article analyzes the changing politics of hands-on display at the New York Museum of Science and Industry by following its urban deambulation within Midtown Manhattan, which went hand in hand with sharp shifts in promoters, narrative, and exhibition techniques. The museum was inaugurated in 1927 as the Museum of the Peaceful Arts on the 7th and 8th floors of the Scientific American Building. It changed its name in 1930 to the New York Museum of Science and Industry while on the 4th floor of the Daily News Building, and it was close to being renamed the Science Center when it finally moved in 1936 to the ground floor of the Rockefeller Center. The analysis of how the political agenda of the different promoters of the New York Museum of Science and Industry was spatially and performatively inscribed in each of its sites suggests that the 1930s boom of visitor-operated exhibits had nothing to do with an Exploratorium-like rhetoric of democratic empowerment. The social paternalistic ideology of the vocational education movement, the ideas on innovation of the early sociology of invention, and the corporate behavioral approach to mass communications are more suitable contexts in which to understand the changing politics of hands-on display in interwar American museums of science and industry.

  18. From interventions to interactions: Science Museum Arts Projects’ history and the challenges of interpreting art in the Science Museum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hannah Redler

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Hannah Redler’s paper examines the 13 year history of Science Museum, London’s contemporary art programme and explores how changing cultural conditions and the changing function of museums are making the questions raised by bringing art into the Science Museum context increasingly significant. It looks at how Science Museum Arts Projects started as a quirky, experimental sideline aimed at shaking up the Museum and its visitors’ assumptions, but has now become a fundamental means by which the Science Museum chooses to represent the impact of science, medicine, engineering and technology on peoples’ everyday lives.

  19. A thirty year look at the nuclear science programs at the American Museum of Science and Energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marsee, M.D.; Williams, A.J.

    1993-01-01

    The American Museum of Science and Energy has been involved in nuclear science education since it opened in 1949. For a period between the mid-1950's and the early 1980's, a series of travelling exhibits and demonstrations provided the nation with programs about basic nuclear science and peaceful applications of atomic energy. The Museum itself continues educating its visitors about nuclear science via audio-visuals, interactive exhibitry and live demonstrations and classes. (author) 1 fig

  20. A content-oriented model for science exhibit engineering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Achiam, Marianne

    2013-01-01

    Recently, science museums have begun to review their educational purposes and redesign their pedagogies. At the most basic level, this entails accounting for the performance of individual exhibits, and indeed, in some cases, research indicates shortcomings in exhibit design: While often successful......: as a means to operationalize the link between exhibit features and visitor activities; and as a template to transform scientists’ practices in the research context into visitors’ activities in the exhibit context. The resulting model of science exhibit engineering is presented and exemplified, and its...... implications for science exhibit design are discussed at three levels: the design product, the design process, and the design methodology....

  1. Temporary and Travelling Exhibitions. Museums and Monuments, X.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daifuku, Hiroshi; And Others

    The permanent exhibition, the most typical form of museum exhibition, has failed to attract repeated visitation, since visitors quickly become familiar with the objects shown. The temporary exhibition evolved as a result for the need of repeated visitation. The temporary exhibition, set up for a period of one to six months, introduces fresh…

  2. Documenting Collections: Cornerstones for More History of Science in Museums

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lourenço, Marta C.; Gessner, Samuel

    2014-01-01

    Historians of science have recently become increasingly involved with collections and scientific instruments. This creates opportunities for a more significant role of history in museums of science, as well as more meaningful and contextualized exhibitions and educational programmes. However, complementing the mainstream focus on universal…

  3. Museums theme – Science vs technology in a museum’s display: changes in the Vienna Museum of Technology with a focus on permanent and temporary exhibitions and new forms of science education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Donhauser

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper locates the development of a science and technology museum within the history of the predominantly object-based Vienna Museum, which was founded early in the twentieth century. It portrays interactive engagement with young people in terms of its continuity with the aim of popularising science, which had been a founding principle of the museum. At the same time, this paper examines the way in which the rise of interactivity represented a radical shift from an emphasis on technology itself towards a focus upon scientific principles, a phenomenon which in turn had an influence upon enquiry-based learning.

  4. Nine meta-functions for science museums and science centres

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Achiam, Marianne; Sølberg, Jan

    2017-01-01

    Science centres and science museums face challenges such as increased accountability, increased demands for accessibility, and growing competition from leisure experiences. On their own, the traditional museum practices of preservation, communication, and research are insufficient to address...... Ecsite conference, to map out how these institutions address modern-day challenges. This analysis generates a new framework of nine meta-functions for science centres and science museums that can guide and help qualify discussions about their present and future activities. We discuss the new meta...

  5. Affordances and distributed cognition in museum exhibitions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Achiam, Marianne; May, Michael; Marandino, Martha

    2014-01-01

    consistent framework. Here, we invoke the notions of affordance and distributed cognition to explain in a coherent way how visitors interact with exhibits and exhibit spaces and make meaning from those interactions, and we exemplify our points using observations of twelve visitors to exhibits at a natural...... history museum. We show how differences in exhibit characteristics give rise to differences in the interpretive strategies used by visitors in their meaning-making process, and conclude by discussing how the notions of affordance and distributed cognition can be used in an exhibit design perspective....

  6. Application of an imaging system to a museum exhibition for developing interactive exhibitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyata, Kimiyoshi; Inoue, Yuka; Takiguchi, Takahiro; Tsumura, Norimichi; Nakaguchi, Toshiya; Miyake, Yoichi

    2009-10-01

    In the National Museum of Japanese History, 215,759 artifacts are stored and used for research and exhibitions. In museums, due to the limitation of space in the galleries, a guidance system is required to satisfy visitors' needs and to enhance their understanding of the artifacts. We introduce one exhibition using imaging technology to improve visitors' understanding of a kimono (traditional Japanese clothing) exhibition. In the imaging technology introduced, one data projector, one display with touch panel interface, and magnifiers were used as exhibition tools together with a real kimono. The validity of this exhibition method was confirmed by results from a visitors' interview survey. Second, to further develop the interactive guidance system, an augmented reality system that consisted of cooperation between the projector and a digital video camera was also examined. A white paper board in the observer's hand was used as a projection screen and also as an interface to control the images projected on the board. The basic performance of the proposed system was confirmed; however continuous development was necessary for applying the system to actual exhibitions.

  7. On the Ethology of Female Homo Sapiens Sapiens at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whittle, Christopher

    This study is a followup to the author's earlier study of the learning differences exhibited by museum exhibit visitors and seeks to discern the effects of the pathological cultural problems identified by other researchers in a science education setting. The setting for this followup study was the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.…

  8. Musealization without museology: national museums and fashion exhibitions between history, theory and practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Žarić

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Studies of the theory and history of fashion, which were up until recently grouped with culture studies, gender studies, communicology, art history and anthropology are, on the academic map of the 21st century being established as separate disciplines. Consolidating these contexts, the affirmation of fashion studies has been most prevalent within the museology of fashion, as it - or rather – fashion museology is becoming one of the leading tendencies within contemporary museum practices. This paper views fashion as a specific kind of system, coded through sociocultural codes, and finds the reason for the ever-increasing number of exhibitions of fashion on the international as well as the national museum scene in the codes of fashion which oscillate between the aesthetic and the commercial. By affirming fashion as an art form on the one hand and increasing the profitability of the institution on the other, fashion exhibitions enable museums to become „fashionable“ – to keep up with contemporary, more liberal exhibition concepts. Despite the fact that in this year there have been a large number of fashion exhibitions in national museums, fashion is still without its own museology, a scientific theory which would explain it as a museum phenomenon. The exhibits are interpreted historically, while explaining their utilitarian and aesthetic value, while the question of why fashion is exhibited as an art form or a kind of cultural production to the consumer of the exhibition - the visitor – remains unanswered. By analyzing historical events which conditioned the museum exhibiting of fashion as well as the different conceptions of its exhibition, the author strives to – through the juxtaposition of international and national exhibitions catch sight of the causes of the lack of a museology of fashion, and open up the issue of its affirmation within the professional academic and museum community of Serbia.

  9. Developing Interactive Exhibits with Scientists: Three Example Collaborations from the Life Sciences Collection at the Exploratorium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Denise; Ma, Joyce; Armendariz, Angela; Yu, Kristina

    2018-04-25

    Science museums have made a concerted effort to work with researchers to incorporate current scientific findings and practices into informal learning opportunities for museum visitors. Many of these efforts have focused on creating opportunities and support for researchers to interact face-to-face with the public through, for example, speaker series, community forums, and engineering competitions. However, there are other means by which practicing scientists can find a voice on the museum floor - through the design and development of exhibits. Here we describe how researchers and museum professionals have worked together to create innovative exhibit experiences for an interactive science museum. For each example: scientist as (1) data providers, (2) advisors, and (3) co-developers, we highlight essential components for a successful partnership and pitfalls to avoid when collaborating on museum exhibits. Not many museums prototype and build their own exhibits like the Exploratorium. In those cases, there may be similar opportunities in more mediated offerings such as public demonstrations or lectures or in other formats that allow for direct interactions between scientists and visitors.We believe there are many opportunities for researchers to share natural phenomena, to advise on exhibit development and interpretation, to provide much needed materials, and to otherwise incorporate authentic research into the learning experiences at museums, no matter what the format.

  10. Exhibiting the Human/Exhibiting the Cyborg: “Who Am I?”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophia C. Vackimes

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The role of the museum in shaping our relationship to science and technology, particularly cyborgization, is illuminated by a close examination of the Who Am I permanent exhibition in the Wellcome Wing of the Science Museum of London. This innovative exhibition raises real questions both about the human-technology-science relationship but also about museography. In the context of the history and current practices of museums engaging contemporary technological developments the evidence suggest that even as the Who am I? exhibit did break somewhat from previous approaches, especially the didactic presentation of the socially useful, it has not changed the feld as a whole.

  11. Teaching science in museums

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Lynn Uyen

    Museums are free-choice, non-threatening, non-evaluative learning and teaching environments. They enable learners to revisit contents, authentic objects, and experiences at their own leisure as they continually build an understanding and appreciation of the concepts. Schools in America have used museums as resources to supplement their curriculum since the 19 th century. Field trip research is predominantly from the teachers' and students' perspectives, and draws attention to the importance for classroom teachers and students to prepare prior to field trips, have tasks, goals, and objectives during their time at the museum, and follow up afterwards. Meanwhile, museum educators' contributions to field trip experiences have been scantily addressed. These educators develop and implement programs intended to help students' explore science concepts and make sense of their experiences, and despite their limited time with students, studies show they can be memorable. First, field trips are a break in the usual routine, and thus have curiosity and attention attracting power. Second, classroom science teaching literature suggests teachers' teaching knowledge and goals can affect their behaviors, and in turn influence student learning. Third, classroom teachers are novices at planning and implementing field trip planners, and museum educators can share this responsibility. But little is reported on how the educators teach, what guides their instruction, how classroom teachers use these lessons, and what is gained from these lessons. This study investigates two of these inquiries. The following research questions guided this investigation. (1) How do educators teaching one-hour, one-time lessons in museums adapt their instruction to the students that they teach? (2) How do time limitations affect instruction? (3) How does perceived variability in entering student knowledge affect instruction? Four educators from two museums took part in this participant observation study to

  12. Learning Robotics in a Science Museum Theatre Play: Investigation of Learning Outcomes, Contexts and Experiences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peleg, Ran; Baram-Tsabari, Ayelet

    2017-12-01

    Theatre is often introduced into science museums to enhance visitor experience. While learning in museums exhibitions received considerable research attention, learning from museum theatre has not. The goal of this exploratory study was to investigate the potential educational role of a science museum theatre play. The study aimed to investigate (1) cognitive learning outcomes of the play, (2) how these outcomes interact with different viewing contexts and (3) experiential learning outcomes through the theatrical experience. The play `Robot and I', addressing principles in robotics, was commissioned by a science museum. Data consisted of 391 questionnaires and interviews with 47 children and 20 parents. Findings indicate that explicit but not implicit learning goals were decoded successfully. There was little synergy between learning outcomes of the play and an exhibition on robotics, demonstrating the effect of two different physical contexts. Interview data revealed that prior knowledge, experience and interest played a major role in children's understanding of the play. Analysis of the theatrical experience showed that despite strong identification with the child protagonist, children often doubted the protagonist's knowledge jeopardizing integration of scientific content. The study extends the empirical knowledge and theoretical thinking on museum theatre to better support claims of its virtues and respond to their criticism.

  13. Attitude Change When Presenting Science Museum Visitors with Risk-Benefit Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phelan, Siëlle; Specht, Inga; Schnotz, Wolfgang; Lewalter, Doris

    2017-01-01

    Visitors to modern science museums are likely to encounter exhibitions presenting conflicting information, such as risks and benefits of new scientific developments. Such exhibitions encourage visitors to reflect upon different sides of a story and to form or adjust their attitudes toward the topic on display. However, there is very little…

  14. A phenomenological investigation of science center exhibition developers' expertise development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Denise L.

    The purpose of this study was to examine the exhibition developer role in the context of United States (U.S.) science centers, and more specifically, to investigate the way science center exhibition developers build their professional expertise. This research investigated how successfully practicing exhibition developers described their current practices, how they learned to be exhibition developers, and what factors were the most important to the developers in building their professional expertise. Qualitative data was gathered from 10 currently practicing exhibition developers from three science centers: the Exploratorium, San Francisco, California; the Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois; and the Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota. In-depth, semistructured interviews were used to collect the data. The study embraced aspects of the phenomenological tradition and sought to derive a holistic understanding of the position and how expertise was built for it. The data were methodically coded and organized into themes prior to analysis. The data analysis found that the position consisted of numerous and varied activities, but the developers' primary roles were advocating for the visitor, storytelling, and mediating information and ideas. They conducted these activities in the context of a team and relied on an established exhibition planning process to guide their work. Developers described a process of learning exhibition development that was experiential in nature. Learning through daily practice was key, though they also consulted with mentors and relied on visitor studies to gauge the effectiveness of their work. They were adept at integrating prior knowledge gained from many aspects of their lives into their practice. The developers described several internal factors that contributed to their expertise development including the desire to help others, a natural curiosity about the world, a commitment to learning, and the ability to accept critique. They

  15. Creating Accessible Science Museums with User-Activated Environmental Audio Beacons (Ping!)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landau, Steven; Wiener, William; Naghshineh, Koorosh; Giusti, Ellen

    2005-01-01

    In 2003, Touch Graphics Company carried out research on a new invention that promises to improve accessibility to science museums for visitors who are visually impaired. The system, nicknamed Ping!, allows users to navigate an exhibit area, listen to audio descriptions, and interact with exhibits using a cell phone-based interface. The system…

  16. Teaching and Learning Scientific Literacy and Citizenship in Partnership with Schools and Science Museums

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dolin, Jens; Evans, Robert Harry; Quistgaard, Nana

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to bring together research on learning and teaching in science – especially for scientific literacy and citizenship – with new insights into museum didactics in order to inform innovative ways of creating museum exhibits and visits and develop new ways of linking formal...... and informal learning environments. Knowledge from different domains that have evolved substantially over the past few decades is brought together with the intention of setting up some relatively concrete guidelines for arranging visits to science museums. First we examine new understandings of science...... learning in relation to the questions of why young people should learn science and what kind of science they should learn. We touch upon issues of scientific literacy and citizenship, dialogical processes, the nature of science, and inquiry-based teaching among others. Secondly, we relate our reflections...

  17. Radiation-related information at science exhibitions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bannai, Tadaaki [Inst. for Environmental Sciences, Rokkasho, Aomori (Japan)

    1999-09-01

    The aim of the present report was to promote an efficient utilization of science museums providing with educational information concerning radiations. Investigations were made on radiation-related materials exhibited at 38 museums including PR event sites between April 1996 and July 1998 mainly located on Kanto and Tohoku area in Japan. The investigation concerned as to whether the displays on radiation-related material (cosmic rays, X-rays, etc) existed or not, and as to the background of the display as well. As the result, 14 locations had no relevant displays, 10 of them not having things about atomic energy at all. The locations belonging to electricity company mostly had displays related to radiations and atomic energy power generation. A spark chamber was exhibited at 9 locations and a cloud chamber at 3 locations, but only one location among them displayed both. Displays on the actual use of X-radiation were found at 4 locations. Needs to prepare further improved displays exist at the sites visited. (S. Ohno)

  18. Good luck. Rural district. The black coal mining since 1945. The first special exhibition in the new building of the German mining industry museum Bochum; Glueck auf. Ruhrgebiet. Der Steinkohlenbergbau nach 1945. Erste Sonderausstellung im Neubau des Deutschen Bergbau-Museums Bochum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Farrenkopf, Michael [Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum, Bochum (Germany); Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum (Germany). Forschungsgebiet Juengere Bergbaugeschichte

    2010-03-15

    As one of the eight large research museums in the Federal Republic of Germany and as a member of the Leibniz Society (Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany), the German mining industry museum Bochum understands its special exhibitions as a result of a large-scale research project. Contrary to other institutions for science, the research museums use the chance to publish their research results in the sense of 'Public Understanding of Science' to the broad public. To this extent, research museums have an important educational function for our modern society.

  19. Science Engagement at the Museum School: Teacher Perspectives on the Contribution of Museum Pedagogy to Science Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watermeyer, Richard

    2015-01-01

    This paper explores the accounts of science teachers working within the UK's only "museum school" and what they perceive as the benefits and shortcomings of "museum pedagogy" as a process of object-based teaching (and learning). Museum pedagogy is in this context considered for its potential in harmonising informal and formal…

  20. The Expositive Discourse as Pedagogical Discourse: Studying Recontextualization in the Production of a Science Museum Exhibition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marandino, Martha

    2016-01-01

    In this paper I report on the sociological and educational particulars of "The Biodiscovery Space" exhibition of the Life Museum of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, using Basil Bernstein's framework of pedagogic discourse and recontextualization. Data for analysis was obtained from interviews with the exhibition…

  1. Solar Fireworks - Integrating an Exhibit on Solar Physics and Space Science into the Science and Astronomy Curriculum of High-School and College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denker, C.; Wang, H.; Conod, K. D.; Wintemberg, T.; Calderon, I.

    2005-05-01

    Astronomers at The Newark Museum's Alice and Leonard Dreyfuss Planetarium teamed up with the New Jersey Institute of Technology's (NJIT) Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (CSTR) and the Big Bear Solar Observatory in presenting Solar Fireworks. The exhibit opened on May 15, 2004 and features two exhibition kiosks with interactive touch screen displays, where students and other visitors can take "virtual tours" in the fields of solar physics, solar activity, Sun-Earth connection, and geo-sciences. Planetarium and museum visits are an integral part of the introductory physics and astronomy classes at NJIT and the exhibition has been integrated in the astronomy curriculum. For example, NJIT students of the Astronomy Club and regular astronomy courses were closely involved in the design and development of the exhibit. The exhibit is the latest addition to the long-running natural science exhibit "Dynamic Earth: Revealing Nature's Secrets" at the museum. More than 30,000 people per year attend various programs offered by the planetarium including public shows, more than a dozen programs for school groups, after school activities, portable planetarium outreach, outdoor sky watches, solar observing and other family events. More than 1,000 high school students visited the planetarium in 2004. The exhibit is accompanied by a yearly teacher workshop (the first one was held on October 18-20, 2004) to enhance the learning experience of classes visiting the Newark Museum. The planetarium and museum staff has been working with teachers of Newark high schools and has presented many workshops for educators on a wide range of topics from astronomy to zoology. At the conclusion of the exhibit in December 2005, the exhibit will go "on the road" and will be made available to schools or other museums. Finally, the exhibit will find its permanent home at the new office complex of CSTR at NJIT. Acknowledgements: Solar Fireworks was organized by The Newark Museum and the New Jersey

  2. Science Night at the Museum of the History of Science

    CERN Multimedia

    2004-01-01

    Would it surprise you to know that you can measure the speed of light using chocolate and a microwave oven? If you're interested in this and in finding out much more, come along to the Museum of the History of Science on 3 and 4 July 2004, when dozens of companies, institutions, colleges and organizations will be running exhibits, shows, and displays on the theme of counting and measuring. CERN will be there with a display stand that includes two particle detectors; one to sense muons arriving from cosmic rays that strike the Earth's atmosphere, and the other a prototype of an element of the OPAL detector which was used in the LEP to measure particle tracks from high energy electron-positron collisions. Full details are available from the Museum website at: http://www.lanuitdelascience.ch/

  3. Students' Understanding of the Special Theory of Relativity and Design for a Guided Visit to a Science Museum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guisasola, Jenaro; Solbes, Jordi; Barragues, Jose-Ignacio; Morentin, Maite; Moreno, Antonio

    2009-01-01

    The present paper describes the design of teaching materials that are used as learning tools in school visits to a science museum. An exhibition on "A century of the Special Theory of Relativity", in the Kutxaespacio Science Museum, in San Sebastian, Spain, was used to design a visit for first-year engineering students at the university…

  4. Skin & bones: an artistic repair of a science exhibition by a mobile app

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Marques

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Due to the costs involved with renovating exhibitions at natural history museums, some permanent exhibits stay on display unchanged for decades. The Bone Hall at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has remained intact for 51 years. Here we discuss this exhibition as a stark exemplification of a science-only, art-free approach to communicating ideas and how creative reimaginings of the visitor experience have made it more accessible for the majority of visitors. Within the Bone Hall, mounted skeletons are displayed in static poses without any hint of movement and interpretation of their behaviors and text labels describe, in esoteric language, skeletal details. In a rare opportunity to redesign the visitor experience for an existing exhibition, we produced a mobile app. The app is guided by concepts in the natural sciences, yet inspired by artistic ideas applied to audio, video and 3D animation, which created a multisensory visitor experience. Indispensable to the approach was a production team comprised of individuals rooted in the arts/humanities and sciences. They used their crafts to make science more accessible to non-specialized visitors through audio/visual creations. Interviews and surveys with visitors confirmed the value of producing artistic interpretations of science as a more effective method of communication in the exhibit.

  5. Museum professionals meet at CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    2005-01-01

    As part of the World Year of Physics, CERN organised a day of meetings attended by professionals from French and Swiss science museums. The poster for the Einstein exhibition that will open in Bern on 16 June 2005. Around thirty professionals from science museums, as well as representatives of France's Office de Coopération et d'Information Muséographiques (OCIM) and the Suisse Romande Réseau Science et Cité, congregated at CERN on 10th February with the purpose, among other things, of exchanging ideas and information on proposed exhibitions for the World Year of Physics. "We thought that it would be a good idea to start the World Year of Physics with a meeting at CERN that could provide inspiration for future exhibitions", explains Emma Sanders, Head of the Visits Service and Microcosm. Many scientific museums are trying to improve the way they cover contemporary science, and CERN is an ideal place to observe science in the making. Other goals of the meeting were to strengthen links between French and...

  6. Parents’ and Experts’ Awareness of Learning Opportunities in Children’s Museum Exhibits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick; Stuehling, Amara; Resnick, Ilyse; Mahajan, Neha; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy; Moynihan, Nora

    2017-01-01

    Informal learning outside of school are crucial for a child’s development. Children’s museums, in particular, are environments conducive to this sort of learning, especially when parents guide children’s exploration. However, research suggests a gap between parents’ and experts’ perceptions of the value of informal learning. In Study 1, we asked groups of parents and experts (i.e., individuals in the community connected with the field of education or those with training in child growth and development) to rate the presence of learning opportunities available in two museum exhibits, finding that parents consistently provided lower ratings. In Study 2, we explored whether signage aimed at orienting parents toward the learning potential in these exhibits would have an impact on their ratings. Results suggested that signage made parents’ ratings look more like those of experts. Taken together, these studies show that a simple intervention can help parents perceive the learning opportunities in children’s museum exhibits as experts do. PMID:28970647

  7. The exhibition of the other: tradition, memory and colonialism in museums in Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario Ruffer

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This article starts from the notion of "complex exhibitorio" on classical pedagogical function of the Western Museum (historical and ethnographic, and reviewed in, specifically Mexican contemporary Latin American contexts. The text contrasts ethnographic work in community museums with certain aspects of the Boards of ethnography at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico. The central thesis seeks to demonstrate is that the current rhetoric of post-colonial heritage and "cultural diversity" environments, still using the logic of exhibitorio complex but with a different mechanism and the classical notion of early twentieth century end. No longer try to exhibit the feats of the modern order and national construction, but a poetic return. Tradition would no longer fixed forever in the national museum in the capital, but that is installed on the spatial distance of the town or village: those who were the subject of museum and exhibition become subject to production of a look and an order. Finally he asks: have really moved the mechanisms defined and retained authority over cultural heritage?

  8. Motivational Factors in Career Decisions Made by Chinese Science Museum Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Jiao; Anderson, David; Wu, Xinchun

    2016-01-01

    Conceptualized by the self-determination theory, this interpretive study examined 23 museum educators' perspectives from five Chinese science museums to understand their work motivation in relation to their professional practice of working in museums. Research outcomes showed that, Chinese science museum educators' work motivation followed a…

  9. Museums as brokers of participation: how visitors view the emerging role of European science centres and museums in policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Bandelli

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Science centres and museums in Europe traditionally offer opportunities for public participation, such as dialogues, debates and workshops. In recent years, starting with the support of grants from the European Commission, the purpose of these initiatives is increasingly more connected with the policy making processes where science centres play a role as brokers between the public and other stakeholders. This article begins an investigation on how these two levels of participation – the participation of museums in policy, and the participation of visitors in museums – are related in seven European science centres and museums. The results suggest that science centres and museums are regarded by their visitors as potential platforms to facilitate public participation in policy, especially in countries where the general infrastructure for public participation in science is weak.

  10. Traveling Exhibitions as Sites for Informal Learning: Assessing Different Strategies with Field Trips to Traveling Exhibitions at Non-Museum Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harker, Richard J. W.; Badger, James

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the use of different pedagogical techniques to create an intellectually engaging experience for middle school students who visited a traveling exhibition from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at a non-museum host site: the University of North Georgia Dahlonega's Library and Technology Center. The findings of this…

  11. Projections on museum exhibits - engaging visitors in the museum setting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Basballe, Ditte Amund; Halskov, Kim

    2010-01-01

    Using animation, text, and visual effects as elements of projections on the Danish rune stone, Mejlbystenen (the Mejlby stone), we have explored approaches to engaging museum visitors. The installation positions itself in the field of previous installations and experiments exploring projection...... on physical objects, but is unique in focusing on fusing the projection and the object in an engaging approach to communicating information at a cultural heritage museum. The Mejlby stone installation is now a permanent installation at a cultural and historical museum, and, based on observation as well...

  12. Interpreters' Perceptions about the Goals of the Science Museum in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chin, Chi-Chin

    The competence of interpreters, so called "docents," influences visitors' learning in museums. The study reported in this paper investigated 16 interpreters' perceptions about: the educational goals of the science museum in Taiwan, the function of the interpreter in the science museum, the requirements for a competent interpreter, and…

  13. Informal Education and Climate Change: An Example From The Miami Science Museum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delaughter, J.

    2007-12-01

    The Miami Science Museum recently took part in the National Conversation on Climate Action, held on October 4, 2007. This nationwide event encouraged members of the general public to explore local climate policy options. It provided an opportunity for citizens to discuss the issues and science of climate change with experts and policy makers, as well as neighbors and friends. During the day, the Miami Science Museum hosted a variety of events with something for everyone. Local school groups played DECIDE games and competed to find the most "treasure" in trash. Members and visitors were encouraged to leave their mark by posting comments and ideas about climate change. A "Gates of Change" exhibit provided dramatic visual indication of the effects of climate change and sea level rise. And a special "Meet the scientists" forum allowed the general public to discuss the facts and fictions of climate change with experts from Miami University's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. This activity was part of the Association of Science and Technology Centers' (ASTC) International action on Global Warming (IGLO) program. ASTC is the largest association of public science venues, and has 540 member institutions in 40 countries.

  14. Youth Engagement through Science (YES!) - Engaging Underrepresented Minorities in Science through High School Internships at the National Museum of Natural History

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robertson, G.; Cruz, E.; Selvans, M. M.

    2014-12-01

    The Smithsonian's Youth Engagement through Science (YES!) program at the National Museum of Natural History gives young people from the Washington, D.C. area the opportunity to engage in science out of school through 16-week internships. We will present the program's successful strategies and lessons learned around recruiting and engaging young people from underserved communities, and maintaining relationships that help to support their pursuit of STEM and other career paths. The YES! program connects Smithsonian collections, experts, and training with local DC youth from communities traditionally underrepresented in science careers. YES! is now in its fifth year and has directly served 122 students; demographics of alumni are 67% female, and 51% Latino, 31% African-American, 7% Asian, 5% Caucasian and 6% other. The program immerses students in science research by giving them the opportunity to work side-by-side with scientists and staff from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Gardens, and National Zoo. In addition to working on a research project, students have college preparatory courses, are trained in science communication, and apply their skills by interacting with the public on the exhibit floor.

  15. The four cultures: Public engagement with science only, art only, neither, or both museums.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shein, Paichi Pat; Li, Yuh-Yuh; Huang, Tai-Chu

    2015-11-01

    This study uses an art-and-science comparative lens to understand the science culture, particularly the public engagement with science museums. A representational Taiwanese sample of 1863 subjects was categorized into "four cultures," who visit science only, art only, neither, or both museums, resulting in six multivariate logistic regression models. Knowledge of science, interests in scientific and social issues, and socio-demographic variables were considered in the models. Adults with children and males prefer science museums, females prefer art museums, and the young and urban intellects show no strong preference, appearing to be open to both science and art museums. The findings show the complex decisions the public make in visiting museums. It is no longer a strictly science or art decision, as framed by Snow's "The Two Cultures" argument; rather, the possibility of visiting both museums has emerged, a phenomenon we describe as cognitive polyphasia. © The Author(s) 2015.

  16. The Factors and Features of Museum Fatigue in Science Centres Felt by Korean Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Minchul; Dillon, Justin; Song, Jinwoong

    2018-03-01

    One of the objectives of science education in science centres has been the enhancement of interest in science. However, museum fatigue has a negative impact on interest. Museum fatigue has been described as physical tiredness or a decrease in visitors' interest in a museum. The learning experience of students in science centres is also influenced by museum fatigue. The purpose of this study is to identify the phenomena of museum fatigue in science centres and to identity how it is manifested. First, we identified the factors causing museum fatigue in science centres using the data from an open-ended questionnaire which was given to 597 primary, middle and high school students in South Korea. From the responses to the questionnaire, 50 factors causing museum fatigue in science centres were identified. A second Likert-type questionnaire with the 50 factors of museum fatigue in science centres was administered to 610 primary, middle and high school students in South Korea. Using reliability and factor analyses, we developed a framework of the factors causing museum fatigue in science centres, which consists of three contexts, 12 categories and 50 factors. Secondly, through statistical analyses including T test and ANOVA analysis, the features of students' museum fatigue in science centres were analysed and compared regarding student gender, school level, interest in science, grade of school science, the number of visits, and type of visit. The results, which were found to be statistically significant, are reported and discussed. The findings of this study are intended to serve for a deeper understanding and practical improvement of science learning in science centres.

  17. Indoor "2"2"2Rn concentration in the exhibition and storage rooms of Polish geological museums

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Długosz-Lisiecka, Magdalena; Krystek, Marcin; Raczyński, Paweł; Głuszek, Ewa; Kietlińska-Michalik, Barbara; Niechwedowicz, Mariusz

    2017-01-01

    The radon exhaled from radioactive mineral collections exhibited in five Polish geological museums may influence its total indoor concentration. Radon concentrations measured in the exhibition halls do not pose a risk for visitors or museum staff. However, air exceeding the action limit for workers (equal to 300 Bq/m"3) was noted in the storage rooms of two museums. Significant"2"2"2Rn activity concentrations equal to more than ~300 kBq/m"3were measured inside lead containers where radioactive minerals were stored. - Highlights: • In this "2"2"2Rn radionuclide measurements in 5 Polish geological museums have been done. • The review of "2"2"2Rn activity in the air in areas containing radioactive geological collections is not a routine protocol, and is not included in the national radon monitoring program. • Therefore the radiological exposure for museum staff resulting from inhalation of gaseous radon and its products has been including.

  18. Arts and science under the sign of Leonardo. The case of the National Museum of Science and Technology ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ of Milan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudio Giorgione

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Drawing on the example of Leonardo da Vinci, who was able to combine arts and science in his work, the National Museum of Science and Technology of Milan has always pursued the blending and the dialogue of humanistic and scientific knowledge. It has employed this approach in all of its activities, from the set design of exhibition departments to the acquisition of collections and, more recently, in the dialogue with the public. Now more than ever, following a renewal path for the Museum, these guidelines are being subject to research to achieve a new and more up-to-date interpretation.

  19. Informal and Non-formal Education: An Outline of History of Science in Museums

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filippoupoliti, Anastasia; Koliopoulos, Dimitris

    2014-04-01

    Although a growing number of research articles in recent years have treated the role of informal settings in science learning, the subject of the history of science in museums and its relationship to informal and non-formal education remains less well explored. The aim of this review is to assemble the studies of history of science in science museums and explore the opportunities for the further use of the history of science in science museum education practice.

  20. "Scientific peep show": the human body in contemporary science museums.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canadelli, Elena

    2011-01-01

    The essay focuses on the discourse about the human body developed by contemporary science museums with educational and instructive purposes directed at the general public. These museums aim mostly at mediating concepts such as health and prevention. The current scenario is linked with two examples of past museums: the popular anatomical museums which emerged during the 19th century and the health museums thrived between 1910 and 1940. On the museological path about the human body self-care we went from the emotionally involving anatomical Venuses to the inexpressive Transparent Man, from anatomical specimens of ill organs and deformed subjects to the mechanical and electronic models of the healthy body. Today the body is made transparent by the new medical diagnostics and by the latest discoveries of endoscopy. The way museums and science centers presently display the human body involves computers, 3D animation, digital technologies, hands-on models of large size human parts.

  1. British Museum Exhibition Review: The Jericho Skull, Creating an Ancestor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cara Hirst

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The temporary exhibit at the British Museum, open 15th December-19th February, and located to the right of the main entrance in the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Gallery (Room 59; is dedicated to a single Neolithic crania from Jericho, known as the Jericho Skull. This exhibit demonstrates the value of relatively recent technologies in archaeological research, highlighting the previously hidden information made possible through CT scanning and the value of these methods in both archaeological research but also in communicating archaeology in a visually stimulating manner which allows an exhibit to take a single item, and create an in depth exhibit featuring both the original material and two cranial 3D prints along with a facial reconstruction.

  2. Portable Tablets in Science Museum Learning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gronemann, Sigurd Trolle

    2016-01-01

    Despite the increasing use of portable tablets in learning, their impact has received little attention in research. In five different projects, this media-ethnographic and design-based analysis of the use of portable tablets as a learning resource in science museums investigates how young people...... is identified. It is argued that, paradoxically, museums’ decisions to innovate by introducing new technologies, such as portable tablets, and new pedagogies to support them conflict with many young people’s traditional ideas of museums and learning. The assessment of the implications of museums’ integration...... of portable tablets indicates that in making pedagogical transformations to accommodate new technologies, museums risk opposing didactic intention if pedagogies do not sufficiently attend to young learners’ systemic expectations to learning and to their expectations to the digital experience influenced...

  3. Climate Museum and Garden

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregg, Jay; Bille, Dorthe

    2017-04-01

    The Climate Museum and Garden is conceived as a cross-disciplinary experience, where the arts and sciences link together to increase understanding of the Earth's climate and its relevance to our fate as a species. This would be a place of inspiration. The Climate Museum and Garden would merge concepts of modern art museums and modern science museums, with exhibitions, live music and theater performances, visitor interaction, unique discoveries and reflection. It would be a place where visitors are immersed in experiences, lingering indoors and out in quiet consideration and gratitude for our planet's atmosphere. The story of climate change is compelling in its own right; theories of the greenhouse effect go back over century and climate policy has stretched back a few decades. Whereas scientific researchers have been contributing to understanding the mechanisms and impacts of climate change for many decades; whereas researchers have participated in climate summits and informed policy makers; whereas researchers have taught classes of gifted students; in all of this, the public has mostly missed out. This public relations gap has been unfortunately filled by those that would seek to politicize and mislead the public, leading to an engagement gap among the general public. Now we stand on a precipice. Therefore we see a ripe opportunity to reach out and inspire the population. We build off of current pedagogic research that shows that experienced-based learning is more impactful when it engages the senses and elicits an emotional response. People understand what they experience, what they feel, and this serves as the basis for personal reflection. In this sense the visitor experience is generative, in that it promotes further personal investigation and interaction. The Climate Museum and Garden would be a start. In the future, we envisage a future network of climate museums in all major cities. It would be a flagship attraction for any city, along with their art

  4. Museum Institutions in Monuments - Positive and Negative Aspects of Adaptation: The New Amber Museum and Museum of Science in Gdansk, Poland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piatkowska, Ksenia

    2017-10-01

    The issue of the creation and location of new museums is a current topic. The decision of where and how to create new museum facilities will impact successful function in the future. Museums are either located in newly designed buildings or in existing buildings. In general, existing buildings adapted for museum use are either formally under conservational protection or not. With regard to museum location in preserved monuments, the author notes that the true impact on authentic monumental building structure still needs intense research. The adaptation of the Great Mill and St. Catherine’s Church - two preserved medieval objects located in the historical city center of Gdansk - provide case studies to investigate positive and negative aspects. In both cases, the author carried out architectural projects for the functional purposes of museums: The New Amber Museum and Museum of Science. The author concludes that mutual benefits of adaptation result from: the financial means of the museum institution to invest long-term; the institutional respect of the museum towards heritage, which translates into respect for conservational protection; and the competitive advantage created by the monumental features of the building and the privileged location in a well-established, branded space. Negative aspects result from: space limitations of monuments that disable the museum from extending its exposition and thus prevent institutional development; the overly restrictive requirements of restoration that take priority over the museum mission; and the lack of technically functional space required for contemporary museum technologies, which forces unconventional engineering solutions that are more expensive than the location of the museum in a newly constructed building.

  5. Greenhouse Earth: A Traveling Exhibition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Booth, W.H.; Caesar, S.

    1992-09-01

    The Franklin Institute Science Museum provided an exhibit entitled the Greenhouse Earth: A Traveling Exhibition. This 3500 square-foot exhibit on global climate change was developed in collaboration with the Association of Science-Technology Centers. The exhibit opened at The Franklin Institute on February 14, 1992, welcoming 291,000 visitors over its three-month stay. During its three-year tour, Greenhouse Earth will travel to ten US cities, reaching two million visitors. Greenhouse Earth aims to deepen public understanding of the scientific issues of global warming and the conservation measures that can be taken to slow its effects. The exhibit features hands-on exhibitry, interactive computer programs and videos, a theater production, a ''demonstration cart,'' guided tours, and lectures. supplemental educational programs at the Institute included a teachers preview, a symposium on climate change, and a ''satellite field trip.'' The development of Greenhouse Earth included front-end and formative evaluation procedures. Evaluation includes interviews with visitors, prototypes, and summative surveys for participating museums. During its stay in Philadelphia, Greenhouse Earth was covered by the local and national press, with reviews in print and broadcast media. Greenhouse Earth is the first large-scale museum exhibit to address global climate change

  6. Ana Cardoso Matos, Irina Gouzévitch e Marta C. Lourenço, dir. - Expositions Universelles, Musées Techniques et Société Industrielle/World Exhibitions, Technical Museums and Industrial Society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João Paulo Martins

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available O livro toma como base as comunicações apresentadas ao workshop internacional "World Exhibitions & Museums of Science and Technology / Expositions Universelles & Musées de la Science et de la Technique" que decorreu no Museu de Ciência da Universidade Lisboa em outubro de 2008, cuja organização esteve a cargo das responsáveis por esta publicação (http://chcul.fc.ul.pt/act_ii/WorldExhibitions-Museums_programme_2008.pdf. Esse evento teve o apoio do Centro de História das Ciências da Universida...

  7. 78 FR 17744 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Maya: Hidden Worlds...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-22

    ... Worlds Revealed,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of... custodians. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at The Science Museum of... Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Denver, Colorado from on or about February 14, 2014 until on or...

  8. Arts and science under the sign of Leonardo. The case of the National Museum of Science and Technology ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ of Milan (Italian original version

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudio Giorgione

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Drawing on the example of Leonardo da Vinci, who was able to combine arts and science in his work, the National Museum of Science and Technology of Milan has always pursued the blending and the dialogue of humanistic and scientific knowledge. It has employed this approach in all of its activities, from the set design of exhibition departments to the acquisition of collections and, more recently, in the dialogue with the public. Now more than ever, following a renewal path for the Museum, these guidelines are being subject to research to achieve a new and more up-to-date interpretation.

  9. Bringing dinosaurs back to life: exhibiting prehistory at the American Museum of Natural History.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rieppel, Lukas

    2012-09-01

    This essay examines the exhibition of dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History during the first two decades of the twentieth century. Dinosaurs provide an especially illuminating lens through which to view the history of museum display practices for two reasons: they made for remarkably spectacular exhibits; and they rested on contested theories about the anatomy, life history, and behavior of long-extinct animals to which curators had no direct observational access. The American Museum sought to capitalize on the popularity of dinosaurs while mitigating the risks of mounting an overtly speculative display by fashioning them into a kind of mixed-media installation made of several elements, including fossilized bone, shellac, iron, and plaster. The resulting sculptures provided visitors with a vivid and lifelike imaginative experience. At the same time, curators, who were anxious to downplay the speculative nature of mounted dinosaurs, drew systematic attention to the material connection that tied individual pieces of fossilized bone to the actual past. Freestanding dinosaurs can therefore be read to have functioned as iconic sculptures that self-consciously advertised their indexical content.

  10. Memory, museums and information science: An interdisciplinary perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Débora Adriano Sampaio

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Reflects on Museums and Information Science in an interdisciplinary perspective, tracing an interface between memory and information. Presents socio-historical approaches of Information Science in an attempt to subsidize social issues that guide this discussion - 'The Social Epistemology Shera', the 'Hermeneutics Capurro' and 'Approach of Knowledge Wersig'. Highlights the dialogue between information, memory and museum institutions, analyzing its importance in the socio-cultural dynamics of the information society. Considers the process of building interdisciplinary, under a social dimension as a vital contribution to the direction of new readings that can transform individuals in humans reflexive and critical agents capable of walking paths foreseen and unforeseen, changing social reality.

  11. Portable Tablets in Science Museum Learning: Options and Obstacles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gronemann, Sigurd Trolle

    2017-06-01

    Despite the increasing use of portable tablets in learning, their impact has received little attention in research. In five different projects, this media-ethnographic and design-based analysis of the use of portable tablets as a learning resource in science museums investigates how young people's learning with portable tablets matches the intentions of the museums. By applying media and information literacy (MIL) components as analytical dimensions, a pattern of discrepancies between young people's expectations, their actual learning and the museums' approaches to framing such learning is identified. It is argued that, paradoxically, museums' decisions to innovate by introducing new technologies, such as portable tablets, and new pedagogies to support them conflict with many young people's traditional ideas of museums and learning. The assessment of the implications of museums' integration of portable tablets indicates that in making pedagogical transformations to accommodate new technologies, museums risk opposing didactic intention if pedagogies do not sufficiently attend to young learners' systemic expectations to learning and to their expectations to the digital experience influenced by their leisure use.

  12. Museums for all: evaluation of an audio descriptive guide for visually impaired visitors at the science museum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Soler Gallego

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Translation and interpreting are valuable tools to improve accessibility at museums. Theese tools permit the museum communicate with visitors with different capabilities. The aim of this article is to show the results of a study carried out within the TACTO project, aimed at creating and evaluating an audio descriptive guide for visually impaired visitors at the Science Museum of Granada. The project focused on the linguistic aspects of the guide’s contents and its evaluation, which combined the participatory observation with a survey and interview. The results from this study allow us to conclude that the proposed design improves visually impaired visitors’ access to the museum. However, the expectations and specific needs of each visitor change considerably depending on individual factors such as their level of disability and museum visiting habits.

  13. Science literacy and natural history museums

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2010-10-15

    Oct 15, 2010 ... Paradoxically, this is probably the period in the history of advanced countries in which increasing public and personal efforts have been directed toward the dissemination of scientific knowledge to increase public understanding of science. This article vindicates the role of natural history museums in ...

  14. ClimateInterpreter.org: an online sharing platform with best practices and resources on effective climate change communication, climate change exhibits, and sustainability efforts at aquariums, zoos, and science museums

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, M. K.; MacKenzie, S.

    2011-12-01

    Many aquariums, zoos, museums, and other informal science education (ISE) centers across the country want to connect their visitors with the important issue of climate change. Communicating climate change and the science it embodies is no easy task though, and ISE institutions are seeking creative and collaborative ways to best interpret the issue with their audiences. Some of these institutions, particularly aquariums and zoos, have live specimens on exhibit that stand to be severely impacted by climate change. Others see it as an educational and moral imperative to address such an important issue affecting the world today, especially one so close to the core mission of their institution. Regardless, informal science educators have noticed that the public is increasingly coming to them with questions related to climate change, and they want to be able to respond as effectively as they can. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is one partner in a coalition of aquariums, zoos, museums and informal science education institutions that are working together to present climate change to its visitors. These institutions hold enormous public trust as sources of sound scientific information. Whether it is through exhibitions like the Aquarium's Hot Pink Flamingos: Stories of Hope in a Changing Sea, interpretive and communication techniques to navigate challenging climate change discussions, or with sustainability planning and operational greening efforts, there is a concerted movement to improve the capacity of these institutions to respond to the issue. Ultimately, their goal is to inspire visitors in a way that positively impacts the country's discourse surrounding climate change, and helps steer our dialog toward a focus on solutions. In addition to the Hot Pink Flamingos exhibit, the Aquarium is also working with the coalition to build a website, www.climateinterpreter.org, that can serve as an online platform for sharing the experiences of what different partners have learned at

  15. Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from the British Museum. Learning from Exhibitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Mark M.

    2001-01-01

    Introduces the exhibition "Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from the British Museum" that explores the four major periods of Egyptian history. Provides background information on ancient Egypt and describes the art that was present in each of the four kingdoms. (CMK)

  16. Binary logistic regression-Instrument for assessing museum indoor air impact on exhibits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bucur, Elena; Danet, Andrei Florin; Lehr, Carol Blaziu; Lehr, Elena; Nita-Lazar, Mihai

    2017-04-01

    This paper presents a new way to assess the environmental impact on historical artifacts using binary logistic regression. The prediction of the impact on the exhibits during certain pollution scenarios (environmental impact) was calculated by a mathematical model based on the binary logistic regression; it allows the identification of those environmental parameters from a multitude of possible parameters with a significant impact on exhibitions and ranks them according to their severity effect. Air quality (NO 2 , SO 2 , O 3 and PM 2.5 ) and microclimate parameters (temperature, humidity) monitoring data from a case study conducted within exhibition and storage spaces of the Romanian National Aviation Museum Bucharest have been used for developing and validating the binary logistic regression method and the mathematical model. The logistic regression analysis was used on 794 data combinations (715 to develop of the model and 79 to validate it) by a Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20.0). The results from the binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that from six parameters taken into consideration, four of them present a significant effect upon exhibits in the following order: O 3 >PM 2.5 >NO 2 >humidity followed at a significant distance by the effects of SO 2 and temperature. The mathematical model, developed in this study, correctly predicted 95.1 % of the cumulated effect of the environmental parameters upon the exhibits. Moreover, this model could also be used in the decisional process regarding the preventive preservation measures that should be implemented within the exhibition space. The paper presents a new way to assess the environmental impact on historical artifacts using binary logistic regression. The mathematical model developed on the environmental parameters analyzed by the binary logistic regression method could be useful in a decision-making process establishing the best measures for pollution reduction and preventive

  17. From dioramas to the dinner table: An ethnographic case study of the role of science museums in family life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellenbogen, Kirsten M.

    What we know about learning in museums tends to come from studies of single museum visits evaluating success according to the museum's agenda, neglecting the impressive cooperative learning strategies and resources that families bring to their museum experiences. This is a report of an ethnographic case study of four families that visit science museums frequently. The study used ethnographic research and discourse analysis as combined methodological approaches, and was grounded in a sociocultural perspective that frames science as a socially and culturally constituted activity. Over eighteen months, data were collected during observations of the families in science museums, at home, and at other leisure sites. The study generated two types of findings. First, macroanalysis based on established frameworks for understanding learning in museums revealed differences in the orientation and extent of the museum visits. Additionally, a hierarchical framework for measuring science learning in museums proved insensitive. These findings underscore limitations of some of the traditional frameworks for understanding family learning in science museums. Second, microanalysis of interactions around science objects at home and in museums revealed that parents provided children with opportunities to understand the "middle ground" of science. Analysis also revealed that families adapted the science content of the museum to renegotiate family identities. Interestingly, the types of discourse most valued in science education were least important for establishing family identity. These frequent museumgoers eliminated the distance between them and science objects by transforming their meanings to establish family identity. This study demonstrates that the families' mediating strategies shape not just an understanding of science, but also a family identity that is constructed in and through interactions with science. The results of this study provide a foundation for examining how

  18. Contributions of a Science Museum for the Initial Training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azizi Manuel Tempesta

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we present some results obtained in a master’s research which aimed to evaluate what are the contributions that the acting as Physical monitor in a Science Museum has for the initial training and the beginning of the teaching career. Basing our analysis, we have adopted as theoretical assumptions the Teachers Knowledge and the Training Needs. We interviewed a group of ten teachers who played the function of Physics mediator in the Interdisciplinary Dynamic Museum (MUDI of the State University of Maringá, and submit to the Textual Analysis Discursive process. The results allowed us to realize that the contributions go beyond the expected, revealing the great potential of the Science museums of as an aid to initial training, contributing to the development of competencies and abilities that today is required of the teacher, and them providing experiences load which otherwise would not be reached.

  19. Exhibit Engineering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mortensen, Marianne Foss

    Science museums define the objectives of their exhibitions in terms of visitor learning outcomes. Yet, exhibit designers lack theoretical and empirical research findings on which to base the creation of such educational environments. Here, this shortcoming is addressed through the development...... of tools and processes to guide the design of educational science exhibits. The guiding paradigm for this development is design-based research, which is characterised by an iterative cycle of design, enactment, and analysis. In the design phase, an educational intervention is planned and carried out based...... on the generation of theoretical ideas for exhibit design is offered in a fourth and parallel research undertaking, namely the application of the notion of cultural border-crossing to a hypothetical case of exhibit design....

  20. Museums for Science Education: can we make the difference? The case of the EST project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Xanthoudaki

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper addresses the role of museums in education in science and technology through the discussion of a specific project entitled EST “Educate in Science and Technology”. The Project puts together methodologies and activities through which museums can be used as resources for long-term project work. In-service training for teachers, work in class with learning kits or with materials brought in by a Science Van, and visits to the museum are planned and developed jointly by museum experts and teachers. The Project proposes a teaching and learning model which sees the museum experience as central and integral part of a teaching and learning process with more effective outcomes. The analysis of the Project activities and methodologies is based on the work carried out at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci, which perceives the learner (the visitor at the heart of its educational methodologies and provision.

  1. Art, the Natural Sciences and a Museum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unterberg, Adele Phyllis

    1979-01-01

    Described is a school-museum program which linked art and science through the study of small mammals and birds in relation to color, form, and communication. Art, audiovisual aids, research, readings, language, and communication were combined in this interdisciplinary program. (KC)

  2. Technology Museums in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søndergaard, Morten Karnøe

    2012-01-01

    This article presents an exhibit review of some of the major technology museums in Denmark. First comes an introduction to the Danish museum ”landscape”. Second a total of six museums and their technology focused exhibits are presented. Among the museums are the Fisheries and Maritime Museum...... in Esbjerg, housing one of the most impressive and representative exhibitions on the technology behind the strong Danish maritime sector. Another museum being mentioned is the Energy Museum, which covers the background for some of the major breakthroughs performed in Denmark within this area; particularly...... within wind power technology. Finally special attention is devoted to the Danish Technological Museum. A museum which is the oldest and most elaborate of all the technology museums. The museum covers virtually every technological breakthrough with any relevance in a Danish section, with a special focus...

  3. A framework for understanding the conditions of science representation and dissemination in museums

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Achiam, Marianne; Marandino, Martha

    2014-01-01

    Museums are in a unique position to engage the public in conversations about science topics that matter. However, when we attempt to systematically study the representation and dissemination of science in museums, we are confounded by the numerous and diverse conditions and constraints that influ...

  4. ‘Something simple and striking, if not amusing’ – the Freedom 7 special exhibition at the Science Museum, 1965

    OpenAIRE

    Dr Jean-Baptiste Gouyon

    2014-01-01

    From October 1965 to May 1966, the Science Museum in London displayed the American spacecraft Freedom 7, the first capsule in NASA’s Mercury programme to take a human on a suborbital flight. Archival records concerning this temporary display are extensive and contain photographic sources as well as written ones. This case therefore lends itself to a study aimed at evaluating the comparative merits of these two types of records, for understanding the logic at play in the display, and for retri...

  5. Public Participation and Scientific Citizenship in the Science Museum in London: Visitors’ Perceptions of the Museum as a Broker

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bandelli, A.; Konijn, E.A.

    2015-01-01

    Science museums in Europe play an emerging and important role as brokers between the public and policy-making institutions and are becoming platforms that enable scientific citizenship. To do so, museums rely on the participation of their visitors. However, little is known about the relation between

  6. Museums USA: Art, History, Science, and Other Museums.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, DC.

    The results and analysis of an earlier museum survey, presented in "Museum U.S.A.: Highlights" (ED 093 777), are given in this document. The purpose is to present a comprehensive picture of museums in the United States--their numbers and locations, types and functions, facilities and finances, personnel and trustees, and activities and attendance.…

  7. Museum, exhibition, object : artefactual narratives and their dilemmas in the National Museum of Scotland

    OpenAIRE

    Bucciantini, Alima Maria

    2009-01-01

    National museums are spaces where stories of the past are told through the display and interpretation of material culture. The narratives that are created in this way reflect the ways in which the nation wants to be seen at that particular moment, and are often embedded in the larger political and social contexts of that time. This thesis looks at the National Museum of Scotland as having three levels of narrative: that of the museum as a physical space and national institution...

  8. The learning in a science museum and the role of the monitor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tassiana Fernanda Genzini de Carvalho

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The importance attributed to Science Museums regarding to their educational role increased in the past few decades. However there is a considerable distance between the intentions of an exhibition and the perception and possible interpretation of visitors to what is shown to them. This work investigates the part played by monitors at the Estação Ciência da USP in Brazil (Science Station when they follow visiting students groups. The process developed in the interaction with visitors aims to communicate the scientific knowledge involved in the exhibition object when the situation is permeated by social interactions that in a Vigotskian view about learning should favor the building up of scientific concepts. The focus, however, is to realize characteristics of the discourses of monitors with a view to scientific communication; Results have led us to conclude that monitors speeches are far from their intentions showing inconsistencies, and being simplistic, poor in analogies, without scientific rigor.

  9. The effects of the interaction between cognitive style and instructional strategy on the educational outcomes for a science exhibit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knappenberger, Naomi

    This dissertation examines factors which may affect the educational effectiveness of science exhibits. Exhibit effectiveness is the result of a complex interaction among exhibit features, cognitive characteristics of the museum visitor, and educational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative proportions of field-dependent and field-independent visitors in the museum audience, and to ascertain if the cognitive style of visitors interacted with instructional strategies to affect the educational outcomes for a computer-based science exhibit. Cognitive style refers to the self-consistent modes of selecting and processing information that an individual employs throughout his or her perceptual and intellectual activities. It has a broad influence on many aspects of personality and behavior, including perception, memory, problem solving, interest, and even social behaviors and self-concept. As such, it constitutes essential dimensions of individual differences among museum visitors and has important implications for instructional design in the museum. The study was conducted in the spring of 1998 at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum in Chicago. Two experimental treatments of a computer-based exhibit were tested in the study. The first experimental treatment utilized strategies designed for field-dependent visitors that limited the text and provided more structure and cueing than the baseline treatment of the computer program. The other experimental treatment utilized strategies designed for field-independent visitors that provided hypothesis-testing and more contextual information. Approximately two-thirds of the visitors were field-independent. The results of a multiple regression analysis indicated that there was a significant interaction between cognitive style and instructional strategy that affected visitors' posttest scores on a multiple-choice test of the content. Field-independent visitors out- performed the field

  10. 10 years of the Archaeology Museum of Tatarstan Republic of Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdullin Khalim M.,

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The article is dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Archaeology Museum of Tatarstan Republic of the Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov, AN RT. The issues of formation archaeological structures in the region, creation of archaeological collections, formation and development of the Museum are considered. The activities of Archaeology Museum are characterized, including the “acquisition, classification and inventory verification of archaeological collections”, “acquisition, cataloging and ordering of Science Fund’s materials”, “office processing of the archaeological field data”, “inclusion of collections of the Institute of Archaeology AN RT in the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation”. The main archaeological collections and research funds are taken into consideration, as well as the main results of the research unit, including the participation in exhibitions of such museums as the Museum of Islamic Culture, the Museum of History of the State, Museum- Reserve “Kazan Kremlin”, National Cultural Center “Kazan”, Bulgarian State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve, the State Historical and Architectural Museum “The Island of Sviyazhsk”, “Laishevo Land Museum”.

  11. Projections on museum exhibits - engaging visitors in the museum setting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Basballe, Ditte Amund; Halskov, Kim

    2010-01-01

    Using animation, text, and visual effects as elements of projections on the Danish rune stone, Mejlbystenen (the Mejlby stone), we have explored approaches to engaging museum visitors. The installation positions itself in the field of previous installations and experiments exploring projection on...

  12. Identifying behaviors that generate positive interactions between museums and people on a social media platform: An analysis of 27 science museums on Twitter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Stacy Christine

    The aim of this study was to provide a detailed examination of how science museums use Twitter and suggest changes these museums should make to improve their current approach on this social media platform. Previous studies have identified the types of content museums are creating on social media, but none have quantitatively investigated the specific types of content most likely to generate interaction and engagement with a social media audience. A total of 5,278 tweets from 27 science museums were analyzed to determine what type of tweet yields the greatest impact measured in retweets and favorites. 1,453 of those tweets were selected for additional qualitative analysis. The results indicate that tweets with educational content, links, and hashtags lead to the greatest number of retweets and favorites. The results also indicate that the majority of tweets posted by museums do not generate interaction and engagement with a social media audience. A model for existing museums to improve their use of Twitter was created using the results of this study.

  13. The performance of photons rainbow-colored energy experimental lecture schools in the kids' science museum of photons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoshiya, Taiji; Sasaki, Kazuya; Nishikawa, Masahiro

    2008-01-01

    The Kansai Photon Science Institute (KPSI) of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been promoting various activities of public understanding of science and technology, to be focused on the photon science, which is characterized by activities on science lectures and science events based on science and experiment classrooms, by utilizing the science museum of the JAEA (The Kids' Science Museum of Photons). In this phase, the KPSI extends systematically trial activities of the science museum to be as an experimental apparatus for studying on science and technology, including the program for promoting activities on public understanding of science and technology at the region. (author)

  14. The role of science centres and museums in the dialogue between science and society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paola Rodari

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available In a meta-analysis carried out in 2002, the two main associations of science centres and museums (ASTC, mainly US-centered, and ECSITE, mainly European gathered all studies analysing the impact of science centres and museums on their local communities1. Four types of impact were identified: personal, social, political and economical. It was noticed that the vast majority of studies concentrated on the personal impact (that is, learning outcome, visitor satisfaction, etc., while the latter three were largely neglected. The very fact of pointing this out, and many recent experiences - some of which are included in this commentary - show that there is now a shift of attention.

  15. Exhibiting the past: Caspar Reuvens and the museums of antiquities in Europe, 1800-1840

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoijtink, M.

    2012-01-01

    In the first decades of the 19th century the exhibition of antiquity in museums reflected a universal history of civilization, in which the idea of cross-cultural influences dominated. Hindu-buddhist civilization of 13th century Java was easily connected to that of classical Greece, and Indian

  16. Citizen Science as a Tool for Augmenting Museum Collection Data from Urban Areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dakota M. Spear

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Museum collections are critical to contemporary biological research, but museum acquisitions have declined in recent decades, hampering researchers' ability to use collections to assess species responses to habitat modification, urbanization, and global climate change. Citizen science may be a key method to bolster museum collections data, particularly from urban regions, where ongoing data collection is critical to our understanding of ecosystem dynamics in a highly modified and variable landscape. In this study, we compare data collected as part of the citizen-science project Reptiles and Amphibians of Southern California (RASCals, hosted on the platform iNaturalist (www.inaturalist.org, to data in the VertNet database (www.vertnet.org, which houses millions of museum collection records from over 250 natural-history collections, for four focal species, including a native lizard of conservation concern that has declined with urbanization, a native lizard that is widespread in urban areas, and two invasive aquatic species. We compared numbers of VertNet records over time to modern RASCals records, and the number of records collected from urban, suburban, and protected areas from both databases. For all species, citizen-science records were generated much more rapidly than museum records. For three of our four focal species, RASCals participants over 27 months documented from 70 to 750% more records than were added to the VertNet database after 1990. For the urban-tolerant southern alligator lizard, RASCals participants collected nearly 45 times more modern urban records than are contained in the VertNet database. For all other species, the majority of RASCals records were collected within suburban or other highly modified landscapes, demonstrating the value of citizen science for collecting data within urban and suburban ecosystems. As new museum acquisitions decline, citizen-science projects like RASCals may become critical to the maintenance

  17. Education and science museums. Reflections in Italy and on Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paola Rodari

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available The educational function of science museums was born with the first naturalistic collections ever, flourished in 16th-century Italy. The pedagogic thought and the educational experimentations carried out in approximately five century of history have allowed the educational mission of museums to acquire many different facets, drawing a task having an increasingly higher and complex social value. Recent publications explore these new meanings of an old role.

  18. 76 FR 58032 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate a Cultural Item: Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, CO

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-19

    ... Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO, that meets the definition of an object of cultural... Cultural Item: Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, CO AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Denver Museum of Nature & Science, in consultation with the appropriate...

  19. Painting Shades of Gray: How to Communicate the History of Communism in Museums

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra Zbuchea

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Communication of sciences / arts lies at the core of a museum public activity. It is a special type of communication, meant to make the collections and the domain of the expertise of the museum accessible to a wide public in order to fulfill the special cultural and social role that museums have in the contemporary society. This cannot be achieved without the cooperation of visitors, as well as the museum stakeholders. For fruitful relationships, museums have to design their activity and public offer taking into account the characteristics as well as the interests of various segments of its audience. The present paper discusses the prerequisites for a successful museum exhibition. Special attention is given to designing an effective exhibition on the history of communism. By investigating the profile of the potential visitors for such an exhibition, the paper draws a framework to be considered when designing it. The discussion is timely, since in the last few years there are discussions and initiatives related with the establishment of a museum of communism.

  20. Web Access to Digitised Content of the Exhibition Novo Mesto 1848-1918 at the Dolenjska Museum, Novo Mesto

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majda Pungerčar

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available EXTENDED ABSTRACTFor the first time, the Dolenjska museum Novo mesto provided access to digitised museum resources when they took the decision to enrich the exhibition Novo mesto 1848-1918 by adding digital content. The following goals were identified: the digital content was created at the time of exhibition planning and design, it met the needs of different age groups of visitors, and during the exhibition the content was accessible via touch screen. As such, it also served for educational purposes (content-oriented lectures or problem solving team work. In the course of exhibition digital content was accessible on the museum website http://www.novomesto1848-1918.si. The digital content was divided into the following sections: the web photo gallery, the quiz and the game. The photo gallery was designed in the same way as the exhibition and the print catalogue and extended by the photos of contemporary Novo mesto and accompanied by the music from the orchestron machine. The following themes were outlined: the Austrian Empire, the Krka and Novo mesto, the town and its symbols, images of the town and people, administration and economy, social life and Novo mesto today followed by digitised archive materials and sources from that period such as the Commemorative book of the Uniformed Town Guard, the National Reading Room Guest Book, the Kazina guest book, the album of postcards and the Diploma of Honoured Citizen Josip Gerdešič. The Web application was also a tool for a simple and on line selection of digitised material and the creation of new digital content which proved to be much more convenient for lecturing than Power Point presentations. The quiz consisted of 40 questions relating to the exhibition theme and the catalogue. Each question offered a set of three answers only one of them being correct and illustrated by photography. The application auto selected ten questions and valued the answers immediately. The quiz could be accessed

  1. Anniversary celebrations at the National Museum of History

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Ploşniţa

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available December 21, 2013 we celebrated 30 years since the founding of the National Museum of History of Moldova. On this occasion the museum has organized several events. Program of the day began with a Round Table “Policies for conservation and restoration of the museum heritage in the Republic of Moldova”. Then, the general director of the museum Eugen Sava opened a solemn assembly in the museum’s Blue Room. During the meeting there were presented congratulatory words addressed to the participants, public figures, university professors, researchers, and museum professionals. Among the activities celebrating the establishment of this prestigious museum on December 21, 1983, there was held the presentation of the second volume of “Studies on Museology” published in Chisinau in 2013. This volume on different aspects of museum work brings knowledge and encourages activities, and practical use of its publication is undeniable. Written in a clear and sober style, it will take an important place among the works devoted to this field of science. The proceedings were inspired by respect for the museum and museology and are a continuation of the tradition of museological research in the National Museum of History of Moldova. In honor of the anniversary there was organized a temporary exhibition “National Museum of History of Moldova: A Brief Illustrated History” aimed to reflect the history of the museum and some parts of its activities during the 30 years by means of photos and documents. The exhibition was divided into several compartments: “Establishment of the Museum”, “The Museum Building” “Exhibition Activities”, “Educational Activities”, “Promotion of the Museum”, “Scientific Development of Cultural and Historical Heritage”, “The Museum’s Publications”. All the events organized on the occasion of the anniversary were attended by a large audience that through its presence and laudatory responses recognized and

  2. Shaping Watersheds Exhibit: An Interactive, Augmented Reality Sandbox for Advancing Earth Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, S. E.; Kreylos, O.; Hsi, S.; Kellogg, L. H.; Schladow, G.; Yikilmaz, M. B.; Segale, H.; Silverman, J.; Yalowitz, S.; Sato, E.

    2014-12-01

    One of the challenges involved in learning earth science is the visualization of processes which occur over large spatial and temporal scales. Shaping Watersheds is an interactive 3D exhibit developed with support from the National Science Foundation by a team of scientists, science educators, exhibit designers, and evaluation professionals, in an effort to improve public understanding and stewardship of freshwater ecosystems. The hands-on augmented reality sandbox allows users to create topographic models by shaping real "kinetic" sand. The exhibit is augmented in real time by the projection of a color elevation map and contour lines which exactly match the sand topography, using a closed loop of a Microsoft Kinect 3D camera, simulation and visualization software, and a data projector. When an object (such as a hand) is sensed at a particular height above the sand surface, virtual rain appears as a blue visualization on the surface and a flow simulation (based on a depth-integrated version of the Navier-Stokes equations) moves the water across the landscape. The blueprints and software to build the sandbox are freely available online (http://3dh2o.org/71/) under the GNU General Public License, together with a facilitator's guide and a public forum (with how-to documents and FAQs). Using these resources, many institutions (20 and counting) have built their own exhibits to teach a wide variety of topics (ranging from watershed stewardship, hydrology, geology, topographic map reading, and planetary science) in a variety of venues (such as traveling science exhibits, K-12 schools, university earth science departments, and museums). Additional exhibit extensions and learning modules are planned such as tsunami modeling and prediction. Moreover, a study is underway at the Lawrence Hall of Science to assess how various aspects of the sandbox (such as visualization color scheme and level of interactivity) affect understanding of earth science concepts.

  3. THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SCIENCE MUSEUM IN STRUCTURING AND SYNTHESIS OF LEARNING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fanny Angulo Delgado

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the mediating role of science museum in learning scientific content in school, it involves reflecting on the contributions of research to the question of what and how people learn in non-conventional educational settings. It has been shown that most people spend less than 3% of their lives learning in school, which emphasizes the importance of conceptualizing what they are and how much of their learning take place. While that question is resolved, it speaks at this bioassay on the complementary relationship between the museum and the school, as both institutions share the same educational purpose, but differ in the ways of achieving it. The science museum joins the class as a mediator that facilitates student learning as part of an education that promotes understanding of the phenomena of the world through models, which means that school learning goes in stages, one of which is that students have opportunity to structure new knowledge and synthesize on its own model. For this it is necessary that students speak, read, listen and write in science class, while the thought is expressed in language to attest to the facts. These communication skills arise in science class as indicators of mediation exercised by the museum and allow us to understand that it takes place in at least two dimensions: museographic and didactics.

  4. Exhibition “Byzantium through the Centuries” at the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuri Pyatnitsky

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available From June 24 to October 2, 2016, the Hermitage Museum held the exhibition Byzantium through the Centuries that enjoyed an exceptionally great success among the general public and professionals. The exhibition included unknown or little-known icons presented the variety of iconographic centers of Byzantium, and also Early Byzantine silver specimen found in the 19th century in the Crimea and Moldova. The concept – and this defined the structure of the exhibition – was purely art historical: to show the distinctive characteristics of the artistic language of Byzantium. The exhibition was displayed in the Nicholas Hall where visitors could see the art works from the 1st to the mid-15th century; the final chord was the painting Apostle St Peter of the famous El Greco. The objects of the Late Roman and Early Byzantine periods demonstrated the basis that served as foundation for the new Christian art. Works of the 9th - 12th centuries from the museums of Greece, those themed with the art of the Crusaders in Byzantium, and Palaiologan icons of the 14th - mid-15th century – all reflected culture of local medieval centers and the high art of different schools of icon painting. The design of the exhibition made possible to grasp the whole hall, see the amazing unity and diversity of art works, feel their eternal spiritual value, and feel yourself in a special artistic surrounding. In connection with the exhibition the Hermitage issued two publications, a brochure The Art of Devine Beauty and Spirituality (Пятницкий 2016, and a richly illustrated volume Byzantium through the Centuries (Византия 2017.

  5. 76 FR 56491 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Tombs, Temples and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-13

    ... exhibition ``Tombs, Temples and Warriors: China's Imperial Legacy,'' imported from abroad for temporary... the exhibit objects at the Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, California, from on or about October 1, 2011, until on or about March 4, 2012, at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences, Houston, Texas, from on or...

  6. The Herbert Virtual Museum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Panagiotis Petridis

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, virtual reality and augmented reality have emerged as areas of extreme interest as unique methods for visualising and interacting with digital museum artefacts in a different context, for example, as a virtual museum or exhibition, particularly over the Internet. Modern cultural heritage exhibitions have evolved from static to dynamic exhibitions and challenging explorations. This paper presents two different applications developed for the Herbert Museum and Art Gallery that make the user’s experience more immersive, engaging, and interactive. The first application utilizes mobile phone devices in order to enrich the visitors experience in the museum, and the second application is a serious game for cultural heritage and in particular for museum environments focusing on the younger visitors.

  7. The Virtual Museum for Meteorites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madiedo, J. M.

    2012-09-01

    Meteorites play a fundamental role in education and outreach, as these samples of extraterrestrial materials are very valuable tools to promote the public's interest in Astronomy and Planetary Sciences. Thus, for instance, meteorite exhibitions reveal the interest and fascination of students, educators and even researchers for these peculiar rocks and how these can provide information to explain many fundamental questions related to the origin and evolution of our Solar System. However, despite the efforts of private collectors, museums and other institutions to organize meteorite exhibitions, the reach of these is usually limited. But this issue can be addressed thanks to new technologies related to the Internet. In fact we can take advantage of HTML and related technologies to overcome local boundaries and open the possibility of offering these exhibitions for a global audience. With this aim a Virtual Museum for Meteorites has been created and a description of this web-based tool is given here.

  8. Is Museum Education "Rocket Science"?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dragotto, Erin; Minerva, Christine; Nichols, Michelle

    2006-01-01

    The field of museum education has advanced and adapted over the years to meet the changing needs of audiences as determined by new research, national policy, and international events. Educators from Chicago's Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum provide insight into a (somewhat) typical museum education department, especially geared for readers…

  9. The Museological Side of the Conflict: Israeli Exhibition of Terror and the Palestinian Museum of Prisoners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yonatan Mendel

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available This essay deals with a section of somewhat unfamiliar terrain within the battlefield of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: museum sites. The focus is on two museological case studies, the Palestinian Museum of Prisoners in Abu Dis and the Israeli Captured Material Display (also known as the Exhibition of Terror in Ramat Hasharon. Through an analysis of the artistic, educational and political characteristics of both sites, one can observe the complex internal and external power relations of museums located within an ongoing conflict zone. The essay will showcase the role these institutions play in a tenacious struggle for representation amidst efforts to gain the hearts and minds of the world’s public opinion while simultaneously battling for national and communal memory. It will show that museums both serve as and perpetuate model behavior and perceptions of a political consciousness and its enemy and, in doing so, help shape political discourse. It also suggests that the study of Israeli and Palestinian museological sites can make a significant contribution to the understanding of Israeli and Palestinian collective fears, phobias, political perceptions, and desires.

  10. The Educational Museum: Innovations and Technologies Transforming Museum Education. The Benaki Museum, Athens, 17 October 2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimitra Christidou

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The main topic of 'The Educational Museum: Innovations and Technologies Transforming Museum Education 'conference, third in a series of conferences organised by the Benaki Museum in partnership with the American Embassy and the British Council in Greece, was the use of technology and social media as means of transforming museum education and, sometimes, funding museum exhibitions and educational programmes. Among others, the conference aimed to discuss the use of digital applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Kickstarter by museums in order to attract a wider audience, interpret their collections and even fund their programmes.

  11. 75 FR 36666 - Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-28

    ... and 1941, the Works Progress Administration/Indian Arts Project paid members of the Tonawanda Seneca..., director, Rochester Museum of Arts & Science (now Rochester Museum & Science Center), with the intent of... medicine faces were also created under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration/Indian Arts...

  12. Museums as Spaces for Cultural Citizenship

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sattrup, Lise; Lejsgaard Christensen, Julie

    2013-01-01

    Ten museums and cultural institutions in Denmark examine their role as spaces for cultural citizenship. Based on one exhibition case at Thorvaldsen Museum, the paper will discuss how the theoretical framework of the project challenges the museums.......Ten museums and cultural institutions in Denmark examine their role as spaces for cultural citizenship. Based on one exhibition case at Thorvaldsen Museum, the paper will discuss how the theoretical framework of the project challenges the museums....

  13. Science Museum Exhibits' Summative Evaluation with Knowledge Hierarchy Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasar, Erkan; Gurel, Cem

    2016-01-01

    It is aimed in this research to measure via knowledge hierarchy the things regarding exhibit themes learned by the visitors of the exhibits and compare them with the purpose that the exhibits are designed for, thereby realizing a summative evaluation of the exhibits by knowledge hierarchy method. The research has been conducted in a children's…

  14. Earthquakes: Natural Science Museum and Civil Protection of Trento to inform citizens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauro, Claudia; Avanzini, Marco

    2010-05-01

    During 2009 the Natural Science Museum of Trento organized the exhibition "Attraction Earth: Earthquakes and Terrestrial Magnetism" in collaboration with the INGV (Italian National Institute of Geophysic and Volcanology). In this exhibition a particular sector has been devoted to the seismic activity and its monitoring in the Province of Trento. The purpose was to inform local people on the geological features of their territory, the monitoring activity carried out by the Civil Protection and the potential earthquake hazards, also in order to adopt a correct behaviour in case of seismic event. This sector, "The seismometric Trentino network", was organized by the Geological Service of the Trento Civil Protection and it is open till May 2010, both for general public and school students. For the latter, a particular education pack, realized by the Educational Department of the Museum and consisting of a guided tour coupled with the laboratory activity "Waves upside-down: seismology", is proposed. The whole exhibition has been also coupled with a cycle conferences targeted to adults, in which these topics have been explained by researchers and technicians of INGV and of Trento Geological Service. "The seismometric Trentino network" sector presents the daily monitoring activity of the Geological Service, that has been monitoring the seismic activity for the last 30 years, and describes the deep earth processes of the local territory, such as presence of tectonic discontinuities and their activity. It consists of display panels, a seismometer with rotating drums and a multimedia that reports the monitoring activity of the seismometric network, with real time connection to the various monitoring stations. This allows visitors to observe instantly the local seismic events recorded by each station. The seismometric network was established by the institutions of Trento Province after the earthquakes occurred in Friuli Venezia-Giulia and at Riva del Garda (1976). It started

  15. 78 FR 50108 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Item: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-16

    ....R50000] Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Item: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Rochester Museum & Science Center... that the cultural item listed in this notice meets the definition of a sacred object and an object of...

  16. 網路虛擬實境博物館之互動展示設計研究 Research of interactive Exhibition Design for the Web-based Virtual Reality Museum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E-shin Shen

    2000-03-01

    Full Text Available 無With the rapid growth of network technology, the related software and hardware industries are booming. In the meantime, museums that use computer networks to communicate their exhibition information are continually increasing. in turn, the operation of museum also exposes different features. This research is aimed at exploring the interactive exhibit design for the web-based virtual reality museum. Based upon the exhibit design principles, the researchers take the historical museum of Yuan Ze University as an example to develop an Internet museum exhibit system. In addition to reviewing the related literature and excellent examples on lnternet, the researchers integrate game design ideas into the exhibit system in order to provide visitors more enjoyable experience. Furthermore, the researchers will also verify the feasibility through expert review and user test.

  17. A comparative sociological study of peace museums and military museums

    OpenAIRE

    Murakami, Toshifumi

    2003-01-01

    This paper compares peace museums and military museums in Japan and foreign countries. It analyses the features, social functions of both peace and military museums, and considers the social influence on both museums. A public relations facility of the Self Defense Forces is regarded as a military museum in Japan, so the development and contents of the exhibition of such public relations facilities are analyzed. A half of them were established in a period between 1964 and 1969. Three new larg...

  18. First-Year Engineering Students' Portrayal of Engineering in a Proposed Museum Exhibit for Middle School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mena, Irene B.; Diefes-Dux, Heidi A.

    2012-04-01

    Students' perceptions of engineering have been documented through studies involving interviews, surveys, and word associations that take a direct approach to asking students about various aspects of their understanding of engineering. Research on perceptions of engineering rarely focuses on how students would portray engineering to others. First-year engineering student teams proposed a museum exhibit, targeted to middle school students, to explore the question "What is engineering?" The proposals took the form of a poster. The overarching research question focuses on how these students would portray engineering to middle school students as seen through their museum exhibit proposals. A preliminary analysis was done on 357 posters to determine the overall engineering themes for the proposed museum exhibits. Forty of these posters were selected and, using open coding, more thoroughly analyzed to learn what artifacts/objects, concepts, and skills student teams associate with engineering. These posters were also analyzed to determine if there were any differences by gender composition of the student teams. Building, designing, and teamwork are skills the first-year engineering students link to engineering. Regarding artifacts, students mentioned those related to transportation and structures most often. All-male teams were more likely to focus on the idea of space and to mention teamwork and designing as engineering skills; equal-gender teams were more likely to focus on the multidisciplinary aspect of engineering. This analysis of student teams' proposals provides baseline data, positioning instructors to develop and assess instructional interventions that stretch students' self-exploration of engineering.

  19. ‘A Chamber of Noise Horrors’: sound, technology and the museum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr James Mansell

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This article examines the 1935 Science Museum temporary exhibition on Noise Abatement, situating it in the sound historical context of inter-war Britain, and making an argument that the ‘way of hearing’ it advanced was part of an attempt to shape auditory perception in the interests of a class-bound culture of acoustic civilization. Further, the article uses this exhibition to mount an argument that museum scholars should consider sound not simply as a medium of engagement, but also as a politically interested and socially active field.

  20. A sustainable storage solution for the Science Museum Group

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Leskard

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Museums in recent years have sought ways to reduce the environmental impact of their operations. One approach has been to look at ways to cut back on the energy required to stabilise storage conditions, particularly relative humidity, through passive moisture control rather than mechanical systems of heating and air conditioning. To this end the Science Museum Group employed hemp in the form of hemp-lime concrete, to construct a new storage facility for its collections, drawing on research into the buffering ability of hygroscopic natural building materials. The objective was to reduce energy use, to decrease reliance on mechanical systems and to produce very stable levels of relative humidity, in order to ensure the preservation of significant heritage collections. Although a prototype, to date, this building has performed as anticipated despite some initial construction snags and mechanical system malfunctions. The results encourage further investigation into hygroscopic construction materials to design even more energy-saving ways of providing stable storage conditions for museums.

  1. Knowledge Generation in Technology-Enhanced Health Exhibitions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Magnussen, Rikke; Kharlamov, Nikita; Zachariasssen, Maria

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents results from eye-tracking studies of audience interaction and knowledge generation in the technology-enhanced health promotion exhibition PULSE at a science centre in Copenhagen, Denmark. The main purpose of the study was to understand what types of knowledge audiences build...... in health promotion exhibitions designed to include direct physical interaction. The current study is part of the larger PULSE project, which aims to develop innovative health promotion activities that include a science museum exhibition as a key setting. The primary target group is families with children...

  2. National Museum of Military History

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A Nicolaides

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Attractions such as military history museums which exhibit a wide range of important historical artefacts are fundamental sub-elements in any tourism systems, and yet their study suffers from lack of theoretical depth. Military history is an integral element of the history of any nation and countless varieties of tourists both local and international, visit military museums whenever the opportunity presents itself because museums are generally stimulating places of interest. This article focuses predominantly on international tourists visiting the Ditsong National Museum of Military History. In addition to the interest that such museums generate, they play a key role as the organizational foundation stones of modernity. It is via their many interesting exhibits that museums enlighten us about the past that intrinsically highlights its distance from the present era. Museums also selectively reconstitute aspects of history and in so doing alienate many artefacts from their original context and yet manage to impart deep understanding of events that shaped the modern world. Museums of all types thus impart knowledge and have a wide range of tales to tell concerning the many and diverse assortments of objects they hold. National pride is an obvious reason for having a military museum where the comprehensive display of military equipment is exceptionally unique while exhibition halls also offer an educational narrative of a nation’s history. What is also of interest to many visitors is the type of research that is carried out in a multiplicity of ways. The huge global growth in tourism in recent years has contributed to many museums radically altering their exhibits in both content and manner of exhibition. This is significant given the reciprocal impact that museums and tourism have on one another. The attractions in museums are regarded by many to be central to the tourism process and these are very often the main reason for many tourists visiting

  3. Design, implementation and evaluation of innovative science teaching strategies for non-formal learning in a natural history museum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çil, Emine; Maccario, Nihal; Yanmaz, Durmuş

    2016-09-01

    Background: Museums are useful educational resources in science teaching. Teaching strategies which promote hands-on activities, student-centred learning, and rich social interaction must be designed and implemented throughout the museum visit for effective science learning.

  4. The Role of Authentic Objects in Museums of the History of Science and Technology: Findings from a Visitor Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hampp, Constanze; Schwan, Stephan

    2015-01-01

    One characteristic of science centers and science museums is that they communicate scientific findings by presenting real scientific objects. In particular, science museums focus on the historical context of scientific discoveries by displaying authentic objects, defined as original objects that once served a science-related, real-world purpose…

  5. Education at the Dittrick Museum of Medical History, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edmonson, James M

    2009-01-01

    The Dittrick Museum of Medical History pursues an educational mission as being part of a major research university. While the Dittrick dates to 1899 as a historical committee of the Cleveland Medical Library Association, it first affiliated with Case Western Reserve University in 1966, and became a department of the College of Arts and Sciences of CWRU in 1998. The Dittrick maintains a museum exhibition gallery that is open to the public free of charge, and museum staff provide guided tours on appointment. Much of the teaching and instruction at the Dittrick is conducted by university professors; their classes meet in the museum and use museum resources in the form of artifacts, images, archives, and rare books. Class projects using Dittrick collections may take the form of research papers, exhibitions, and online presentations. Dittrick staff assist in these classes and are available to help researchers use museum resources.

  6. Portable Tablets in Science Museum Learning: Options and Obstacles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gronemann, Sigurd Trolle

    2017-01-01

    Despite the increasing use of portable tablets in learning, their impact has received little attention in research. In five different projects, this media-ethnographic and design-based analysis of the use of portable tablets as a learning resource in science museums investigates how young people's learning with portable tablets matches the…

  7. How do staff members at science and technology centres consider the impact of sponsors on the scientific content of exhibitions?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Davidsson, Eva; Sørensen, Helene

    2009-01-01

    or historical museums. But in what ways may sponsors impact exhibition content and design at science and technology centres? This study seeks to explore how staff members consider the impact of sponsors and donors on exhibit content and design. The data collection involves a survey, interviews and a focus group...... interview with staff members, who work with planning and constructing new exhibitions at their science and technology centre. The results suggest that sponsors may interfere in exhibition construction both directly and indirectly. This means that sponsors could put explicit demands when it comes...... to the choice of scientific content and design and thereby interfere directly. Indirect impact, on the other hand, refers to implicit demands of sponsors where staff members take into account for what they believe are views of the sponsors through self-censorship....

  8. Put a Frame on It: Contextualizing Climate Change for Museum Visitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canning, Katharine

    Public opinion polls continue to show that Americans are divided---particularly along political and ideological lines---on whether climate change is real and warrants immediate action. Those in the natural and social sciences have recognized that effective communication is key to closing the gap that exists between scientific and public understanding on this issue. A body of social science research on climate change communication has emerged within the last decade. This field has identified strategies for climate change communicators and educators, emphasizing the importance of framing climate change issues in ways that help it resonate with a wider range of public concerns and values in order to develop a shared belief regarding the necessity of action. Museum exhibits and programs on climate change that were developed within the last five years are likely to have benefitted from this body of work. This qualitative research seeks to examine and analyze the various ways museums in the United States are communicating about climate change related issues to the public. Three case studies of museum exhibits on climate change issues were examined. The scope and purpose of climate change communication in museums, the specific messages that museums are choosing to communicate, and how those messages are being framed for public audiences were explored through these case studies. The findings suggest that museums are considering their audience when framing messages about climate change and have used work from the climate change communication field to inform message development. In particular, museums are making climate change issues more relevant by emphasizing social, economic, and human health concerns, and are considering strategies to counteract fear-fatigue and empower visitors to take action.

  9. The Annual Ecsite Conference: An Engagement and Education Forum for Science Museums

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roche, Joseph; Davis, Nicola; Stanley, Jessica; Hurley, Mairéad

    2018-01-01

    The annual Ecsite conference is the largest conference in Europe for people working in science museums, science centers and other science engagement organizations. In 2017, the 28th Ecsite conference was held in Porto, Portugal, from the 15th-17th of June. This review includes a short history of Ecsite and its annual conference as well as critical…

  10. The impact of a museum travelling exhibition on middle school teachers and students from rural, low-income homes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badger, James; Harker, Richard J. W.

    2016-06-01

    Schools may be places of learning, but a great deal of learning occurs outside of school. A growing body of literature investigates how school field trips allow rural students to make real-life connections with their school curriculum. This paper contributes to that area of research by describing how students from five middle schools in the United States responded to a travelling museum exhibition hosted at a non-museum site. The authors explore the impact of the exhibition on students from poor, rural backgrounds, discussing how it helped them to engage with themes such as freedom of expression, democracy, citizenship and Holocaust education. The results show that, by connecting curricular content with real-life situations, field trips such as this have the potential to change not only students' understanding of the curriculum, but also their teachers' estimation of their abilities.

  11. Design, Implementation and Evaluation of Innovative Science Teaching Strategies for Non-Formal Learning in a Natural History Museum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çil, Emine; Maccario, Nihal; Yanmaz, Durmus

    2016-01-01

    Background: Museums are useful educational resources in science teaching. Teaching strategies which promote hands-on activities, student-centred learning, and rich social interaction must be designed and implemented throughout the museum visit for effective science learning. Purpose: This study aimed to design and implement innovative teaching…

  12. The spatial rhetoric of Gustav Zeiller's popular anatomical museum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fakiner, Nike

    2016-01-01

    This article focuses on the public experience of science by studying the exhibition practice of a small popular anatomy museum. The owner, Gustav Zeiller, a little-known German model maker and entrepreneur, opened his private collection in Dresden in 1888 with the aim of providing experts and laymen alike with a scientific education on bodily matters and health care. The spatial configuration of his museum environment turned the wax models into didactic instruments. Relying on the possible connexion between material culture studies and history of the emotions, this article highlights how Zeiller choreographed the encounter between the museum objects and its visitors. I argue that the spatial set up of his museum objects entailed rhetorical choices that did not simply address the social utility of his museum. Moreover, it fulfilled the aim of modifying the emotional disposition of his intended spectatorship. I hope to show that studying the emotional responses toward artefacts can offer a fruitful approach to examine the public experience of medicine.

  13. The Kaleidoscope of Culture: expanding the museum experience and the museum narrative by inviting visitors into the curatorial process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirsten Jensen

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Traditional art museum exhibitions are planned according to art-historical elements. At Trapholt – a museum of modern Danish art, design and applied art in Denmark, we are interested in exploring what happens when ordinary visitors are invited to curate personal exhibitions in the museum space. This paper analyses the project The Kaleidoscope of Culture, where people with no art historical background were invited to curate exhibitions based on the Trapholt collection of art and their own cultural backgrounds and experiences. The main argument is that, by allowing these personal voices in the museum space, new museum narratives are established. But to make the museum a truly transformative space the art- historical knowledge and methods must also be activate.

  14. Education and science museums. Reflections in Italy and on Italy (Italian original version

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paola Rodari

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available The educational function of science museums was born with the first naturalistic collections ever, flourished in 16th-century Italy. The pedagogic thought and the educational experimentations carried out in approximately five century of history have allowed the educational mission of museums to acquire many different facets, drawing a task having an increasingly higher and complex social value. Recent publications explore these new meanings of an old role.

  15. The Women’s Museum in Denmark

    OpenAIRE

    Ipsen, Merete

    2010-01-01

    The Women’s Museum in Denmark isa nationally accredited museum which explores women’s cultural history by linking the historical to the contemporary. The museum started as a grass root movement in the 1980s. Today the museum welcomes you to 1200 square meters of exhibitions. The exhibitions comprise a general history about women’s lives from prehistoric to present time where women are subject in the history, and a general history about the change in childhood with focus on gender. Add to this...

  16. Locally-sourced: How climate science can collaborate with arts & humanities museums to achieve widespread public trust and communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, C. G.

    2017-12-01

    Local history, art and culture museums have a large role to play in climate science communication. Unfortunately, in our current society, scientific evidence and logic is not universally accepted as truth. These messages can be dispersed through trusted institutional allies like humanities and arts museums. There are many reasons for scientific institutions to work with humanities and arts museums of all sizes, especially local museums that have personal, trusted relationships with their communities. First, museums (by definition) are public educators; the work that they do is to disperse challenging information in an understandable way to a wide array of audiences. Museums are located in every state, with over 35,000 museums in the nation; 26% of those are located in rural areas. These museums serve every demographic and age range, inspiring even those with difficulty accepting climate change information to act. Second, in a recent public opinion survey commissioned by the American Alliance of Museums, museums - especially history museums - are considered the most trustworthy source of information in America, rated higher than newspapers, nonprofit researchers, the U.S. government, or academic researchers. Scientific institutions must collaborate with local museums to improve science communication going forward. Not only will important climate and sustainability research be dispersed via trusted sources, but the public will engage with this information in large numbers. In 2012 alone, over 850 million people visited museums - more than the attendance for all major league sports and theme parks combined. A recent impact study shows that history and art museums, especially, are not seen as "having a political agenda," with over 78% of the public seeing these museums as trusted institutions. There are many ways in which the scientific community can collaborate with "the arts." This presentation will speak to the larger benefit of working with sister arts & humanities

  17. 77 FR 23504 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-19

    ...The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes, and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and present- day Indian tribes. Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary objects may contact the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Indian tribes stated below may occur if no additional claimants come forward.

  18. Informal and Non-Formal Education: An Outline of History of Science in Museums

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filippoupoliti, Anastasia; Koliopoulos, Dimitris

    2014-01-01

    Although a growing number of research articles in recent years have treated the role of informal settings in science learning, the subject of the history of science in museums and its relationship to informal and non-formal education remains less well explored. The aim of this review is to assemble the studies of history of science in science…

  19. 75 FR 25290 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-07

    ... Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY, that meet the definitions of ``sacred objects'' and ``objects of.... Tonawanda Seneca Nation traditional religious leaders have identified these medicine faces as being needed...-Haudenosaunee consultants, the museum has determined that the medicine faces are both sacred objects and objects...

  20. New Directions in Library and Information Science Education. Final Report. Volume 2.9: Archivist/Museum Professional Competencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Jose-Marie; And Others

    This document contains validated activities and competencies needed by information professionals working in an archive or museum. The activities and competencies are organized according to the functions which information professionals in archives or museums perform: acquisitions; cataloging/indexing; reference; exhibit management; and…

  1. Concept, Design and Implementation of a climate game within the framework of a climate exhibition in the German Museum for Science and Techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, M.; Hasselmann, K.

    2002-12-01

    In November 2002 a special exhibition on climate issues opened in the German Museum for Science and Techniques ('Deutsches Museum') in Munich. Within this exposition we present an interactive area where visitors should control future climate policy virtually by adopting the role of either the government, a CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of a global company or a typical private household of an industrialized country. All actors endeavor to maintain a sustainable climate in the future (global goal) and in addition pursue their own individual welfare goal. Task of the exhibition visitor is to combine the personal interests of the actor he is adopting with the global goal. The individual goal of government is to stay popular. This is derived from economic production Government also tries to avoid conflicts due to inter-regional inequalities. The CEO seeks to maximize total profits (business earnings) summed over all business sectors (shareholder values). The goal of households is to maximize wages and interest earnings. The evolution of the economic system is governed by the decisions of the actors. Government sets economic side conditions in terms of carbon taxes, subsidies for R&D or market infusion support for climate-friendly technologies, and transfers or subsidizes the transfer of development aid to less advanced regions. The CEO's decisions are: how much to invest in a number of alternative investment options and in which region. Households influences the economy by their purchasing and savings decisions. The model considers four regions, three real actors (mentioned above) and two different goods (climate-adverse and a climate-friendly). We introduce four different kinds of energy (coal, oil/gas, nuclear, renewable). Due to the existence of several goods and trade between regions we need to establish the concept of money and price. This includes a World Bank to handle money flows. At different points in time the actors are motivated to cooperate with other

  2. NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale | Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale

    Science.gov (United States)

    NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale Visit Admissions Hours & Admission Policies & Accessibility Airports Shop & Dine About the Café & Store Store Café Menu Art Exhibitions Currently on View Thursday 2-for-1 specials on wine and craft beer in the Museum Café, and hands-on art projects for all

  3. “Not Designed for Us”: How Science Museums and Science Centers Socially Exclude Low-Income, Minority Ethnic Groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawson, Emily

    2014-01-01

    This paper explores how people from low-income, minority ethnic groups perceive and experience exclusion from informal science education (ISE) institutions, such as museums and science centers. Drawing on qualitative data from four focus groups, 32 interviews, four accompanied visits to ISE institutions, and field notes, this paper presents an analysis of exclusion from science learning opportunities during visits alongside participants’ attitudes, expectations, and conclusions about participation in ISE. Participants came from four community groups in central London: a Sierra Leonean group (n = 21), a Latin American group (n = 18), a Somali group (n = 6), and an Asian group (n = 13). Using a theoretical framework based on the work of Bourdieu, the analysis suggests ISE practices were grounded in expectations about visitors’ scientific knowledge, language skills, and finances in ways that were problematic for participants and excluded them from science learning opportunities. It is argued that ISE practices reinforced participants preexisting sense that museums and science centers were “not for us.” The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings in relation to previous research on participation in ISE and the potential for developing more inclusive informal science learning opportunities. PMID:25574059

  4. Lexington Children`s Museum final report on EnergyQuest

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-08-01

    EnergyQuest is a museum-wide exhibit that familiarizes children and their families with energy sources, uses, and issues and with the impact of those issues on their lives. It was developed and built by Lexington Children`s Museum with support from the US Department of Energy, Kentucky Utilities, and the Kentucky Coal Marketing and Export Council. EnergyQuest featured six hands-on exhibit stations in each of six museum galleries. Collectively, the exhibits examine the sources, uses and conservation of energy. Each EnergyQuest exhibit reflects the content of its gallery setting. During the first year after opening EnergyQuest, a series of 48 public educational programs on energy were conducted at the Museum as part of the Museum`s ongoing schedule of demonstrations, performances, workshops and classes. In addition, teacher training was conducted.

  5. Communicative Functions of the Museum Lobby

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mortensen, Christian Hviid; Rudloff, Maja; Vestergaard, Vitus

    2014-01-01

    In a time with a heightened focus on how museum architecture and exhibition design shapes the museum visit, the entrance space of museums, the museum lobby, is remarkably absent from the museum literature and research. Still, the museum lobby is the first encounter visitors have with the museum...... and the last impression that they take home and share with others. This article analyzes museum lobbies as communication spaces in order to identify the different functions afforded by such spaces. In an explorative study of five Danish museum lobbies, we offer a preliminary categorization of these functions...

  6. O Museu de Ciência: espaço da história da ciência The Science Museum: a place of history of science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Esther Alvarez Valente

    2005-04-01

    Full Text Available O artigo apresenta uma reflexão sobre o Museu de Ciência a partir de sua dimensão educativa. O que está em discussão é a abordagem sobre os temas científicos e a exploração dos objetos museológicos apresentados no sentido de facilitar o entendimento público da Ciência. Principalmente a partir da segunda metada do século XX, a comunicação nestes espaços, voltada para o público leigo, opta por estratégias que priorizam, quase exclusivamente, a apresentação de fenômenos científicos, construindo desta maneira saberes a-históricos. Com base na perspectiva da História da Ciência o esforço, hoje, é o de ampliar a interpretação dos temas e objetos, revelando a intangibilidade ligada a eles, e que compreendem o ato de criação científico, os processos de conhecimento da ciência e sua relação com o homem e a sociedade. Trata-se de uma abordagem que auxilia os indivíduos a dar significado aos conteúdos científicos.The article is bringsa reflection on the science museum focusinged on its educational dimension. The discussion is about the approach of the interpretation ofn scientific themes and objects, both presented in the museum's exhibitions, in order to promote the public's understanding of science. Starting mainly in the second half of the twentieth century, communication occurred in Science Museums and more precisely in Science Centres, with presentations focused, exclusively on the scientific phenomena. What results is a knowledge without historical foundations. Instead we propose another approach based on the history of science perspective. It opens up the interpretation ofn the intangible aspectsside of the objects as well asand the cold information. It emphasisesis the act of scientificce creation, the process of science knowledge and its relationship with man and society. The new approach will help people give significance to the scientific contents.

  7. Astronomy's New Messengers: A traveling exhibit on gravitational-wave physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cavaglia, Marco; Hendry, Martin; Marka, Szabolcs; Reitze, David H; Riles, Keith

    2010-01-01

    The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory exhibit Astronomy's New Messengers: Listening to the Universe with Gravitational Waves is traveling to colleges, universities, museums and other public institutions throughout the United States. Astronomy's New Messengers primarily communicates with an adolescent and young adult audience, potentially inspiring them into the field of science. Acknowledging that this audience is traditionally a difficult one to attract, the exhibit publicly announces itself in a charismatic fashion to reach its principal goals of broadening the community of people interested in science and encouraging interest in science among young people.

  8. Connecting health and natural history: a failed initiative at the American Museum of Natural History, 1909-1922.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Julie K

    2014-10-01

    In 1909, curator Charles-Edward Winslow established a department of public health in New York City's American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Winslow introduced public health as a biological science that connected human health-the modern sciences of physiology, hygiene, and urban sanitation-to the natural history of plants and animals. This was the only time an American museum created a curatorial department devoted to public health. The AMNH's Department of Public Health comprised a unique collection of live bacterial cultures-a "Living Museum"-and an innovative plan for 15 exhibits on various aspects of health. I show how Winslow, facing opposition from AMNH colleagues, gathered scientific experts and financial support, and explain the factors that made these developments seem desirable and possible. I finish with a discussion of how the Department of Public Health met an abrupt and "inglorious end" in 1922 despite the success of its collections and exhibitions.

  9. Pilgrimages to the museums of the new age: appropriating European industrial museums in New York City (1927–1937

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr Jaume Sastre-Juan

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available How did industrial museums cross the Atlantic? When the first American museums of science and industry were created in the 1920s, they looked to Europe in order to import what was seen at that time as a burgeoning cultural institution. In this article, I look at this process of appropriation through an analysis of the changing perceptions of European industrial museums as expressed in the reports, surveys and books written by the curators, directors and trustees of the New York Museum of Science and Industry. I will pay particular attention to the 1927 film Museums of the New Age, documenting the main national industrial museums in Europe, and to a 1937 report on the techniques of display at the Palais de la Découverte. I will argue that their contrasting assessment of European industrial museums, which in only ten years ceased to be seen as cathedrals of a new age to become old-fashioned storehouses, is symptomatic of the significant transformation of museums of science and industry as cultural institutions during the 1930s in the United States.

  10. 76 FR 9606 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-18

    ...The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the remains and any present-day Tribe. Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains may contact the museum. Disposition of the human remains to the Tribes stated below may occur if no additional requestors come forward.

  11. 76 FR 9598 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-18

    ...The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the remains and any present-day Tribe. Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains may contact the museum. Disposition of the human remains to the Tribes stated below may occur if no additional requestors come forward.

  12. 76 FR 9597 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-18

    ...The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the remains and any present-day Tribe. Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains may contact the museum. Disposition of the human remains to the Tribes stated below may occur if no additional requestors come forward.

  13. 76 FR 9604 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-18

    ...The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the remains and any present-day Tribe. Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains may contact the museum. Disposition of the human remains to the Tribes stated below may occur if no additional requestors come forward.

  14. From an Idea to a Working Robot Prototype: Distributing Knowledge of Robotics through Science Museum Workshops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polishuk, Alexander; Verner, Igor; Mir, Ronen

    This paper presents our experience of teaching robotics to primary and middle school students at the Gelfand Center for Model Building, Robotics & Communication which is part of the Israel National Museum of Science, Technology and Space (MadaTech). The educational study examines the value and characteristics of students’ teamwork in the museum robotics workshops.

  15. Enhancing the passing moments: An educational criticism of family visits to an early childhood science exhibition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munroe, Elizabeth Ann

    This educational criticism describes and interprets the nature of family visits to an early childhood science exhibition, Working Wonders, at The Science Centre in Calgary, Alberta. The specific exhibits are described and features that contributed to exhibit popularity are examined. Examples of visitors' interactions with each exhibit are given. The visit experiences of four families are described in detail and analyzed. Typical family visitors' reactions, expectations, and experiences are summarized. Because one of the mutual expectations of the granting agency, The Science Centre, and the adult visitors was that a visit to the exhibition would be educational, the family visits are examined for instances of learning and analyzed to determine the factors that influenced the learning. Constructivism forms the basis for understanding the process of learning during family visits. The analysis is supported by reference to research from the fields of museum studies, education, and environmental design. The analysis of the educational significance and potential of family visits to an early childhood exhibition leads to the conclusion that specific features may facilitate learning in such an environment. Those features are represented in a set of guidelines for the development and evaluation of early childhood exhibitions. The guidelines suggest attention must be given to the ambience of the space, the general layout of the space, the exhibits, the copy and graphics, additional programs and information, the subtle influences of the building and the staff, and the learning processes of young children, adults, and intergenerational groups. The guidelines suggest specific issues to consider to develop a space that is stimulating and memorable, responsive to the needs of the two distinct visitor groups (young children and adults), and conducive to learning.

  16. Experiencing memory museums in Berlin. The Otto Weidt Workshop for the Blind Museum and the Jewish Museum Berlin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Souto

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This article explores memory studies from the audience’s perspective, focusing on the perception of Holocaust narratives in two museums in Berlin. This research builds on and contributes to a number of emerging issues on memory studies, tourism perception and museum design: the debate on experiential authenticity, Dark Tourism, as well as the analysis of memory studies from the perspective of the user. The main data facilitating the analysis is based on responses shared on TripAdvisor; the case studies being the Otto Weidt Workshop for the Blind Museum and the Jewish Museum Berlin. The analysis of these museums, focusing on their narratives, design features and comments from visitors, will highlight a potential shift from the traditional object-focused museum, to a phenomenological subject-focused one. It will be argued, then, that the understanding and consumption of authenticity encompasses a very flexible definition, not only based on the nature of the objects exhibited, but on the production of authentic experiences.

  17. iMuseumA: An Agent-Based Context-Aware Intelligent Museum System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inmaculada Ayala

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Currently, museums provide their visitors with interactive tour guide applications that can be installed in mobile devices and provide timely tailor-made multimedia information about exhibits on display. In this paper, we argue that mobile devices not only could provide help to visitors, but also to museum staff. Our goal is to integrate, within the same system, multimedia tour guides with the management facilities required by museums. In this paper, we present iMuseumA (intelligent museum with agents, a mobile-based solution to customize visits and perform context-aware management tasks. iMuseumA follows an agent-based approach, which makes it possible to interact easily with the museum environment and make decisions based on its current status. This system is currently deployed in the Museum of Informatics at the Informatics School of the University of Málaga, and its main contributions are: (i a mobile application that provides management facilities to museum staff by means of sensing and processing environmental data; (ii providing an integrated solution for visitors, tour guides and museum staff that allows coordination and communication enrichment among different groups of users; (iii using and benefiting from group communication for heterogeneous groups of users that can be created on demand.

  18. Public education in nuclear science at the Kyushu Museum of Energy in Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takashima, Y.

    1993-01-01

    The Kyushu Museum of Energy, funded by the Kyushu Electric Power Company Inc., was opened in September 1982. The planning and design were done by Dentsu, Inc., and the actual construction was shared among several construction and manufacturing companies. This is an educational museum which shows how people have developed and depended on energy and energy sources since the discovery of fire in prehistory. There are four major sections, devoted to fire itself, electricity, nuclear power by fission, and nuclear power by fusion. In addition, the museum will track visitors through the exhibits in terms of 'The History of Energy' as a beginning point for their tour, lead them through 'Present Energy Needs and Uses', and thence to 'Future Energy Developments and Needs'. The museum is of a 'hands-on' active display type design, with many large and attractive display panels, working models, pleasant mixes of sound, light, and images, and educational levels that encompass general public interest to semitechnical explanations that will satisfy the undergraduate with a technical background. (author) 4 figs.; 1 tab

  19. Public education in nuclear science at the Kyushu Museum of Energy in Japan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takashima, Y [Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan). Faculty of Science

    1993-06-01

    The Kyushu Museum of Energy, funded by the Kyushu Electric Power Company Inc., was opened in September 1982. The planning and design were done by Dentsu, Inc., and the actual construction was shared among several construction and manufacturing companies. This is an educational museum which shows how people have developed and depended on energy and energy sources since the discovery of fire in prehistory. There are four major sections, devoted to fire itself, electricity, nuclear power by fission, and nuclear power by fusion. In addition, the museum will track visitors through the exhibits in terms of 'The History of Energy' as a beginning point for their tour, lead them through 'Present Energy Needs and Uses', and thence to 'Future Energy Developments and Needs'. The museum is of a 'hands-on' active display type design, with many large and attractive display panels, working models, pleasant mixes of sound, light, and images, and educational levels that encompass general public interest to semitechnical explanations that will satisfy the undergraduate with a technical background. (author) 4 figs.; 1 tab.

  20. Policing Fish at Boston's Museum of Science: Studying Audiovisual Interaction in the Wild.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Hannah; Sun, Yile; Hickey, Timothy J; Shinn-Cunningham, Barbara; Sekuler, Robert

    2015-08-01

    Boston's Museum of Science supports researchers whose projects advance science and provide educational opportunities to the Museum's visitors. For our project, 60 visitors to the Museum played "Fish Police!!," a video game that examines audiovisual integration, including the ability to ignore irrelevant sensory information. Players, who ranged in age from 6 to 82 years, made speeded responses to computer-generated fish that swam rapidly across a tablet display. Responses were to be based solely on the rate (6 or 8 Hz) at which a fish's size modulated, sinusoidally growing and shrinking. Accompanying each fish was a task-irrelevant broadband sound, amplitude modulated at either 6 or 8 Hz. The rates of visual and auditory modulation were either Congruent (both 6 Hz or 8 Hz) or Incongruent (6 and 8 or 8 and 6 Hz). Despite being instructed to ignore the sound, players of all ages responded more accurately and faster when a fish's auditory and visual signatures were Congruent. In a controlled laboratory setting, a related task produced comparable results, demonstrating the robustness of the audiovisual interaction reported here. Some suggestions are made for conducting research in public settings.

  1. Interactive Character as a Virtual Tour Guide to an Online Museum Exhibition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Almeida, Pilar; Yokoi, Shigeki

    Online museums could benefit from digital "lifelike" characters in order to guide users to virtual tours and to customize the tour information to users' interests. Digital characters have been explored in online museum web sites with different degrees of interaction and modes of communication. Such research, however, does not explore…

  2. Curating the collider: using place to engage museum visitors with particle physics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alison Boyle

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle physics facility, provides museological opportunities and challenges. Visitor interest in cutting-edge physics, with its high media profile, is tempered by anxiety about understanding complex content. The topic does not readily lend itself to traditional museum showcase-dominated displays: the technology of modern particle physics is overwhelmingly large, while the phenomena under investigation are invisible. For Collider, a major temporary exhibition, the Science Museum adopted a ‘visit to CERN’ approach, recreating several of the laboratory’s spaces. We explore the effectiveness of this approach, at a time when historical studies of scientific laboratories and museum reconstructions of spaces are subject to renewed interest.

  3. The Virtual Museum for Meteorites: an Online Tool for Researchers Educators and Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madiedo, J. M.

    2013-09-01

    The Virtual Museum for Meteorites (Figure 1) was created as a tool for students, educators and researchers [1, 2]. One of the aims of this online resource is to promote the interest in meteorites. Thus, the role of meteorites in education and outreach is fundamental, as these are very valuable tools to promote the public's interest in Astronomy and Planetary Sciences. Meteorite exhibitions reveal the fascination of students, educators and even researchers for these extraterrestrial rocks and how these can explain many key questions origin and evolution of our Solar System. However, despite the efforts related to the origin and evolution of our Solar System. However, despite the efforts of private collectors, museums and other institutions to organize meteorite exhibitions, the reach of these is usually limited. The Virtual Museum for Meteorites takes advantage of HTML and related technologies to overcome local boundaries and offer its contents for a global audience. A description of the recent developments performed in the framework of this virtual museum is given in this work.

  4. Art Perception in the Museum: How We Spend Time and Space in Art Exhibitions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claus-Christian Carbon

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Aesthetics research aiming at understanding art experience is an emerging field; however, most research is conducted in labs without access to real artworks, without the social context of a museum and without the presence of other persons. The present article replicates and complements key findings of art perception in museum contexts. When observing museum visitors (N = 225; 126 female, M(age = 43.3 years while perceiving a series of six Gerhard Richter paintings of various sizes (0.26–3.20 sq. m in a temporary art exhibition in January and February 2015 showing 28 paintings in total, we revealed patterns compatible to previous research. The mean time taken in viewing artworks was much longer than was mostly realized in lab contexts, here 32.9 s (Mdn = 25.4 s. We were also able to replicate visitors spending more time on viewing artworks when attending in groups of people. Additionally, we uncovered a close positive relationship (r2 = .929 between canvas size and viewing distance, ranging on average between 1.49 and 2.12 m (M = 1.72 m. We also found that more than half of the visitors returned to paintings, especially those people who had not previously paid too much attention at the initial viewing. After adding the times of returning viewers, each picture was viewed longer than had been estimated in previous research (M = 50.5 s, Mdn = 43.0 s. Results are discussed in the context of current art perception theories, focusing on the need for the ecologically valid testing of artworks in aesthetics research.

  5. The Abode of the Other (Museums in German Concentration Camps 1933-1945

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Božidar Jezernik

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available In major German concentration camps, museums were set up with the aim of collecting exhibits and displaying them within a Rassenkunde (race science framework. As the discourse of racial anthropology was built on the rhetoric of the difference between the ‘pure’ races and people with ‘inferior hereditary quality,’ SS museums put on display ‘pieces of evidence’ with a view to rendering present and visible that which was absent and invisible: the hierarchical order of different races. Thus, collections displayed in SS museums in concentration camps were instrumental in the process of defining the Aryan Übermensch (superhuman as the personification of all desirable physical, cultural and intellectual attributes, born to conquer and rule the world as a member of the Herrenvolk (master race, and the non-Aryan, above all the Jewish Untermensch (subhuman as his opposite, a radically other and barely human, suitable only for menial chores.The first museum established in German concentration camps was opened in Dachau early in the 1930s. Similar museums worked in other German concentration camps (Buchenwald, Mauthausen and Auschwitz. The richest was the museum in Gusen I, the sub-camp of Mauthausen. In autumn 1940, when the SS began with the construction of a railway between KZ Gusen I and St Georgen railway station, a grave-yard from the Bronze-Age was found. All the finds were housed in an archaeological museum that was established at the Museumsbaracke (museum barrack within the camp. By the side of archaeological findings, human skins, skulls and body parts were put on view. At the time of the liberation of Gusen I, on 5 May 1945, a collection of 286 body parts was found and a voluminous album with fragements of tattooed human skin. Today, from all the SS museums’ anthropological exhibits not a single one is on display in the museum exhibitions set up in the former concentration camps. So far, these establishments also escaped the

  6. The Abode of the Other (Museums in German Concentration Camps 1933-1945

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Božidar Jezernik

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available In major German concentration camps, museums were set up with the aim of collecting exhibits and displaying them within a Rassenkunde (race science framework. As the discourse of racial anthropology was built on the rhetoric of the difference between the ‘pure’ races and people with ‘inferior hereditary quality,’ SS museums put on display ‘pieces of evidence’ with a view to rendering present and visible that which was absent and invisible: the hierarchical order of different races. Thus, collections displayed in SS museums in concentration camps were instrumental in the process of defining the Aryan Übermensch (superhuman as the personification of all desirable physical, cultural and intellectual attributes, born to conquer and rule the world as a member of the Herrenvolk (master race, and the non-Aryan, above all the Jewish Untermensch (subhuman as his opposite, a radically other and barely human, suitable only for menial chores.The first museum established in German concentration camps was opened in Dachau early in the 1930s. Similar museums worked in other German concentration camps (Buchenwald, Mauthausen and Auschwitz. The richest was the museum in Gusen I, the sub-camp of Mauthausen. In autumn 1940, when the SS began with the construction of a railway between KZ Gusen I and St Georgen railway station, a grave-yard from the Bronze-Age was found. All the finds were housed in an archaeological museum that was established at the Museumsbaracke (museum barrack within the camp. By the side of archaeological findings, human skins, skulls and body parts were put on view. At the time of the liberation of Gusen I, on 5 May 1945, a collection of 286 body parts was found and a voluminous album with fragements of tattooed human skin. Today, from all the SS museums’ anthropological exhibits not a single one is on display in the museum exhibitions set up in the former concentration camps. So far, these establishments also escaped the

  7. Dagik Earth: A Digital Globe Project for Classrooms, Science Museums, and Research Institutes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, A.; Tsugawa, T.

    2017-12-01

    Digital globe system is a powerful tool to make the audiences understand phenomena on the Earth and planets in intuitive way. Geo-cosmos of Miraikan, Japan uses 6-m spherical LED, and is one of the largest systems of digital globe. Science on a Sphere (SOS) by NOAA is a digital globe system that is most widely used in science museums around the world. These systems are so expensive that the usage of the digital globes is mainly limited to large-scale science museums. Dagik Earth is a digital globe project that promotes educational programs using digital globe with low cost. It aims to be used especially in classrooms. The cost for the digital globe of Dagik Earth is from several US dollars if PC and PC projector are available. It uses white spheres, such as balloons and balance balls, as the screen. The software is provided by the project with free of charge for the educational usage. The software runs on devices of Windows, Mac and iOS. There are English and Chinese language versions of the PC software besides Japanese version. The number of the registered users of Dagik Earth is about 1,400 in Japan. About 60% of them belongs to schools, 30% to universities and research institutes, and 8% to science museums. In schools, it is used in classes by teachers, and science activities by students. Several teachers have used the system for five years and more. In a students' activity, Dagik Earth contents on the typhoon, solar eclipse, and satellite launch were created and presented in a school festival. This is a good example of the usage of Dagik Earth for STEM education. In the presentation, the system and activity of Dagik Earth will be presented, and the future expansion of the project will be discussed.

  8. Health museums or theme parks: a new approach to intersectoral collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seymour, H; Ashton, J; Edwards, P

    1986-01-01

    This paper is an outline of a proposed initiative on intersectoral collaboration in health promotion--collaboration between health, tourist, cultural and entertainment sectors to provide a powerful mass educational experience about the human mind and body. There has been a recent rise in interest in using the technology of museums, science centres, exploratories and theme parks for the promotion of health. This revival is shown to have a historical tradition in the health education museum started in this century in Europe 75 years ago at the Deutsches Hygiene Museum and then spreading to the USA. The proposed Body, Mind, City Museum planned for Liverpool acts as a future model for a new type of health Museum; a mixture of science exploratorium and a Walt Disney-style them park. It is intended that "hand-on" exhibits using interactive video, computers, games and experiences will be used to test people's own capacities or to describe biological functions or processes. This will be combined with park rides and simulations with their inherent appeal of fun, movement and surprise, for example the ride through the blood vessels and the "walk-through brain". This type of venture has a number of special features and advantages; it is truly intersectoral, it may be self-financing, and it can provide a mass audience with a powerful individual experience.

  9. "Wow! Look at That!": Discourse as a Means to Improve Teachers' Science Content Learning in Informal Science Institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holliday, Gary M.; Lederman, Judith S.; Lederman, Norman G.

    2014-12-01

    Currently, it is not clear whether professional development staff at Informal Science Institutions (ISIs) are considering the way exhibits contribute to the social aspects of learning as described by the contextual model of learning (CML) (Falk & Dierking in The museum experience. Whalesback, Washington, 1992; Learning from museums: visitor experiences and the making of meaning. Altamira Press, New York, 2000) and recommended in the reform documents (see Cox-Peterson et al. in Journal of Research in Science Teaching 40:200-218, 2003). In order to move beyond only preparing science teachers for field trips, while necessary, it is also important to understand the role exhibits play in influencing teachers' content-related social interactions while engaged in ISI professional development. This study looked at a life science course that was offered at and taught by education staff of a large science and technology museum located in the Midwest, USA. The course was offered to three sections of teachers throughout the school year and met six times for a full day. The courses met approximately once a month from September through the beginning of June and provided 42 contact hours overall. Elementary and middle school teachers ( n = 94) were audio- and videotaped while participating in the content courses and interacting with the museum's exhibits. When considering the two factors within the sociocultural context of CML: within-group sociocultural mediation and facilitated mediation by others, the use of exhibits during both courses generally did not fully take into account these elements. In this study, it seemed that teachers' talk always had a purpose but it is argued that it did not always have a direction or connection to the desired content or exhibit. When freely exploring the museum, teachers often purely reacted to the display itself or the novelty of it. However, when PD staff made explicit connections between exhibits, content, and activities, participants were

  10. The role of the imagination in museum visits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Achiam, Marianne

    2016-01-01

    The imagination plays an important role in museums, today more than ever. Visitors use their repositories of imagination or repertoires to make sense of their encounters with objects and exhibits. In this article, I argue that this initial meaning making, rather than being the end goal of museum...... that becoming familiar with commonly occurring repertoires is necessary for exhibition designers in order for museums to continue to take their interpretive responsibility seriously, and I discuss how such a familiarisation may affect museum practice. I conclude with some perspectives on the implications...

  11. Art Perception in the Museum: How We Spend Time and Space in Art Exhibitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carbon, Claus-Christian

    2017-01-01

    Aesthetics research aiming at understanding art experience is an emerging field; however, most research is conducted in labs without access to real artworks, without the social context of a museum and without the presence of other persons. The present article replicates and complements key findings of art perception in museum contexts. When observing museum visitors ( N  = 225; 126 female, M (age) = 43.3 years) while perceiving a series of six Gerhard Richter paintings of various sizes (0.26-3.20 sq. m) in a temporary art exhibition in January and February 2015 showing 28 paintings in total, we revealed patterns compatible to previous research. The mean time taken in viewing artworks was much longer than was mostly realized in lab contexts, here 32.9 s ( Mdn  = 25.4 s). We were also able to replicate visitors spending more time on viewing artworks when attending in groups of people. Additionally, we uncovered a close positive relationship ( r 2  = .929) between canvas size and viewing distance, ranging on average between 1.49 and 2.12 m ( M  = 1.72 m). We also found that more than half of the visitors returned to paintings, especially those people who had not previously paid too much attention at the initial viewing. After adding the times of returning viewers, each picture was viewed longer than had been estimated in previous research ( M  = 50.5 s, Mdn  = 43.0 s). Results are discussed in the context of current art perception theories, focusing on the need for the ecologically valid testing of artworks in aesthetics research.

  12. 76 FR 14061 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-15

    ...The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the remains and associated funerary objects and any present-day Indian tribe. Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary objects may contact the museum. Disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the Indian tribes stated below may occur if no additional requestors come forward.

  13. Museums of Gdansk - Tourism Products or Signs of Remembrance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wojtowicz-Jankowska, Dorota

    2017-10-01

    Museum buildings constitute a significant element in the composition and functionality of contemporary cities. They are both their attractions and landmarks. The article presents a case study illustrating the relation between museum buildings and their location, as well as the showcased exhibition. The article aims at demonstrating the way in which those elements form a harmonious whole - a cultural tourism product affecting the economics of the region. In the context of perceiving a museum as an element shaping the dynamics of tourism development, the location planned for the museum is not without significance. Enhancing the popularity of a city on the basis of the existing museums has become a common phenomenon and is viewed as a driving force of museum tourism development. Sometimes, the museum building itself is considered as one of the elements adding to the attractiveness of the city. The relationship between the exhibition as such and the location - the city - is not the most important factor. Gdańsk is an example of a city which contradicts that approach. Four new museum seats built in the 21st century serve to demonstrate how interesting it may be to seek the right architectural form of museums for the places where they are erected. Furthermore, the thematic scope of exhibitions is strictly related to the history of the place. Particularly worthy of attention are the National Maritime Museum, the European Solidarity Centre and the Museum of the Second World War. The examples discussed in the article prove that the value of a place as such in displaying the building and the museum collections is significant. It is impossible to disregard that connection, if the city aims at promoting not only the architectural form of the museum building, but also the exhibits, especially if they are related to its history. Gdańsk is an example of a place with museum buildings of interesting architectural forms which are not only style icons, but also unique symbols

  14. Emerging opportunities: the internet, marketing and museums

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richani Evdoxia

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The tremendous impact of applying new technologies is obvious when it comes to museums. Internet forms an integral part of museums everyday life and decision making. Websites, online communities, social media, and mobile applications comprise elements of the modern museum’s digital self, which complements the real museum of permanent and temporary exhibitions, storage rooms, visitors’ facilities, laboratories and, most important, museum objects. This environment inevitably affects museum marketing strategies and creates relevant opportunities.

  15. 78 FR 50102 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-16

    .... 3003, of the completion of an inventory of associated funerary objects under the control of the....R50000] Notice of Inventory Completion: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY AGENCY: National... inventory of associated funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native...

  16. GRAPHIC DESIGN OF THE VISUAL COMMUNICATION OF THE EXHIBITION OF THE VILAKAS COUNTY MUSEUM

    OpenAIRE

    Miezite, Santa; Apele, Diāna

    2018-01-01

    Communication is a conversation, communication, the way information is provided. The museum's exposure language must be aesthetic, informative, cognitive process and memory stimulation.The designer, who designs and offers museum–oriented and up–to–date design solutions, plays a major role in solving the issues. The designer, in collaboration with the museum's staff, should prepare materials and programs for the society that are in line with the museum's goals and objectives and which society ...

  17. Modelling the Interaction Levels in HCI Using an Intelligent Hybrid System with Interactive Agents: A Case Study of an Interactive Museum Exhibition Module in Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Rosales

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Technology has become a necessity in our everyday lives and essential for completing activities we typically take for granted; technologies can assist us by completing set tasks or achieving desired goals with optimal affect and in the most efficient way, thereby improving our interactive experiences. This paper presents research that explores the representation of user interaction levels using an intelligent hybrid system approach with agents. We evaluate interaction levels of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI with the aim of enhancing user experiences. We consider the description of interaction levels using an intelligent hybrid system to provide a decision-making system to an agent that evaluates interaction levels when using interactive modules of a museum exhibition. The agents represent a high-level abstraction of the system, where communication takes place between the user, the exhibition and the environment. In this paper, we provide a means to measure the interaction levels and natural behaviour of users, based on museum user-exhibition interaction. We consider that, by analysing user interaction in a museum, we can help to design better ways to interact with exhibition modules according to the properties and behaviour of the users. An interaction-evaluator agent is proposed to achieve the most suitable representation of the interaction levels with the aim of improving user interactions to offer the most appropriate directions, services, content and information, thereby improving the quality of interaction experienced between the user-agent and exhibition-agent.

  18. Building Staff Capacity to Evaluate in Museum Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubarek, Joy

    2015-01-01

    For years, museums of all varieties, including art museums, science centers, history museums, zoos, and aquariums, have conducted education evaluation. However, museums are all too often faced with the challenge of allocating staff time, expertise, and other resources toward conducting evaluation, particularly evaluation that moves beyond program…

  19. Museum metamorphosis à la mode

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baggesen, Rikke Haller

    2014-01-01

    museum practices correspond to the logic of fashion. Where Foucault once described museums as heterochronias; places representing an ’other-time’, museums now strive to be both of their time and in time with the Zeitgeist. As a consequence, they must keep up with the speedy cycles of technological...... advancements and cultural change, and not only deliver, but also stoke the desire for, novel experiences. The paper explores the current vogue for fashion exhibitions as a case in point, arguing that this trend serves to promote the museum as fashionably current, but can also support novel formats for cultural...

  20. Picture This: The Art of Using Museum and Science Collaborations to Teach about Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiondella, F.; Fowler, R.; Davi, N. K.; Gawthrop, E.

    2015-12-01

    Connecting scientists and their research to photography galleries and museums is an effective way to promote climate literacy among a new, diverse audience. This approach requires creativity and a willingness to reach out to and work with staff unfamiliar with scientific institutions, but can result in broad exposure and understanding of the impacts of climate change. In this presentation we highlight the successful science-art collaboration among the International Center of Photography, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society. The collaboration revolved around ICP's 2014-2015 exhibition of renowned photographer Sebastiao Salgado's Genesis, an eight-year worldwide survey of wildlife, landscapes, seascapes and indigenous peoples. Salgado's photographs acted as a springboard for a unique public education program based at ICP and aimed at raising awareness of the urgent issue of climate change. Over the course of six months, Lamont and IRI scientists with expertise in climatology, dendrochronology, seismology and glaciology led gallery tours for the public, making links between their research and the places and people of Salgado's photography. Lamont and IRI staff also gave talks throughout the exhibition period on topics ranging from climate change adaptation to the use of photography to help the public visualize the impacts of Earth's changing climate. The research institutions also took over ICP's Instagram feed for a week, showcasing the climate-related field work of more than a dozen scientists. All three institutions, the participating scientists and program attendees deemed the collaboration a success. We'll explain what made this collaboration successful and provide tips on how scientists and their institutes can form similar collaborations with museums and other arts-based organizations.

  1. New Designs in the Museums

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nuri Özer Erbay

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Architectural structure of the museum shall be designed in an accessible way regarding safety. In these designs special needs of visitors shall be taken into consideration according to types thereof.  Architectural structure, topography and natural presence of the museum increase visitor accessibility.  Exhibition venue, showcases and platforms, staircases providing access to upstairs, stairs, slippery rugged surfaces and entrance and exit to the exhibition venue from the same door form inaccessible areas.   It mustn't be forgotten that special disabled visitors can create an unsafe environment for others. Existing designs in museums shall be redesigned to be made accessible by disabled persons.  Museum venues must be redesigned ad made accessible by disabled persons. All characteristics of visitors in museums should be taken into consideration and universal living spaces addressing integral attitude should be designed.  Museum environment designs with regard to visitor safety must be steady.  Ramps shouldn't be unnecessarily steep and slippery.  Floor tiles, carpets or other ground coatings must be attached each other in a safe way. Gaps in ground coating shouldn't exceed the radius of13 mm. Grounds with different colors should be used for highlighting the ground odds and drawing visitors' attention. A distinctive environment requirement should be provided for visitors especially who use walking sticks, crutches and wheelchairs and warning signs shouldn't be forgotten.

  2. Contents and Space: New Concept and New Building of the Militärhistorisches Museum of the Bundeswehr

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gorch Pieken

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available The Bundeswehr Museum of Military History in the north of Dresden will be the largest military history museum in Germany. Before German reunification, the museum buildings housed the Museum of the National People’s Army. Its collections and premises were later transferred to the Bundeswehr. Following an international competition, American architect Daniel Libeskind was commissioned to completely refurbish one of the existing buildings and to add a new extension. The wedge-shaped, asymmetric extension that Libeskind designed cuts through the massive existing building and its clearly articulated features, creating space for large and heavy exhibits in vertical shafts that span several floors. Here, form will follow function. At the same time, the architecture is charged with symbolic meaning, making the building itself the first and largest object in the exhibition. Key to the new permanent exhibition, which will open in late 2011, is its exploration of issues from multiple perspectives. Traditional expectations are questioned and fresh perspectives offer a new look at complex issues in military and cultural history. Accessible, diverse and full of contrasts – this is a museum that will encourage visitors to find their own point of view. The Bundeswehr Museum of Military History will be a place where science and the public meet. It will be a forum for engaging with military history and for public debate on the role of war and the military in the past, present and future.

  3. A graduate course for science communicators: a Mexican approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elaine Reynoso Haynes

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Within the UNAM (The National Autonomous University of Mexico there is an institution, the Dirección General de Divulgación de la Ciencia (DGDC devoted to the popularization of science through different media such as museums, exhibitions, journals, books, radio and TV programs, internet, workshops for children, demos, shows, plays, summer courses and outreach programs. Most of these products and materials are planned, designed and manufactured by a multidisciplinary team of professionals in the DGDC. Some of our most outstanding projects are: the creation and operation of two science museums, UNIVERSUM (on the university campus, and the Museo de la Luz (Museum of Light in the center of the city, many temporary and traveling exhibitions, museums in other parts of the country and abroad and a monthly publication for young readers called ¿Cómo ves?

  4. Austin Children`s Museum ``Go Power`` project. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1993-10-01

    Go Power, was conceived as an interactive exhibit and related set of activities designed to promote in children and families an understanding and appreciation of energy concepts. Planned in 1990, the project culminated its first phase of activities with colorful, interactive exhibit about the pathways and transformations of energy, on display at the Austin Children`s Museum between February 5th and June 6th, 1993. The project was supported by the US Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the Lower Colorado River Authority and various local foundations and businesses. This report describes the process, product and outcomes of this project.

  5. Science museum staff taking part in the ECSITE 2018 conference visit Microcosm

    CERN Multimedia

    AUTHOR|(CDS)2070299; Ordan, Julien Marius

    2018-01-01

    Science museum staff taking part in the ECSITE 2018 conference visit Microcosm with Marta Bajko and Dwayne Spiteri guiding. https://cern.service-now.com/nav_to.do?uri=u_request_fulfillment.do%3Fsys_id=ae774fec4fa653401bb8c0501310c748%26sysparm_stack=u_request_fulfillment_list.do%3Fsysparm_query=active=true

  6. The Significance Of Narrative To Interpret ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Characterin Museums

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanny Wijaya

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This research focuses on the study of Sherlock Holmes character that has been a famous detective icon in the world, where this character then become the main theme interpreted by the museum.  The method employed by the museum to “narrate” that particular character is very significant to determine the objective and background for the museum as the exhibition organizer. Narration holds a crucial role to “guide” the understanding of the audiences to a character, or sometimes can make “confusion” to the audience when differentiate whether the character is fiction or non-fiction. By comparing the narration on the permanent displays of Museum of Sherlock Holmes to temporary exhibition display in Museum of London with Sherlock Holmes theme, it can be seen the significance of the relation between narration and interpretation of a character that also determine the message of that museum. Keywords: Narration, interpretation, Sherlock Holmes, museum, exhibition

  7. Memory and Mourning: An Exhibit History

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eberle, Scott G.

    2005-01-01

    Mounted by the Strong Museum in Rochester, New York, in 1993, and traveling nationally thereafter, the exhibit Memory and Mourning provided historical and contemporary perspectives to help museum guests explore their own reactions to loss and grief. In the process the exhibit's development team encountered a range of philosophical, historical,…

  8. Online Astronomy Resources from the American Museum of Natural History

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steiner, Robert

    2010-02-01

    The American Museum of Natural History, one of the world's largest natural history museums, is the locus of a rich array of scientific research, exhibition and educational resources through its Department of Astrophysics, its Rose Center for Earth and Space and its Hall of Meteorites. For the past decade, the Museum's National Center for Science Literacy, Education and Technology has leveraged these assets to create a panoply of web-based resources for students, teachers and the general public. This session will review several of these resources, including the Digital Universe (a three-dimensional mapping of the Universe); The Solar System (an online graduate course for K-12 teachers); multimedia highlighting searches for exoplanets and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays; Journey to the Stars (a DVD version of the current planetarium show); and the astronomy section of Ology (a website for children ages 7 and up). A copy of the Journey to the Stars DVD will be provided to all attendees. )

  9. Museums of Poland: ways of exploiting the National Heritage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Violeta Tipa

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Thanks to the fellowship Thesaurus Poloniae provided by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage of Poland and the International Cultural Centre Krakow I was able to visit a number of museums in the cities of Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz, and Poznan. The innovative method of using audiovisual media has especially attracted my attention. Visiting Polish museums, I concluded that the country's history, its past hasn't remained in archives, in documents hidden from the public eye and accessible only to specialists in the field. By possibilities of museums upgraded the past comes alive as a page in the life of Poles. The national heritage, studied and carefully preserved, is passed on to the younger generation through the most advanced methods. Today, digital techniques increasingly penetrate into all spheres of art and culture. Museums also look for non-trivial ways to demonstrate the most valuable objects from their collections through the latest information methods. The use of audiovisual media in various forms is an ideal opportunity to immerse visitors in the distant past, help them survive dramatic historical events in a dynamic, penetrate the spirit of patriotism. The screen (monitor has become a traditional element in Polish museums and exhibition halls equipped with touch screens allowing guests to browse and receive a variety of available information in international communication languages (English, French, German and, of course, Polish. On the screens placed in the exhibition halls, documents are displayed non-stop either completely or in fragments, a visual picture sends visitors to real museum exhibits. Museums opened after 2000 are equipped with cinema halls (National Museum, The Warsaw Rising Museum and POLIN Museum, Rynek Underground Museum and Oscar Schindler’s Enamel Factory in Krakowб etc., some of them are equipped for films in 3D, with panoramic projection. Expressive audiovisual entourage is created by playing light and shadow

  10. A museum-based urban teacher residency program's approach to strengthening the STEM pipeline: Channeling highly qualified Earth Science teachers into high needs schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ustunisik, G. K.; Zirakparvar, N. A.

    2015-12-01

    Channeling better prepared Earth Science teachers into secondary schools with low achievement rates in STEM subjects is essential to ensuring that the students attending these schools are ultimately afforded the opportunity to take advantage of projected growth in the global geoscience workforce. Here, a museum-based urban teacher residency (UTR) program's approach to building subject specific content knowledge and research experience in Earth Science teacher candidates is described. In the museum-based program, graduate-level science courses and research experiences are designed and implemented specifically for the UTR by active Earth and Space research scientists that account for almost half of the program's faculty. Because these courses and research experiences are designed specifically for the teacher candidates, they are different than many science courses and research experiences available to pre-service teachers in a university setting. At the same time, the museum-based program is the only UTR to incorporate such a rigorous science curriculum, and some possible advantages and disadvantages of the program's approach are also considered here. While the impact of the program's approach on student achievement rates has yet to be evaluated, there is promise in the well documented links between a teacher's own experience with the practice of science and that teacher's ability to leverage effective pedagogical content knowledge in the teaching of science. Because the museum-based program's science curriculum is balanced against the educational coursework and teaching residencies that necessarily form the program's backbone, the museum's approach to strengthening the teacher candidate's science background may also inform the faculty and administration of other UTRs in cases where one of their program goals is to further expand their teacher candidate's content knowledge and practical subject matter experience.

  11. Perceptions about the museological language of the Historical Museum of Londrina: the exhibition "Caring, Healing, Remembering – memory of health in Londrina" and representations of women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruno Sanches Mariante Silva

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The historical museums, such as the monuments, have been understood as images the societies produce for the future. However, this concept of museums as maintainers and guardians of the memory of a community or a locality is been revised. The city of Londrina, even though fairly new, preserves by various means a praise of the memory of certain groups, called 'pioneers'. The challenging of such memorial practices and inclusion of new actors is quite controversial and costly. Thus, this paper aims to reflect on the representations of women in the language of the Historical Museum of Londrina. To this end, it is proposed to analyze a temporary exhibition placed in that Museum: "Caring, Healing, Remember - memory of the health in Londrina." Therefore, we will investigate what (s language (s the MHL aligns to and presents itself for the public.

  12. 77 FR 19699 - Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-02

    ... Indian tribe, has determined that the cultural items meet the definition of both sacred objects and... Rochester Museum & Science Center that meet the definition of both sacred objects and [[Page 19700

  13. The Contemporary Museum as a Site for Displaying Values

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mare Kõiva

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Museums constitute an important cultural and social resource. The main objective of museums is making certain objects in the collection visible or, on the contrary, leaving them invisible. In contemporary society the institution serves many important roles, being a place for displaying historical and contemporary values, an institution for preserving and displaying personal and collective memory, cultural values, for collecting tangible and intangible values, an institution for creating identity and ethnic kudos, a work place, an educational environment, a framework for promoting ethnic handicraft and art, a place for integrating different folklore festivals, exhibitions, shows; they are connected to tourism patterns and museum business. The article reflects the changes in the development of museums in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, focusing on the main key words being multifunctional museum, the museum as an open classroom, presentation of tangible and intangible history, the relation and mergence of permanent and temporary exhibitions. The issues of digitalization and preservation and the role of the exhibition curator and the person represented on displays have increased in the museology of the past few decades. The museums’ tradition of self-replication and an increased interest in museological anthropology indicate that museums fulfil an important role in society.

  14. The Contemporary Museum as a Site for Displaying Values

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mare Kõiva

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Museums constitute an important cultural and social resource. The main objective of museums is making certain objects in the collection visible or, on the contrary, leaving them invisible. In contemporary society the institution serves many important roles, being a place for displaying historical and contemporary values, an institution for preserving and displaying personal and collective memory, cultural values, for collecting tangible and intangible values, an institution for creating identity and ethnic kudos, a work place, an educational environment, a framework for promoting ethnic handicraft and art, a place for integrating different folklore festivals, exhibitions, shows; they are connected to tourism patterns and museum business. The article reflects the changes in the development of museums in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, focusing on the main key words being multifunctional museum, the museum as an open classroom, presentation of tangible and intangible history, the relation and mergence of permanent and temporary exhibitions. The issues of digitalization and preservation and the role of the exhibition curator and the person represented on displays have increased in the museology of the past few decades. The museums’ tradition of self-replication and an increased interest in museological anthropology indicate that museums fulfil an important role in society.

  15. Enhancing Science Literacy and Art History Engagement at Princeton Through Collaboration Between the University Art Museum and the Council on Science and Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riihimaki, C. A.; White, V. M.

    2016-12-01

    The importance of innovative science education for social science and humanities students is often under-appreciated by science departments, because these students typically do not take science courses beyond general education requirements, nor do they contribute to faculty research programs. However, these students are vitally important in society—for example as business leaders or consultants, and especially as voters. In these roles, they will be confronted with decisions related to science in their professional and personal lives. The Council on Science and Technology at Princeton University aims to fill this education gap by developing and supporting innovative programs that bring science to cross-disciplinary audiences. One of our most fruitful collaborations has been with the Princeton University Art Museum, which has an encyclopedic collection of over 92,000 works of art, ranging from antiquity to the contemporary. Our work includes 1) bringing introductory environmental science courses to the Museum to explore how original works of art of different ages can serve as paleo-environmental proxies, thereby providing a means for discussing broader concepts in development of proxies and validation of reconstructions; 2) sponsoring a panel aimed at the general public and composed of science faculty and art historians who discussed the scientific and art historical contexts behind Albert Bierstadt's Mount Adams, Washington, 1875 (oil on canvas, gift of Mrs. Jacob N. Beam, accession number y1940-430), including the landscape's subjects, materials, technique, and style; and 3) collaborating on an installation of photographs relevant to a freshman GIS course, with an essay about the artwork written by the students. This first-hand study of works of art encourages critical thinking and an empathetic approach to different historical periods and cultures, as well as to the environment. Our collaboration additionally provides an opportunity to engage more students in

  16. Performing Witnessing: Dramatic Engagement, Trauma and Museum Installations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Erika

    2018-01-01

    This article offers a discussion of two interactive museum installations, 'Remembering the Children: Daniel's Story' at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, and the main exhibit at the Humanity House Museum in the Hague, Netherlands. Both are examples of what I term "self-guided dramas," taking the…

  17. Drugs and the Brain: Learning the impact of methamphetamine abuse on the brain through a virtual brain exhibit in the museum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Meng-Tzu; Annetta, Leonard; Folta, Elizabeth; Holmes, Shawn Y.

    2011-01-01

    Drugs and the Brain: A Serious Game, a prototype museum exhibit, was designed to employ virtual models of the brain into a video game format. It was done to create a fun and engaging way of conveying knowledge and concepts about neuroscience, as well as the impact of methamphetamine abuse on the brain. The purpose of this study is to evaluate this prototype exhibit that promises to educate participants from various age, ethnicity, and gender backgrounds, and to establish a stronger concept of drug abuse prevention among children. A quantitative methodology using the pre- and post-experimental designs was conducted on 175 museum visitors. A series of two-sample paired t-tests and subsequent ANOVAs were performed to examine the difference between pre- and post-tests and to determine if there was a difference in the results in age, gender, ethnicity, and race. Results showed that both the understanding and attitudes of the participants toward the impact of methamphetamine abuse on the brain improved significantly (p < 0.01).

  18. Portable technologies at the museum

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svabo, Connie

    2011-01-01

    A topic of interest in contemporary museum studies is how digital technologies contribute to museum visitor experiences. Building on insights from media and technology studies that new media should be understood for how they overlap with old media, the article reports an ethnographic study...... of the intersections between the exhibition at a modern museum of natural history and three portable technologies – one of which is digital. Mobile phone cameras, exercise pamphlets and dress-up costumes link visitors with an exhibition, but they simultaneously shape this relation in their own specific directions....... This is shown by drawing on the concept of mediation as it is developed by philosopher Michel Serres and philosopher of technology Bruno Latour. The article is based on the Ph.D. thesis entitled “Portable Objects at the Museum”, defended at Roskilde University on 22 September 2010....

  19. Inuit Perspectives on Arctic Environmental Change': A Traveling Exhibition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheffield, E. M.; Hakala, J. S.; Gearheard, S.

    2006-12-01

    The Inuit of Nunavut, Canada, have an intimate relationship with their surroundings. As a culture that relies on knowledge of sea ice, snow, and weather conditions for success in hunting, fishing, and healthy wellbeing, Inuit have observed and studied environmental patterns for generations. An ongoing study into their traditional knowledge and their observations of environmental change is being conducted by researcher Dr. Shari Gearheard, who has worked with Inuit communities in Nunavut for over a decade. The results of the research have been published in scientific journals, and to communicate the results to a broader audience, Dr. Gearheard designed an interactive CD-ROM displaying photographs, maps, and interview videos of Inuit Elders' perspectives on the changes they have witnessed. Receiving immediate popularity since its release in 2004, copies of `When the Weather is Uggianaqtuq: Inuit Observations of Environmental Change' have been distributed worldwide, to indigenous peoples, social science and climate change researchers, teachers, students, and the general public. To further disseminate the information contained on the CD-ROM, the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the Museum of Natural History, both of the University of Colorado, are partnering to create an exhibition which will open at the Museum during the International Polar Year in April 2008. The exhibit, tentatively titled `Inuit Perspectives on Arctic Environmental Change,' will feature photographs, graphics, and text in both English and Inuktitut describing environmental change in the North. The goals are to make the information and interpretation contained on the CD-ROM available and more accessible to a broad audience and to raise awareness about Arctic climate change and the important contribution of Inuit knowledge. Following exhibition at the Museum, the exhibit will travel throughout the United States, Alaska, and Nunavut, through a network of museums, schools, libraries, tribal

  20. [Proceedings of the VII international symposium 'Cultural heritage in geosciences, mining and metallurgy : libraries, archives, museums' : "Museums and their collections" held at the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum Leiden (The Netherlands), 19-23 May, 2003 / Cor F. Winkler Prins and Stephen K. Donovan (editors)]: Landesmuseum Karnten - the Collections of Natural Sciences

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stumfohl, R.

    2004-01-01

    Public museums collections had a hard start in Carinthia: only in 1848 did the first Museum of Natural Sciences open, maintained by the 'Naturhistorischer Verein für Kärnten'. For a long time the collections were based on private donations. In 1884, the 'Naturhistorischer Verein' and the

  1. Visualizing Biological Data in Museums: Visitor Learning with an Interactive Tree of Life Exhibit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horn, Michael S.; Phillips, Brenda C.; Evans, Evelyn Margaret; Block, Florian; Diamond, Judy; Shen, Chia

    2016-01-01

    In this study, we investigate museum visitor learning and engagement at an interactive visualization of an evolutionary tree of life consisting of over 70,000 species. The study was conducted at two natural history museums where visitors collaboratively explored the tree of life using direct touch gestures on a multi-touch tabletop display. In the…

  2. Preventive measures against earthquake damage to museum collections: The recuperation of the exhibits at the Lorca archaeological museum; Medidas de prevencion ante seismos para las colecciones de museos: el caso del museo arqueologico de Lorca y la recuperacion de sus colecciones

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia Alonso, E.; Hernandez, J. A.

    2012-11-01

    As a result of the earthquake on 11 May 2011 the Lorca municipal archaeological museum suffered serious damage to its structure and its exhibits. The lack of preventive measures and the inadequacy of steps taken before the earthquake aggravated the severity of damage. We have assessed the damage to the exhibits and analysed the causes that exacerbated the impact of the seismic movement. We also describe the work carried out by the Institute of Spain's Cultural Heritage (IPCE) to recuperate the collections and detail the measures and general criteria for the prevention and minimization of damage that the museum must implement to reduce the damage to its collections to a minimum during any subsequent earthquakes. (Author) 12 refs.

  3. 77 FR 31909 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-30

    ... exhibition ``50th Anniversary Remembrance of the Tragedy at Orly,'' imported from abroad by the High Museum of Art for temporary exhibition within the United States, is of cultural significance. The object is... exhibition or display of the exhibit object at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia from on or about...

  4. Communicating Art through Interactive Technology: New Approaches for Interaction Design in Art Museums

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kortbek, Karen Johanne; Grønbæk, Kaj

    2008-01-01

    This paper discusses new approaches to interaction design for communication of art in the physical museum space. In contrast to the widespread utilization of interactive tech­nologies in cultural heritage and natural science museums it is generally a challenge to introduce technology in art museums...... without disturbing the domain of the art works. To explore the possibilities of communicating art through the use of technology, and to minimize disturbance of the artworks, we apply four main approaches in the communication: 1) gentle audio augmentation of art works; 2) conceptual affinity of art works...... and remote interactive installations; 3) using the body as an interaction device; 4) consistent audio-visual cues for interaction opportunities. The paper describes the application of these approaches for communication of inspira­tional material for a Mariko Mori exhibition. The installations are described...

  5. Blunting the tensions between informal and formal education in science : reforming the relationship between the school and the science museum in Greece

    OpenAIRE

    Koliopoulos, Demetris

    2003-01-01

    In this paper, I explore the relationship between formal and informal approaches to science education as mechanisms for dissemination of scientific knowledge. I then posit the combination of specific characteristics from the two approaches into a unified process of non-formal science education. In the second part of the paper, I describe the different types of science museum and present a taxonomy with respect to their educational mission. Finally, I describe the role of the...

  6. Astronomy's New Messengers: A traveling exhibit to out to a young adult audience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cavaglia, Marco; Hendry, Martin; Marka, Szabolcs; Reitze, David H; Riles, Keith

    2010-01-01

    The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory exhibit Astronomy's New Messengers: Listening to the Universe with Gravitational Waves is traveling to colleges, universities, museums and other public institutions throughout the United States. In 2010, an extended version of this exhibit will appear in a New York City venue that is accessible to a large and diverse cross section of the general public. Astronomy's New Messengers primarily communicates with an adolescent and young adult audience, potentially inspiring them into the field of science. Acknowledging that this audience is traditionally a difficult one to attract, the exhibit publicly announces itself in a charismatic fashion to reach its principal goals of broadening the community of people interested in science and encouraging interest in science among young people.

  7. FY 1999 report on the survey of the history/inheritance of industrial technology. Survey of the inheritance/education of technology in museums of industrial technology in Japan; 1999 nendo sangyo gijutsu rekishi keisho chosa hokokusho. Kokunai sangyo gijutsu hakubutsukan ni okeru gijutsu keisho keihatsu chosa hen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2000-03-01

    For the purpose of clarifying the course of promotion of the original/creative future R and D and contributing to selection of technical themes and working-out of developmental methods, survey was conducted paying visits to museums of industrial technology in Japan which evaluate/preserve/exhibit/utilize memorial goods, data, information pertaining to the industrial technology in Japan. Museums for survey were the following ten: Chiba Museum of Science and Industry; Garasu no Sato (Glass Village); Maizuru World Brick Museum; Museum of Industrial Technology; Numata Memorial Hall/Mitsutoyo Museum of Dimensional Metrology; Omachi Energy Museum; Sake Museum; Saint Juan Bautista Museum; Subway Museum; Textile Museum Yukari. One of the points of this survey was to survey the actual state of the experimental type exhibition. The experimental type exhibition, which is wide in sphere, seems to be effective since visitors can operate it, simulate it, feel its size and make scientific experiments. However, the museums are not necessarily satisfied with the present situation. (NEDO)

  8. The impact of a Latino outreach project on science museums: A program evaluation focused on institutional change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castaneda, Mario E.

    The purpose of this program evaluation was to determine the impact of the Community Science Festivals Project on the science museums that participated. This project, also known as Celebra la Ciencia (CLC), was a federally funded effort to engage the Latino communities throughout the United States in activities promoting appreciation of the importance of science education. The festivals brought together various educational, community, and scientific organizations that collaborated in producing community-hosted interactive educational events to which students and their families were invited. The evaluation takes the form of a qualitative study based on interviews of key individuals at 1 museum in each of the 5 festival cities. The evaluation focuses on the museums' changes in: (a) their view of their roles as involving the Latino population in their service area, (b) publicity efforts aimed at the Latino population, (c) outreach toward the Latino population, and (d) accommodation of Latinos within the museums. The results for each site are listed separately then are discussed jointly. Implications for practice include the following: (a) intensive and long-term programming, as opposed to one-time events, are likely more effective for creating direct impact on student achievement, although the festivals had many positive effects; (b) funding for smaller organizations (or individual departments within larger organization) seemed to have a more observable impact, enabling them to create Latino-oriented advertising, outreach, and accommodations that would not have been possible otherwise; and (c) Spanish-language media was an effective advertising tool, especially radio, but use of public service announcements should be monitored to ensure that they are aired at times that are effective for reaching the target audience. Recommendations for future studies are made.

  9. "small problems, Big Trouble": An Art and Science Collaborative Exhibition Reflecting Seemingly small problems Leading to Big Threats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waller, J. L.; Brey, J. A.

    2014-12-01

    "small problems, Big Trouble" (spBT) is an exhibition of artist Judith Waller's paintings accompanied by text panels written by Earth scientist Dr. James A. Brey and several science researchers and educators. The text panels' message is as much the focus of the show as the art--true interdisciplinarity! Waller and Brey's history of art and earth science collaborations include the successful exhibition "Layers: Places in Peril". New in spBT is extended collaboration with other scientists in order to create awareness of geoscience and other subjects (i.e. soil, parasites, dust, pollutants, invasive species, carbon, ground water contaminants, solar wind) small in scale which pose significant threats. The paintings are the size of a mirror, a symbol suggesting the problems depicted are those we increasingly need to face, noting our collective reflections of shared current and future reality. Naturalistic rendering and abstract form in the art helps reach a broad audience including those familiar with art and those familiar with science. The goal is that gallery visitors gain greater appreciation and understanding of both—and of the sober content of the show as a whole. "small problems, Big Trouble" premiers in Wisconsin April, 2015. As in previous collaborations, Waller and Brey actively utilize art and science (specifically geoscience) as an educational vehicle for active student learning. Planned are interdisciplinary university and area high school activities linked through spBT. The exhibition in a public gallery offers a means to enhance community awareness of and action on scientific issues through art's power to engage people on an emotional level. This AGU presentation includes a description of past Waller and Brey activities: incorporating art and earth science in lab and studio classrooms, producing gallery and museum exhibitions and delivering workshops and other presentations. They also describe how walking the paths of several past earth science

  10. The Eugenides Foundation Interactive Exhibition of Science and Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kontogiannis, Ioannis

    2010-01-01

    The Interactive Exhibition of Science and Technology is installed in an area of 1200 m2 at the Eugenides Foundation. 65 interactive exhibits, designed by the "Cites des Science et de l' Industrie" are organised in themes, stimulate the visitors' mind and provoke scientific thinking. Parallel activities take place inside the exhibition, such as live science demonstrations, performed by young scientists. Extra material such as news bulletins (short news, science comics and portraits), educational paths and treasure-hunting based games, all available online as well, are prepared on a monthly basis and provided along with the visit to the exhibition. Through these exhibits and activities, scientific facts are made simple and easy to comprehend using modern presentation tools. We present details on how this exhibition acts complementary to the science education provided by schools, making it a highly sophisticated educational tool.

  11. 75 FR 23807 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of...

  12. 75 FR 5627 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-03

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of...

  13. 75 FR 42770 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of...

  14. 75 FR 70027 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-16

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service [2253-665] Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an...

  15. The first book museums in Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea De Pasquale

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Just before the advent of Fascism, in Turin, in the nearby town of Carmagnola and in Florence were born the first Italian examples of book museums. It was early and exceptional experiments of valorizing of book history and of the ancient techniques of manufacturing manuals in a time of great innovation. The first, called the National Museum of the book, was opened in 1913 as a result of the exhibition of the history of printing held during the Universal Exhibition of 1911; the second, created in 1921, was the result of collecting a notable family that took up the typographic tradition of Carmagnola old more than 4 centuries; the third, said Museum of books and illumination, was the result of the exploitation of the extraordinary collections of the Medici library and of the policy pursued by the Director Guido Biagi. Of such museums, outlining the events that led to their creation, only the museum in Carmagnola has come to this day, while the others for various reasons, were closed and never reconstituted. The contribution also provides an opportunity to reflect on the creation of a new museum of the book in Italy at a time when libraries lack visibility into the organization of the Ministry of cultural heritage, which could be distributed and polycentric in the offices of the State libraries in Rome, with its hub at the National Central Library.

  16. Memories of GAMES: Exploring the Long-Term Impacts of After-School Museum Programming on Girls' Attitudes Towards Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snow, Sarah Elizabeth

    The purpose of this study is to investigate any lasting impacts of the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History's Girls at the Museum Exploring Science (GAMES) Program. Using assessment document analysis, student focus groups, and adult interviews, this study examined whether students' positive associations with science continue after completion of the program and whether the program affects the academic and career choices of past participants. Results from the analysis suggest that GAMES has a generally positive impact on participant attitudes towards science in both the short- and long-term. These results also support existing research in identifying key factors in the success of the program including hands-on activities, exposure to diverse careers and female role models, and the incorporation of authentic objects and experiences. These factors of success can contribute to the evidence base about the role of informal education programs in increasing science participation among women, as well as ways in which schools and universities can collaborate to effectively serve populations that are traditionally underrepresented in the sciences.

  17. NASA’s Universe of Learning: Engaging Subject Matter Experts to Support Museum Alliance Science Briefings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcucci, Emma; Slivinski, Carolyn; Lawton, Brandon L.; Smith, Denise A.; Squires, Gordon K.; Biferno, Anya A.; Lestition, Kathleen; Cominsky, Lynn R.; Lee, Janice C.; Rivera, Thalia; Walker, Allyson; Spisak, Marilyn

    2018-06-01

    NASA's Universe of Learning creates and delivers science-driven, audience-driven resources and experiences designed to engage and immerse learners of all ages and backgrounds in exploring the universe for themselves. The project is a unique partnership between the Space Telescope Science Institute, Caltech/IPAC, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and Sonoma State University and is part of the NASA SMD Science Activation Collective. The NASA’s Universe of Learning projects pull on the expertise of subject matter experts (scientist and engineers) from across the broad range of NASA Astrophysics themes and missions. One such project, which draws strongly on the expertise of the community, is the NASA’s Universe of Learning Science Briefings, which is done in collaboration with the NASA Museum Alliance. This collaboration presents a monthly hour-long discussion on relevant NASA astrophysics topics or events to an audience composed largely of informal educators from informal learning environments. These professional learning opportunities use experts and resources within the astronomical community to support increased interest and engagement of the informal learning community in NASA Astrophysics-related concepts and events. Briefings are designed to create a foundation for this audience using (1) broad science themes, (2) special events, or (3) breaking science news. The NASA’s Universe of Learning team engages subject matter experts to be speakers and present their science at these briefings to provide a direct connection to NASA Astrophysics science and provide the audience an opportunity to interact directly with scientists and engineers involved in NASA missions. To maximize the usefulness of the Museum Alliance Science Briefings, each briefing highlights resources related to the science theme to support informal educators in incorporating science content into their venues and/or interactions with the public. During this

  18. “Learning-talks in science museums: how a visually impaired person interprets the educational material at the museum of microbiology”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandra Fernandes Bizerra

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The processes of science communication and science education became especially important in the last quarter of the last century. Science museums, as non-formal spaces have an important role in amplifying and refining these processes. Being spaces open to the general public will be expected to develop programs that include all of its citizens. The Museum of Microbiology of the Butantan Institute has developed a series of activities and educational materials focusing on microorganisms that were designed to facilitate a closer integration of the visually impaired public with the scientific culture. In the present study, we sought to understand how visually deficient visitors interpreted the materials presented, determine the level of understanding that the use of these materials provided and study the significance attributed to them. Visually impaired visitors were interviewed during their interactions with the materials with the aid of an audio guide, and the talks generated were analyzed within interpretative categories. The most frequent category was “Strategic talk (Use” (11.8%, in which the visually deficient visitors gave their opinions concerning the uses of the Micro-Touch Program. Two other categories, “Affective talk (Pleasure” (10.2% and “Perceptual talk (Identification” (8.6% were also established. A combination of tactile and auditory tools was fundamental to solve problems and to the creation of visual representations that are important to constructing and understanding scientific concepts and to facilitate the organization of theoretical thought. We suggest here the necessity of elaborating activities contents that favors the establishment of conceptual talks and considering the previously acquired knowledge of visually impaired visitors during the design of displays, providing higher frequency of other learning talks

  19. Basque Museum of the History of Medicine: conservation of heritage, teaching and research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erkoreka, Anton

    2009-01-01

    The Basque Museum of the History of Medicine was founded in 1982 to preserve the historic memory of medicine in the Basque Country and conserve its scientific heritage. Its permanent exposition comprises approx. 6,000 medical objects of the 19th and 20th centuries arranged, thematically in 24 rooms devoted to different medical specialities: folk medicine, unconventional medicine, pharmacy, weights and measures, asepsis and antisepsis, microscopes, laboratory material, X-rays, obstetrics and gynaecology, surgery, anesthesia, endoscope, odontology, cardiology, ophthalmology, electrotherapy, pathological anatomy and natural sciences. Temporary exhibitions are also held. The Museum is located on the university campus (UPV/EHU) and is important in the training of students in the Faculty of Medicine and the students coming from other faculties. Teaching and research constitute two of the pillars of the Museum that are complemented with publications and the organization of conferences, lectures and other activities.

  20. Bringing Astronomy Directly to People Who Do Not Come to Star Parties, Science Museums, or Science Festivals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lubowich, Donald A.

    2013-01-01

    My successful programs have included telescope observations, hands-on activities, and edible astronomy demonstrations for: outdoor concerts or music festivals; the National Mall; churches, synagogues, seminaries, or clergy conferences; the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island (New Hyde Park, NY), the Winthrop University Hospital Children’s Medical Center (Mineola, NY); the Fresh Air Fund summer camps; a Halloween star party with costumed kids looking through telescopes; a Super Bowl Star Party; the World Science Festival (NYC); the Princeton University Science and Engineering Expo; the USA Science and Engineering Festival; and the NYC Columbus Day Parade. These outreach activities have reached thousands of people including many young girls. Information was also provided about local science museums, citizen science projects, astronomy educational sites, and astronomy clubs to encourage learning after these events. In 2010 I created Astronomy Night on the National Mall (co-sponsored the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy) with the participation of astronomy clubs, Chandra X-Ray Center, STScI, NASA, NOAO, NSF and the National Air and Space Museum. Since 2009 my NASA-funded Music and Astronomy Under the Stars (MAUS) program has brought astronomy to 50,000 music lovers who attended the Central Park Jazz, Newport Folk, Tanglewood, or Ravinia music festivals or classical, folk, rock, pop, opera, or county-western concerts in local parks assisted by astronomy clubs. MAUS is an evening, nighttime, and cloudy weather traveling astronomy program combining solar, optical, and radio telescope observations; a live image projection system; large outdoor posters and banners; videos; and hands-on activities before and after the concerts or at intermission. Yo-Yo-Ma and the Chicago Symphony or Boston Symphony Orchestras, the McCoy Tyner Quartet with Ravi Coltrane, Esperanza Spalding, the Stanley Clarke Band, Phish, Blood Sweat and Tears, Deep Purple, Patti Smith

  1. The Development of a Virtual Marine Museum for Educational Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarng, Wermhuar; Change, Mei-Yu; Ou, Kuo-Liang; Chang, Ya-Wen; Liou, Hsin-Hun

    2009-01-01

    The objective of this article is to investigate the computer animation and virtual reality technologies for developing a virtual marine museum. The museum consists of three exhibition areas. The first area displays fishes in freshwater, including creeks, rivers, and dams in Taiwan. The second area exhibits marine ecology and creatures of different…

  2. Connecting Health and Natural History: A Failed Initiative at the American Museum of Natural History, 1909–1922

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    In 1909, curator Charles-Edward Winslow established a department of public health in New York City’s American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Winslow introduced public health as a biological science that connected human health—the modern sciences of physiology, hygiene, and urban sanitation—to the natural history of plants and animals. This was the only time an American museum created a curatorial department devoted to public health. The AMNH’s Department of Public Health comprised a unique collection of live bacterial cultures—a “Living Museum”—and an innovative plan for 15 exhibits on various aspects of health. I show how Winslow, facing opposition from AMNH colleagues, gathered scientific experts and financial support, and explain the factors that made these developments seem desirable and possible. I finish with a discussion of how the Department of Public Health met an abrupt and “inglorious end” in 1922 despite the success of its collections and exhibitions. PMID:24205997

  3. Lunar and Meteorite Sample Education Disk Program — Space Rocks for Classrooms, Museums, Science Centers, and Libraries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, J.; Luckey, M.; McInturff, B.; Huynh, P.; Tobola, K.; Loftin, L.

    2010-03-01

    NASA’s Lunar and Meteorite Sample Education Disk Program has Lucite disks containing Apollo lunar samples and meteorite samples that are available for trained educators to borrow for use in classrooms, museums, science center, and libraries.

  4. 78 FR 52601 - Culturally Significant Object Imported for Exhibition; Determinations: “Visiting Masterpiece...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-23

    ... Treasure, Stolen and Recovered'' at the Museum of Fine Arts and the exhibition ``Piero della Francesca: Intimate Encounters'' at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, imported from abroad for temporary exhibition... exhibit object at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, from on or about September 13, 2013, until on or...

  5. 75 FR 55823 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO; Correction

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-14

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Notice of Inventory Completion: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO; Correction AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice; correction. Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the...

  6. "Big Science" exhibition at Balexert

    CERN Multimedia

    2008-01-01

    CERN is going out to meet those members of the general public who were unable to attend the recent Open Day. The Laboratory will be taking its "Big Science" exhibition from the Globe of Science and Innovation to the Balexert shopping centre from 19 to 31 May 2008. The exhibition, which shows the LHC and its experiments through the eyes of a photographer, features around thirty spectacular photographs measuring 4.5 metres high and 2.5 metres wide. Welcomed and guided around the exhibition by CERN volunteers, shoppers at Balexert will also have the opportunity to discover LHC components on display and watch films. "Fun with Physics" workshops will be held at certain times of the day. Main hall of the Balexert shopping centre, ground floor, from 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the two Saturdays. Call for volunteers All members of the CERN personnel are invited to enrol as volunteers to help welcom...

  7. A rationale for a museum of health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farzaneh Yousefi

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The museum of health is a place that presents health science and human body and any other subjects that can affect human health. In this museum visitors can learn the mechanisms and functions of human body and learn how to protect and take care of their bodies. They can also learn several diseases and their consequences on human body and how to fight against them. This museum is a big step for improvement of general society health level by increasing society’s health knowledge. In this article structure, departments and also benefits of the health museum are evaluated.

  8. Immersive Exhibitions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Achiam, Marianne

    2015-01-01

    The immersive exhibition is a specialized exhibition genre in museums, which creates the illusion of time and place by representing key characteristics of a reference world and by integrating the visitor in this three-dimensionally reconstructed world (Mortensen 2010). A successful representation...... of the reference world depends on three criteria: whether the exhibition is staged as a coherent whole with all the displayed objects supporting the representation, whether the visitor is integrated as a component of the exhibition, and whether the content and message of the exhibition become dramatized...

  9. COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTIC OF TOURIST POTENTIAL OF MUSEUMS OF KRASNODAR REGION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svetlana V. Kirilicheva

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim. The article describes the tourist potential of two large museums of the Krasnodar Territory, the Krasnodar State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve named after E.D. Felitsyn and Krasnodar Regional Art Museum named after F.A. Kovalenko. Much attention is paid to the classification of museums in the Krasnodar Territory. Methods. In the study were used a comparative-geographical method, a systematic approach, an analysis of statistical-mathematical materials and an analysis of the leisure profile of citizens. Findings. A comparative assessment of the potential of two large museums of the region is given. We also conducted an analysis of the survey data of the leisure profile among the townspeople in the city of Krasnodar in order to identify which of the museums is more popular. The main indicators such as the number of storage units, the total exposition and exhibition area, the number of sightseeing visits and mass events, the number of educational programs and exhibitions, the number of employees were examined and analyzed. Distinctions between museums are also noted. Conclusions. An analysis of these data showed that both museums have sufficient tourist potential to represent the city and get acquainted with the city through museums. The results of an analysis of events held in museums to attract visitors are presented. The sufficient tourist potential of two large museums for representation of the city and region is defined. The directions for their development as objects of tourism are proposed.

  10. Participatory Design at the Museum - inquiring into children's everyday engagement in cultural heritage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dindler, Christian; Iversen, Ole Sejer; Smith, Rachel Charlotte

    We address the challenge of creating intersections between children’s everyday engagement and museum exhibitions. Specifically, we propose an approach to participatory design inquiry where children’s everyday engagement is taken as the point of departure. We base our discussion on a design workshop...... – Gaming the Museum – where a primary school class was invited to participate in creating future exhibition spaces for a museum based on their everyday use of computer games and online communities. We reflect on the results of the workshop and discuss more broadly the qualities of design inquiries that use...... the everyday engagement of children as point of departure for designing interactive museum exhibitions....

  11. 75 FR 25289 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-07

    ... Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY, that meet the definitions of ``sacred object'' and object of...- 9). They are of Onondaga origin and were made circa 1970. Onondaga Nation traditional religious... that these medicine faces are culturally affiliated with the Onondaga Nation, and are both sacred...

  12. Queensland Museum Online Learning Resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauer, Adriana

    2009-01-01

    This article evaluates three online educational resources on the Queensland Museum website in terms of their use of ICTs in science education; how they relate to the Queensland Middle School Science Curriculum and the Senior Biology, Marine Studies, Science 21 syllabuses; their visual appeal and level of student engagement; the appropriateness of…

  13. A New Approach to A Science Magnet School - Classroom and Museum Integration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franklin, Samuel

    2009-03-01

    The Pittsburgh Science & Technology Academy is a place where any student with an interest in science, technology, engineering or math can develop skills for a career in life sciences, environmental sciences, computing, or engineering. The Academy isn't just a new school. It's a new way to think about school. The curriculum is tailored to students who have a passion for science, technology, engineering or math. The environment is one of extraordinary support for students, parents, and faculty. And the Academy exists to provide opportunities, every day, for students to Dream. Discover. Design. That is, Academy students set goals and generate ideas, research and discover answers, and design real solutions for the kinds of real-world problems that they'll face after graduation. The Academy prepares students for their future, whether they go on to higher education or immediate employment. This talk will explain the unique features of the Pittsburgh Science & Technology Academy, lessons learned from its two-year design process, and the role that the Carnegie Museums have played and will continue to play as the school grows.

  14. Museums and Modernization: The Football Kit, the Tractor, and the Plastic Doll

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Kovačević

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The paper looks at the modernization of museum displays as well as at resistance to this process. This slow process of modernization and the resistance that the transformation of museum practice has encountered from the first are exemplified by two exhibitions at the Museum of Ethnography in Belgrade (“Football Fans’ Uniforms and Gear” in 1986 and “The Plastic 1990s” in 2010 and the events that accompanied these exhibitions. The paper then proceeds to reflect on an exhibition that was to have been held, and which could have marked a turning-point had it been held at that particular time. The conclusion that can be drawn from the three examples is that this transformation could have been achieved at a much faster pace, and that an opportunity was missed for museum ethnology to become, through the transformation of museum exhibits and displays, a leader in the modernization of the field, which at the time was fossilized both in a thematic and in an interpretational sense.

  15. THE INTERPLAY OF MUSEUM DISCOURSE AND POPULAR CULTURE: HOW, WHEN AND WHERE HISTORY COMES ALIVE?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mina Lukić

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Museum as an institution has been, throughout history, inevitably connected with ideology, involved in establishing and shaping of cultural memory, and crea-tion and affirmation of collective identities, based on scientific knowledge and interpretation of the past. Nowadays, other, more effective media are involved in those processes, e.g. film, which is examined in the paper as such a medium. Also, museums and media have been used for spreading different prejudices and stereotypes – some of our identities are often based on such preju-dices, either about our own or somebody else’s past or present. Nevertheless, museum as an institution has an aura of highest authority, based on scientific knowledge and legitimized by museum collections. Museum is seen as trustworthy, unbiased and objective. Such privileged status of museums is argued and contested, and the complexities of museum discourse are traced through critical analysis of the current policy of the American Museum of Natural History in New York and this muse-um’s participation in the production of a movie Night at the Museum (2006. As part of a “global village,” museum visitors are impacted by certain stereotypical images circulating within and outside of museums, which are a dense package of ideas (rooted in science, folklore, ide-ology, politics, etc. that thrive in cultural memory and collective imagination. These are constructed and circu-lated as commonsense or consensus narratives, en-trenched in the minds of the public, and they can take hold persistently against current scientific opinions. Mass media images that museum visitors bring with them to the museum are inevitably shaping their inter-pretations of exhibitions. What happens then, when a museum gets involved with Hollywood industry? What are the consequences of such an interaction? This pa-per’s aim is to shed some light on those consequences in the particular case of the AMNH.

  16. Presenting Cultural Artifacts in the Art Museum: A University-Museum Collaboration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Sheng Kuan

    2009-01-01

    With increasing emphasis on multicultural art education and integrative pedagogy, educators have incorporated community resources, such as cultural artifacts exhibited in art museums, to enrich their programs. Cultural artifacts are human-made objects which generally reveal historic information about cultural values, beliefs, and traditions.…

  17. Department of Defense Operation and Financial Support for Military Museums

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-01-01

    and gives substance to tradition and enhances esprit de corps. The museum consists of a trailer complex and a warehouse which provide...and DV receptions . The museum provides safe, professional archival storage and exhibition of rare military cultural artifacts. The museum’s Spanish...built in the 1960s as a movie theater, classroom and auditorium used for basic training during the Vietnam War. Don F. Pratt Memorial Museum The

  18. 75 FR 53012 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Treasures of Moscow...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-30

    ... Rublev Museum,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural... Determinations: ``Treasures of Moscow: Icons From the Andrey Rublev Museum'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of... determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Museum of Russian Icons, Clinton, MA...

  19. 75 FR 23801 - Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-04

    ... Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY, that meet the definitions of ``sacred objects'' and ``objects of... center of the Seneca religious fire. This was agreed upon by representatives from the Seneca Nation of.... Tonawanda Seneca Nation traditional religious leaders have identified these medicine faces as being needed...

  20. Public Communication of Science and Technology in Museums and Interactive Centers in MedellÍn (Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Inés Jiménez-G.

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Following the simple and complex deficit and democratic model approaches, this paper analyses the communication strategies applied in several museums and interactive centers —Parque Explora, Museo Interactivo Empresas Públicas de Medellín, Planetario Jesús Emilio Ramírez and Museo Universitario from the University of Antioquia in the city of Medellín—. We argue that communicating scientific and technological developments at a conjunctural moment —because of the pressure exerted by the demand side to bring knowledge within the reach of the man in the street— involves recognizing science and technology issues should not be conveyed in a language increasingly distanced from layman’s understanding and should allow for citizens’ critical thinking formation face to techno-scientific developments. By analysing the communication approaches mentioned above, we found significant obstacles to be overcome in the communication strategies applied by museum staff in order to come to an understanding of science and technology.

  1. Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk as an Example of Contemporary Design Trends in Museum Buildings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wojtowicz-Jankowska, Dorota; Stasiak, Anna

    2017-10-01

    At a time when history gives us one of the last opportunities to confront our knowledge of World War II, with the knowledge of people living in those days, there are buildings created with strong transmission not only architectural, but also of a great emotional load. At the same time, when the political system does not forbid to speak openly about the past period, and the technology allows you to create structures, about which we could only dream of even several dozen years ago, and objects such as the Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk are designed. In this paper are presented the current trends shaping the museum facilities, with the example of the Museum of the Second World War. The diversity of forms, materials and technology makes it impossible to establish a single standard for this type of public buildings, and that makes each of these objects unique. At the same time, it is possible to identify some common spatial treatments noted in the sector of architecture devoted to exhibitions and commemoration. The Museum of the Second World War is a newly created structure, in the design of which the authors used advanced technology (which allows the implementation of its ideas) in order to meet the ever-growing needs of users. The popularity of museums depends on many factors, such as the type and form of the offered exhibitions, the transfer of information and emotional value, location of the building and adaptation of the facility to the users‧ needs, which differ in many respects (age, the efficiency of perception, education or wealth). Given that museums are usually buildings that have noticeable form in the urban landscape, the paper will describe how to set up the idea, and later its implementation, impact on urban space. Additionally, for some time exhibitions and architecture surrounding them have become a tool for the promotion of towns, regions, or even the whole countries. The fact is that the exhibitions are visited not only by local residents

  2. The Museum Library in the United States: A Sample

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hull, David; Fearnley, Henry D.

    1976-01-01

    A statistical survey was made of the general condition and problems of the museum library, using a questionnaire sent to a random sample of 856 historical, art, science, and other museum libraries. (Author)

  3. Disseminated Museum Displays and Participation of Students from Underrepresented Populations in Polar Research: Education and Outreach for Joint Projects in GPS and Seismology Solid Earth Science Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eriksson, S. C.; Wilson, T. J.; Anandakrishnan, S.; Aster, R. C.; Johns, B.; Anderson, K.; Taber, J.

    2006-12-01

    Two Antarctic projects developed by solid earth scientists in the GPS and seismology communities have rich education and outreach activities focused on disseminating information gleaned from this research and on including students from underrepresented groups. Members of the UNAVCO and IRIS research consortia along with international partners from Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the U.K. aim to deploy an ambitious GPS/seismic network to observe the Antarctic glaciological and geologic system using a multidisciplinary and internationally coordinated approach. The second project supports this network. UNAVCO and IRIS are designing and building a reliable power and communication system for autonomous polar station operation which use the latest power and communication technologies for ease of deployment and reliable multi-year operation in severe polar environments. This project will disseminate research results through an IPY/POLENET web-based museum style display based on the next-generation "Museum Lite" capability primarily supported by IRIS. "Museum Lite" uses a standard PC, touch-screen monitor, and standard Internet browsers to exploit the scalability and access of the Internet and to provide customizable content in an interactive setting. The unit is suitable for research departments, public schools, and an assortment of public venues, and can provide wide access to real-time geophysical data, ongoing research, and general information. The POLENET group will work with members of the two consortia to provide content about the project and polar science in general. One unit is to be installed at Barrow's Ilisagvit College through the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium, one at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, and two at other sites to be determined (likely in New Zealand/Australia and in the U.S.). In January, 2006, Museum Lite exhibit was installed at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Evaluation of this prototype is underway. These

  4. 77 FR 19698 - Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-02

    ... Indian tribe, has determined that the cultural items meet the definition of both sacred objects and... Rochester Museum & Science Center that meet the definition of both sacred objects and objects of cultural.... Traditional religious leaders of the Seneca Nation of New York have identified these medicine faces as being...

  5. CERN exhibition a big hit in Bulgaria

    CERN Multimedia

    2005-01-01

    The first CERN exhibition in Bulgaria attracted many visitors. In the first ever CERN exhibition to be held in Bulgaria, over 1,400 visitors, many of them students and young physicists, visited the 10-day event in Sofia. The CERN mini-exhibition took place at the National Earth and Mankind Museum between 8 and 17 November. Permanently staffed by young physicists from Sofia University, there were exhibits on display about research activities at CERN, as well as four additional posters describing Bulgaria's participation. The inauguration took place on the morning of 8 November in the presence of the Vice-Minister for Science and Education, Mrs. Vanya Dobreva, and some 200 guests. A series of short speeches were followed by a visit to the exhibition. CERN's representative at the event, Ray Lewis, was then asked by Professor Matey Mateev, President of the Union of Physicists in Bulgaria, to say a few words on behalf of the Organization. Numerous journalists were also present at the inauguration. A painting enti...

  6. CERN’s travelling exhibition goes to Austria

    CERN Multimedia

    Mélissa Lanaro

    2011-01-01

    Since April 2009 CERN’s travelling exhibition has been touring through some of the Organization's Member States. After Italy and Denmark it has been on show since February at Austria’s Hartberg Ökopark, a very popular science museum situated some one hundred kilometres from Vienna. To coincide with the CERN exhibition, Austria’s scientific community has organised a series of events for the general public which have had marked success. The exhibition's next destination will be Portugal and preparations are already underway to ensure that it is another resounding success   The travelling exhibition was designed in collaboration with the University of Geneva, as part of the celebrations for its 450th anniversary, and has already notched up a good number of kilometres as it travels from country to country. “In 2010 the exhibition already had around 55,000 visitors,” explains Rolf Landua, who heads the Education Group. Since its inauguration ...

  7. A "domestic" history about the Danish-Somalis at a Museum in Århus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zoppi, Marco

    2017-01-01

    Interview piece with the project coordinator of the exhibition titled “Et somalisk hjem” (A Somali home), at Den Gamle By museum, Denmark. Published on WardheerNews on May 5, 2017. http://www.wardheernews.com/a-domestic-history-about-the-danish-somalis-at-a-museum-in-arhus/......Interview piece with the project coordinator of the exhibition titled “Et somalisk hjem” (A Somali home), at Den Gamle By museum, Denmark. Published on WardheerNews on May 5, 2017. http://www.wardheernews.com/a-domestic-history-about-the-danish-somalis-at-a-museum-in-arhus/...

  8. 75 FR 23800 - Notice of Intent to Repatriate a Cultural Item: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-04

    ... Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY, that meets the definitions of ``sacred object'' and object of... responsibility within the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to bring back national cultural patrimony and sacred objects... not have the authority to do so. Furthermore, Onondaga Nation traditional religious leaders have...

  9. 75 FR 23799 - Notice of Intent to Repatriate a Cultural Item: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-04

    ... Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY, that meets the definitions of ``sacred object'' and object of... responsibility within the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to bring back national cultural patrimony and sacred objects... not have the authority to do so. Furthermore, Onondaga Nation traditional religious leaders have...

  10. The First World War and Its Implications for Education in British Museums.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kavanagh, Gaynor

    1988-01-01

    Examines how the First World War prompted British museums to change their educational functions. Discusses museums in pre-war Britain, wartime exhibitions and educational activities, the outcome of the war experience, and First World War's implications for education in museums. (GEA)

  11. Exhibition: Women and Sciences by Fiami

    CERN Multimedia

    Globe Info

    2011-01-01

    The 19-panel exhibition is on display at CERN's Microcosm from Monday to Saturday from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.   Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry one hundred years ago. She is the only woman ever to win two Nobel Prizes, which is a testament to her remarkable work. But throughout history, women have played a role in science either in their own right or alongside other scientists. In this special exhibition, the comic-strip artist Fiami takes a look back at the relationship between women and science through his portraits of Mileva Einstein, Marie-Anne Lavoisier and, of course, Marie Curie. Fiami has recently published an entire album devoted to Marie Curie. Texts in French All ages - Entrance free Femmes et Sciences is on display at Microcosm: From Wednesday 21 September 2011 to Tuesday 20 December 2011.

  12. From Patrimonial Relics to Materialized Memories in the National Museum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Carolina Pulido Chaparro

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The following paper comes from an ethnographic work in the National Museum of Colombia, and it aims to analyze the objects exhibited in its halls and the store in order to understand the connection between patrimony and consumption. In this sense, the representation of the National Museum consolidates in the creation of a national identity based on the official history of the national heroes and their descendants, which is expressed in most of the objects displayed in the exhibit halls. On the other hand, another narrative guided by the neoliberal economy is constructed in the museum store. It takes afro, indigenous and rural representations that have been marginalized in most of the museum halls, strenghtened by the ethnic economy and promoted by tourism and advertising. This duality leads the museum visitors to consume both representations: the ones built by the State as well as the ones positioned by companies and multinationals.

  13. Perceived Authenticity of the Visitor Experience in Museums

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hede, Anne-Marie; Garma, Romana; Josiassen, Alexander

    2014-01-01

    of perceived authenticity, resonating with Bal's (1996) research in this area. Findings also confirm that consumer scepticism and expectations are antecedents to perceived authenticity of the visitor experience in museums, and that perceived authenticity in turn affects visitor satisfaction and perceived...... corporate hypocrisy. Practical implications -This research provides a framework for museums to manage visitors' perceptions of authenticity, and to plan and design exhibits accordingly. Originality/value - Our research, set in the museum context, articulates the basis of perceived authenticity, its....... To investigate authenticity in a model with two antecedents and two outcomes, an additional data set was collected. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling. Findings -The results show that perceived authenticity of the museum, the visitor and the materials in the museum are dimensions...

  14. Visualizing, clustering, and predicting the behavior of museum visitors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Martella, Claudio; Miraglia, Armando; Frost, Jeana; Cattani, Marco; van Steen, Maarten

    2017-01-01

    Fine-arts museums design exhibitions to educate, inform and entertain visitors. Existing work leverages technology to engage, guide and interact with the visitors, neglecting the need of museum staff to understand the response of the visitors. Surveys and expensive observational studies are

  15. Informal science education at Science City

    Science.gov (United States)

    French, April Nicole

    The presentation of chemistry within informal learning environments, specifically science museums and science centers is very sparse. This work examines learning in Kansas City's Science City's Astronaut Training Center in order to identify specific behaviors associated with visitors' perception of learning and their attitudes toward space and science to develop an effective chemistry exhibit. Grounded in social-constructivism and the Contextual Model of Learning, this work approaches learning in informal environments as resulting from social interactions constructed over time from interaction between visitors. Visitors to the Astronaut Training Center were surveyed both during their visit and a year after the visit to establish their perceptions of behavior within the exhibit and attitudes toward space and science. Observations of visitor behavior and a survey of the Science City staff were used to corroborate visitor responses. Eighty-six percent of visitors to Science City indicated they had learned from their experiences in the Astronaut Training Center. No correlation was found between this perception of learning and visitor's interactions with exhibit stations. Visitor attitudes were generally positive toward learning in informal settings and space science as it was presented in the exhibit. Visitors also felt positively toward using video game technology as learning tools. This opens opportunities to developing chemistry exhibits using video technology to lessen the waste stream produced by a full scale chemistry exhibit.

  16. A Managerial Approach To A Controversial Exhibition: The Human Body

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viorica Aura Păuş

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper will analyse the reception of the Human Body exhibition of 2013 in Romania, from a managerial point of view. The research is based on the exhibition visitors’ book, to which a content analysis was applied. The main aim of the paper is to investigate how the ‘Grigore Antipa’ Museum (Romania constructed the cultural context in which the scientific arguments prevailed over the religious ones, turning the exhibition of plastinated human bodies into an accepted public event, with a strong emphasis on education and science (medicine. At the same time, ethical concerns and religious criticism were downplayed by maintaining the focus on the ‘education for health’ frame.

  17. Raising awareness about soil diversity: The Education Programme of the Earth Sciences Museum Alexis Dorofeef, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muggler, C.

    2012-04-01

    Soils are usually overlooked as part of geodiversity and geoheritage. Increasing the public awareness about soils is a key issue in our changing world. Furthering public awareness involves developing a better understanding of soils, their functions, importance for environment and society, as well as a personal and collective commitment in the stewardship and protection from degradation and loss. This presentation describes the Soil and Environmental Education and Outreach Programme of the Alexis Dorofeef Earth Sciences Museum of the Soil University Department in Viçosa, Brazil. The program has developed different activities linked to formal and non formal education and its main audience are basic education teachers, school children and the general public. The museum acts in different and diverse fronts, supported on a pedagogical background based on Paulo Freire's educational approach, the social-constructivism, which considers social inclusion, knowledge building, horizontal learning and collective action. In its early years, the museum was mainly focused on formal education and this changed with time as our action was reshaped into a broader outreach action stimulated by the new Brazilian government. The museum's indoor activities consist of accompanied thematic visits, hands on experiments, basic school teacher's courses, development of learning materials and methods and professional training. Beyond of the Museum space local interdisciplinary projects with basic education schools are run along with temporary expositions coupled with short courses and workshops with farmers and social movements. We present the results of the changes in awareness about soils among three main groups: school teachers, basic education children and general public. After 10 years of activities, the Soil Education action of the Museum is recognized and well spread among school communities in the town and its neighbourhood. Many school teachers approach the contents and methodologies

  18. A Social Media Framework of Cultural Museums

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gökçe ÖZDEMİR

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Museums are regarded as cultural products and the core attractions of a destination that offer cultural, historical and artistic possessions for locals as well as tourists. Technological developments in communication have also contributed to the museum pre-, onsite and postexperience of visitors. Thereby, social media enables the museums to extend their networks also on an international basis with up-to-date and credible information about current researches, special events, new exhibitions, excavations in process, and promotional activities. In this sense, this study demonstrates how social media is used by the museums through a research about the Facebook accounts of 10 well-known international museums. Thus, a 32-category framework is created based on the performances of each social media account eventually, this research provides insights into creation of an effective social media account with the emphasis on certain categories’ role to draw and maintain the interest of followers.

  19. Science Night

    CERN Multimedia

    2004-01-01

    Would it surprise you to know that you can measure the speed of light using chocolate and a microwave oven? If you're interested in this and in finding out much more, come along to the Museum of the History of Science on 3 and 4 July 2004, when dozens of companies, institutions, colleges and organizations will be running exhibits, shows, and displays on the theme of counting and measuring. CERN will be there with a display stand that includes two particle detectors. Full details are available from the Museum website at: http://www.lanuitdelascience.ch/

  20. Evaluating Education and Science in the KSC Visitor Complex Exhibits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erickson, Lance K.

    2000-01-01

    The continuing development of exhibits at the Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex is an excellent opportunity for NASA personnel to promote science and provide insight into NASA programs and projects for the approximately 3 million visitors that come to KSC annually. Stated goals for the Visitor Complex, in fact, emphasize science awareness and recommend broadening the appeal of the displays and exhibits for all age groups. To this end, this summer project seeks to evaluate the science content of planned exhibits/displays in relation to these developing opportunities and identify specific areas for enhancement of existing or planned exhibits and displays. To help expand the educational and science content within the developing exhibits at the Visitor Complex, this project was structured to implement the goals of the Visitor Center Director. To accomplish this, the exhibits and displays planned for completion within the year underwent review and evaluation for science content and educational direction. Planning emphasis for the individual displays was directed at combining the elements of effective education with fundamental scientific integrity, within an appealing format.

  1. Constructing museum learning at the university level

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Line Hjorth

    2011-01-01

    in a museum environment. How can museums be implemented at the university level and become part of a curriculum that demands high academic standards while at the same time exploiting and benefitting from the complexity and aesthetically determined learning potentials offered by museums? Following George A....... Hein’s notion of a ‘constructivist museum’ the purpose of the article is to suggest and demonstrate a learning strategy that focuses on the learner’s consideration of his or her own learning but elaborates on Hein’s general view of the physical surroundings and deals with the question of how exhibition...

  2. In the white cube: museum context enhances the valuation and memory of art.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brieber, David; Nadal, Marcos; Leder, Helmut

    2015-01-01

    Art museum attendance is rising steadily, unchallenged by online alternatives. However, the psychological value of the real museum experience remains unclear because the experience of art in the museum and other contexts has not been compared. Here we examined the appreciation and memory of an art exhibition when viewed in a museum or as a computer simulated version in the laboratory. In line with the postulates of situated cognition, we show that the experience of art relies on organizing resources present in the environment. Specifically, artworks were found more arousing, positive, interesting and liked more in the museum than in the laboratory. Moreover, participants who saw the exhibition in the museum later recalled more artworks and used spatial layout cues for retrieval. Thus, encountering real art in the museum enhances cognitive and affective processes involved in the appreciation of art and enriches information encoded in long-term memory. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Science comics as tools for science education and communication: a brief, exploratory study

    OpenAIRE

    M. Tatalovic

    2009-01-01

    Comics are a popular art form especially among children and as such provide a potential medium for science education and communication. In an attempt to present science comics in a museum exhibit I found many science themed comics and graphic books. Here I attempt to provide an overview of already available comics that communicate science, the genre of ‘science comics’. I also provide a quick literature review for evidence that comics can indeed be efficiently used for promoting scientific li...

  4. 36 CFR 1284.20 - Does NARA exhibit privately-owned material?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... individuals or organizations except as part of a NARA-produced exhibit. (b) NARA may accept for temporary...) available to produce the special exhibit. (c) The Director of Museum Programs (NWE), in conjunction with the...) The Director of Museum Programs or director of the pertinent Presidential library will inform the...

  5. Chinese perceptions of the interface between school and museum education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Changyun; Anderson, David; Wu, Xinchun

    2010-09-01

    The current political and social backdrop in China that is characterized by rapid educational reforms to the K-12 education system, rapid growth in the number of science museum institutions, and Central Government policy which encourages collaboration between museums and school has the potential to be fertile ground for meaningful engagement between museums and schools. Notwithstanding, the Chinese K-12 education system generally does not utilize museum resources to support the curriculum, as is common in Western countries. This hermeneutic phenomenographic study elucidates the current Chinese views and perceptions among three stakeholders—school teachers, museum staffs and science educators—around this collaborative concept. The outcomes demonstrate that strongly entrenched cultural views and long-standing practices among stakeholder groups are obstacles to meaningful collaboration despite Central Government policy which encourages such engagement. The cultural values and perceptual views of stakeholder groups were discerned with the purpose of promoting mutual understandings and ultimately enabling meaningful collaboration in support of K-12 education in China.

  6. Visitor empowerment and the authority of science: Exploring institutionalized tensions in a science center

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loomis, Molly

    This research explored the relationships among societal, organizational, and visitor assumptions about learning in a science center. The study combined a sociocultural theory of learning with a constructivist theory of organizations to examine empirical links among the history of the Exploratorium (founded in 1969 and located in San Francisco, California), its organizational practices, and family activity at its exhibits. The study focused on three perspectives on science learning in a science center: (1) the societal perspective, which traced assumptions about science learning to the history of science centers; (2) the organizational perspective, which documented the ways that assumptions about science learning were manifested in historic museum exhibits; and (3) the family perspective, which documented the assumptions about science learning that characterized family activity at historic exhibits. All three perspectives uncovered a tension between the goals of supporting public empowerment on the one hand and preserving scientific authority on the other. Findings revealed this tension to be grounded in the social context of the organization's development, where ideas about promoting democracy and preserving the authority of science intersected. The tension was manifested in museum exhibits, which had as their task addressing the dual purposes of supporting all visitors, while also supporting committed visitors. The tension was also evident in the activity of families, who echoed sentiments about potential for their own empowerment but deferred to scientific authority. The study draws on critiques of a hidden curriculum in schools in order to explore the relationship between empowerment and authority in science centers, specifically as they are conveyed in the explicit and underlying missions of the Exploratorium. Findings suggest the need for science centers to engage in ongoing critical reflection and also lend empirical justification to the need for science

  7. Modern Masters from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Mark M.

    2009-01-01

    A new traveling exhibition and catalogue produced by the Smithsonian's American Art Museum features works by 31 artists from the United States who came to maturity in the mid-20th century. These artists have become the most significant and influential artists over the past 50 years as their works adorn the modern galleries of hundreds of museums.…

  8. Postmodern Exhibition Discourse: Anthropological Study of an Art Display Case.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Wieczorek

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article studies tendencies in contemporary museum exhibitions and art display trends. While analysing current status quo of art in the museum context, it discusses the limitations of curatorial impact on the audience perception of the displayed objects. The paper presents a case study of a permanent museum exhibition with an added performance element. As argued in the article, such approach allows a stratified narrative and provokes a dialogue between the audience, performers, and curators, fully reflecting postmodern polyphonic tendency. The aim of the article is to comment on postmodern trends in museology, the status of the displayed art (object, and contemporary exhibition identity.

  9. Clarifying the Complexities of School--Museum Interactions: Perspectives from Two Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kisiel, James F.

    2014-01-01

    If we truly wish to promote science or STEM education, then it would seem that the joining of resources and expertise from the communities of formal schooling and informal science education institutions or ISEIs (museums, aquariums, and the like) would be an important early step. Yet creating such connections between teacher and museum remain a…

  10. Understanding the Exhibitionary Characteristics of Popular Music Museums

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles Fairchild

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The literature on the popular music museum has primarily focused on the study of heritage and cultural memory with a secondary focus on tourism. Given the unprecedented expansion of the museum sector worldwide in recent decades, which has produced an increasing number of major museums dedicated to popular music, it is an opportune time to expand this range of analytical concerns. Specifically, the development of popular music museums has not yet been closely examined within the broader historical trajectory of the so-called ‘new museum.’ This article seeks to outline the range of exhibitionary types commonly used in a range of high-profile popular music museums in pursuit of this line of inquiry. The goal is not simply to produce a generic survey or typology of displays, but to place the use of different forms of museum display within the specific historical trajectory that has produced steadily larger numbers of these kinds of museums in recent years. I organize these exhibitionary types into two broad streams of museum exhibition practice implied in the historical survey presented here: a populist-vernacular stream of museum display and an institutional-educational one. I seek to place the exhibitionary practices of contemporary popular music museums in a broader and longer trajectory of similar practices in order to get a more grounded sense of the more important characteristics of these kinds of museums.

  11. (ReShaping History in Bosnian and Herzegovinian Museums

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vanja Lozic

    2015-06-01

    The article illustrates that during the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, which established the National Museum in 1888, the museum played an important part in the representation of Bosnian identity (bosnjastvo. After World War II, in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, all three analysed museums were summoned to interpret the past in accordance with the guidelines of the communist regime. Since the 1990s, a highly ethnicized process of identity building and of the musealization of heritage, and history permeates all three museums analysed here. When it comes to the central exhibition-themes following the 1990s war, one could conclude that whereas the National Museum and the History Museum highlight the recent creation of an independent BiH and ostracize BIH-Serbs, the Museum of the Republic of Srpska asserts the ostensible distinctiveness of the Republic of Srpska and excludes the narratives about BiH as a unified and independent nation-state. If an agreement about the future of BiH and its history is to be reached, a step towards multi-vocal historical narratives has to be made from both sides.

  12. Tradition and Technology. A Magnet School-Museum Partnership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Judd, Michael; Judd, Elizabeth

    1996-01-01

    Presents a case study of an educational partnership between an Albuquerque magnet elementary school and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. Descriptions of the school and museum are provided as well as the program's goals, current activities and products, outcomes, and future directions. The Proyecto Futuro program, a multiyear…

  13. Mining the Museum in an Age of Migration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Anne Ring

    2014-01-01

    with the aim of ‘mining’ and thereby undermining colonial perceptions of the world. If so, it is of particular relevance to museums: decolonial institutional interventions as a means to turn museums into sites of contamination capable of including formerly repressed histories and migrating memories. Second......, to which degree Mignolo’s equation of an artist’s intervention with the politics of decoloniality really captures the transformative potential of artists’ interventions in museums in an age of migration, when the much desired diversity of audiences should also be mirrored in the chosen exhibits and modes...

  14. The Affects of Museum Architecture: Louvre-Lens and Museu de Arte de São Paulo

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jakobsen, Annette Svaneklink

    2014-01-01

    and context. Inside, visitors are invited to co-create the museum experience by moving freely through the exhibited art works in a setting that seems to re-actualise an experimental exhibition space, which was originally designed by Lina Bo Bardi for Museu de Arte de São Paulo. Through on-site observations...... of art institutions to the museum experience. Keywords: Art Museum, Architecture, Affect...

  15. Museums as a mirror of society

    OpenAIRE

    Clercq, Steven de

    2005-01-01

    Following the Darwinian approach, which describes a form in nature as the functional adaptation to its environment at a given time, I will explore the development of museums and collections of science as an expression of their function in historical and social context. This approach allows us to establish a classification of scientific museums where features like owner, user, role and use of the object and its social, cultural and intellectual environment act as discriminating factors. This a...

  16. CSI Web Adventures: A Forensics Virtual Apprenticeship for Teaching Science and Inspiring STEM Careers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Leslie; Chang, Ching-I; Hoyt, Daniel

    2010-01-01

    CSI: The Experience, a traveling museum exhibit and a companion web adventure, was created through a grant from the National Science Foundation as a potential model for informal learning. The website was designed to enrich and complement the exhibit by modeling the forensic process. Substantive science, real-world lab techniques, and higher-level…

  17. Overview of the First Forum about Informal Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebron Santos, Mayra; Pantoja, Carmen

    2018-01-01

    The First Forum on Informal Science Education was held at the University of Puerto Rico in 2015. This Forum had the following goals:1. Gather for the first time professionals dedicated to public communication and science outreach in Puerto Rico. 2. Exchange experiences and dissemination strategies with international professional science communicators.3. Encourage a fruitful dialogue between communicators with experience in museums, the media, and the integration of sciences with the arts.4. Encourage dialogue between communicators to facilitate future collaborations.The invited speakers came from Ibero-America and addressed aspects of science communication in museums and the media, the dissemination of science through the arts, the participation of universities in informal science education and the formal education of science communicators. The participants included museum specialists, journalists, artists, outreach specialists, formal educators interested in science outreach, and college students. During the Forum special events for the public were coordinated to celebrate the International Year of Light (2015). The exhibit “Light: Beyond the Bulb” was displayed. Dr. Julieta Fierro, recipient of the prestigious Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science awarded by UNESCO, presented the public talk “Light in the Universe”. Dr. Inés Rodríguez Hidalgo, director of the Science Museum of Valladolid, presented the talk "O Sole Mío: An Invitation to Solar Physics". We present an overview of the forum and some critical reflections on the topics discussed.

  18. Digital Natives: Creating Emergent Exhibitions through Digital Technologies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Smith, Rachel Charlotte; Iversen, Ole Sejer; Dindler, Christian

    2011-01-01

    . In this way, digital technology can contribute to the creation of emergent exhibitions in which the exhibition is created in dialogue between audiences and the museum. We present experiences from a current research project, the Digital Natives exhibition, in which digital technology was designed......Digital Technology can support the creation of dialogical spaces in the museum, both playful and reflective, that allow audiences to engage in the ongoing construction and reproduction of cultural heritage creating novel connections between self and others and between past, present and future...... as an integral part of the exhibition to encourage dialogue between audiences and the exhibition materials and thereby investigate how the exhibition emerge as a result of this dialogic co-construction inside the exhibition space. In short, the opportunities offered by digital technologies prompts us to consider...

  19. Japanese Modernism at a "Branch Point": On the Museum of Modern Art, Hayama’s "1937" Exhibition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin Michael Smith

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This article frames the Museum of Modern Art, Hayama’s 2017 exhibition on Japanese modernism during the simultaneously vibrant and tumultuous 1930s through the lens of Japan’s uneven capitalist development and wartime mobilization. The author suggests that the exhibition’s unique international scope, rich selection of figurative and abstract modernist works, and emphasis on the year 1937 as a nexus through which the decade’s competing tendencies can be reevaluated readily disclose the constitutive, dialectical relationships between historical difference, total war, and modernist form in imperial Japan and its colonies. The exhibition’s featured works and curator Asaki Yuka’s direction together emphasized the inseparability of Japanese modernism from the encroaching conditions of world war during the late 1930s, thereby contributing to a growing body of scholarship and series of exhibitions challenging the received oppositions between autonomous modernism, proletarian realism, and wartime propaganda. After introductory remarks on the reassessment of 1930s-era Japanese avant-garde aesthetics, the article provides a series of close readings of significant paintings included in the exhibition, including Murai Masanari’s 1937 Urban, Matsumoto Shunsuke’s 1935 Building, and Uchida Iwao’s 1937 Port. These formal readings explore how the year 1937 marked a pivotal “branch point” for Japanese society, not only in terms of the confluence of various artistic trends but also in terms of the fierce opposition between socialism and fascism that bifurcated potentialities for Japan’s future.

  20. 77 FR 51606 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Extravagant Inventions...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-24

    ... temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The additional objects are... exhibition or display of the additional exhibit objects at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, from... at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, three of the works will continue to be displayed at The...

  1. Museum Signage as Distributed Mediation to Encourage Family Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kyungyoun

    2009-01-01

    Many prior studies conducted in museums have focused primarily on exhibits as the main objects for learning. Less progress has been made in studying signage as another meaning-making tool in museums. The present study was designed to understand the role of signage in family learning by answering the following research questions, "How does signage…

  2. The effects of the Dutch museum pass on museum visits and museum revenues

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Werff, S.; Koopmans, C.; Boyer, C.

    2014-01-01

    The Dutch museum pass gives unlimited access for a year to most major Dutch museums and around the half of all Dutch museums for a fixed fee. The fee revenues are distributed among participating museums in proportion to the amount of visits by pass holders and their ticket prices. In this paper, it

  3. Museums theme – making Split + Splice: Fragments from the Age of Biomedicine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martha Fleming

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The wide-ranging personal experiences of medicine that people bring with them on their visits to medical museums arguably give medicine an advantage over the histories and material culture of other technologies and sciences. No other science has ‘content’ that is held quite so deeply inside the visitor’s conscious substance and psyche. But if mis-handled through sensationalism, this can easily backfire, catapulting the visitor into a state of fear and abjection. This article outlines a sustained and award-winning temporary exhibition project that aimed to engage visitors by locating them in the engine room of biomedicine rather than the operating theatre. Four post-doctoral historians of contemporary medicine and a creative director worked together with exhibition designers in a research context to show how epistemology can be dovetailed with aesthetics to bring theory and practice together for a wider public at Medical Museion, Copenhagen.

  4. 77 FR 20476 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Nicolai Fechin”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-04

    ...,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The... that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Museum of Russian Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota, from on or about August 18, 2012, until on or about January 13, 2013, the Frye Art Museum...

  5. 75 FR 1009 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Habsburg Treasures”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-07

    ... ``Habsburg Treasures,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of... custodian. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Norton Museum of...; the Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, South Carolina, from on or about May 21, 2010, until on or about...

  6. The artificial organ museum in Cleveland (1979-1999) moved to Houston, Texas, and named in 2002 as the ICMT Museum for Artificial Organs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nosé, Yukihiko

    2003-09-01

    The artificial organ museum established in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1979 organized by the International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation (ICAOT), was moved to Houston, Texas, in 1999. The museum with expanded and renewed artificial organ exhibits was officially opened on the 8th and 9th of November, 2002, at the Cullen Pavilion of the original Memorial Hermann Hospital. This building is the oldest in the Texas Medical Center, which was built in 1922. The ICMT (International Center for Medical Technologies) Museum for Artificial Organs (Museum) was completed after phase I, II, and III expansions of the exhibit booths, which were made over the last two years. Approximately 250 historically important and currently widely used artificial organs are exhibited in the Museum. The official opening of the Museum was coordinated with the "Symposium on Artificial Organs: Past, Present, and Future" during two days in November. There were approximately 225 participants at these events, and approximately 40 pioneers and clinical experts in the development and practice of various types of artificial organs contributed. During these programs, a proposal to maintain human resources in addition to artificial organ hardware and software was made in addition to the Museum. This new organization would be called the International Academy of Artificial Organ Pioneers (Academy). All contributors to the symposium were invited to be members of the Academy. The attendants of the symposium accepted this proposal unanimously. An additional 40 individuals, who were recognized as contributors to artificial organ technologies, were later added to the original Academy members. Later, the effective utilization of the Museum and Academy was encompassed in the International Faculty for Health and Medical Technologies (Faculty), a new addition to the activities of the ICMT. Dr. Michael DeBakey was elected as Dean of the Faculty. This is considered a "university without walls," a "university

  7. Learning about Bones at a Science Museum: Examining the Alternate Hypotheses of Ceiling Effect and Prior Knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Judson, Eugene

    2012-01-01

    Groups of children at a science museum were pre- and post-assessed with a type of concept map, known as personal meaning maps, to determine what new understandings, if any, they were gaining from participation in a series of structured hands-on activities about bones and the process of bones healing. Close examination was made regarding whether…

  8. 76 FR 63701 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Diego Rivera: Murals for...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-13

    ... exhibition ``Diego Rivera: Murals for The Museum of Modern Art,'' imported from abroad for temporary... Determinations: ``Diego Rivera: Murals for the Museum of Modern Art'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the... exhibit objects at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, from on or about November 13, 2011, until on or...

  9. 77 FR 4614 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Children of the Plumed...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-30

    ... Ancient Mexico,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural... also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Los Angeles County Museum... exhibition or display of the exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX from on or about July 29, 2012...

  10. 76 FR 82346 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Alina Szapocznikow...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-30

    ... exhibition ``Alina Szapocznikow: Sculpture Undone, 1955-1972'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition... exhibit objects at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, from on or about February 5, 2012, until on or... on or about August 8, 2012; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, from on or about October 7, 2012...

  11. Motivation in the museum - Mediating between everyday engagement and cultural heritage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dindler, Christian; Iversen, Ole Sejer

    We explore the concepts of motivation and motives in relation to creating engaging museum exhibitions. Drawing on Cultural Historical Activity Theory, we present a theoretical conception of motivation and motives and their relation to museum engagement. We propose an approach for creating...

  12. Visiting the cinema, concerts, museums or art exhibitions as determinant of survival: a Swedish fourteen-year cohort follow-up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konlaan, B B; Bygren, L O; Johansson, S E

    2000-09-01

    The aim of this study was to ascertain the possible influence of attending various kinds of cultural events or visiting cultural institutions as a determinant of survival. A cohort of individuals aged 25-74 years from a random sample were interviewed by trained non-medical interviewers in 1982 and 1983. The interviews covered standard-of-living variables. Our independent variables covered visiting cultural institutions and attendance at cultural events, reading books or periodicals, and music making. The non-response rate was about 25%. The cohort was followed with respect to survival for 14 years up to 31st December 1996. The background covariates that were used for control purposes were age, sex, cash buffer, educational standard, long-term disease, smoking, and physical exercise. Our setting was the Swedish survey of living conditions among the adult Swedish population aged 25-74 years. About 10,609 individuals were interviewed in 1982 and 1983. The outcome measure was survival until 31st December 1996. In all, 916 men and 600 women died during this period. We found a higher mortality risk for those people who rarely visited the cinema, concerts, museums, or art exhibitions compared with those visiting them most often. The significant relative risks ranging between RR 1.14 (95% CI. 1.01-1.31) of attending art exhibitions, and RR 1.42 (CI. 1.25-1.60) of attending museums, when adjusting for the nine other variables. Visits to the cinema and concerts gave significant RR in between. We could not discern any beneficial effect of attending the theatre, church service or sports event as a spectator or any effect of reading or music making. Our conclusion is that attendance at certain kinds of cultural events may have a beneficial effect on longevity.

  13. Museum-University Partnerships as a New Platform for Public Engagement with Scientific Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Jamie; Chesebrough, David; Cryan, Jason; Koster, Emlyn

    2016-01-01

    A growing trend in natural history museums, science museums, and science centers is the establishment of innovative new partnerships with universities to bring scientific research to the public in compelling and transformative ways. The strengths of both kinds of institutions are leveraged in effective and publicly visible programs, activities,…

  14. Physics in the Art Museum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dale, Daniel A.; Bailey, Brenae L.

    2003-02-01

    Parisian artist Paul Signac met the impressionists Claude Monet and Georges Seurat in 1884. Their influence spurred his work in pointillism (or, where the juxtaposition of small dots of color in conjunction with the limited resolving power of the human eye lead to the impression of color coalescence).1-4 To stimulate a cross-disciplinary appreciation of science and art, we used the University of Wyoming Art Museum's Signac painting "Barques de Pêche à Marseilles" (see Fig. 1) to explore diffraction theory and the anatomical limitations to our vision during an optics exercise done in the museum.

  15. Migration, Socially Engaged Museum Theme, and Why Slovenian Museums Successfully Avoid it?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Verena Perko

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In the last year, the refugee crisis has turned into a human tragedy, in many ways resembling that of World War Two. The Mediterranean Sea, the highly praised Mare Nostrum, has become a horrifying collective tomb for countless people. Another consequence of war is also the destruction of historical urban centres, monuments, and other cultural heritage in so-called crisis areas – a destruction which has reached unfathomable proportions. Museums all across the world have actively responded to society’s needs. Their goal has been to encourage an open dialogue in our society, as well as alleviate fear of the unknown, and reduce the tide of hatred before it reaches world-shattering proportions. During the refugee crisis, it has become apparent that an intersocietal dialogue is both a necessity and a definitive imperative; without it, the society of the future cannot possibly be assured. Modern society has given museums the role of being a credible medium with a mission to communicate heritage contents. By using a metaphorical and metonymic language museums have an extraordinary social power and represent a bridge between science and modern society, between societies of the past and present, between the elites and marginal groups. The museum reformers of the second half of the 20th century were of the opinion that, despite many reorganizations, museums cannot serve the needs of modern society. This was the reason a new museology emerged that substantiates museums as a socially responsible institution. It equips that institution with specific theoretical knowledge that enables the conversion of heritage into a socially relevant communication of a nonverbal nature. The article theoretically argues for modern museum concepts and, using them, contemplates social responsibility in the inner workings of Slovenian museums. Contemporary museums or post-museums are institutions that carry out active social tasks. An engaged manner brings along social

  16. 76 FR 77582 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Cindy Sherman”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-13

    ...,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The... that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York, from on or about February 26, 2012, until on or about June 11, 2012, the San Francisco Museum of Modern...

  17. The Museum of New Mexico and energy management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, B.K.

    1993-01-01

    There are unique indoor conditioning and energy management challenges in museums. In Santa Fe, the Museum of New Mexico (MNM) is located in a unique climate and must stay within utility expenditure limits allocated through the State government budget process, while handling valuable collections with specific environmental requirements. Adequate humidity for indoor exhibitions is the top priority for heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. Energy management systems (EMS) implemented by the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) in two MNM exhibition facilities avoid energy costs, but must be maintained regularly. Energy savings goals must yield priority in favor of maintaining proper indoor conditions. MNM is one of six Divisions within the State of New Mexico's Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA). The mission of OCA is to foster, preserve, and protect current and past expressions of culture and the arts, which are determined to be in the best interests of New Mexico. As a part of their mission, OCA is well-known for excellence in cultural collections, through MNM. MNM is comprised of the Museum of Fine Arts Museum of Southwest History Museum of International Folk Art Laboratory of Anthropology Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. There are eight separate physical facilities that house these operations, including administration. Behind the scenes, there are operational costs that must be managed carefully; the costs of heating, cooling, arid lighting the buildings that MNM uses are a part of this. EMNRD has assisted OCA in meeting its mission through the expertise of the Energy Conservation and Management Division (ECMD). ECMD is designated by the Governor as the State Energy Manager agency

  18. Karawajew's ant type specimens (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the National Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martynov, Alexander V; Radchenko, Alexander G

    2016-03-30

    The collection of W.A. Karawajew is one of the richest and most famous ant collections of the World. Much of this collection consists of dry mounted specimens, including types of about 550 taxa, housed in the Shmalhausen Institute of Zoology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kiev). Nevertheless, we located a considerable part of Karawajew's collection, containing about 25,000 specimens in alcohol, that is preserved in the National Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kiev). The latter material was recently examined and we found types of 24 taxa. This type material was partly mounted, re-ordered and catalogued. In this paper we present a catalogue of these type specimens housed in the National Museum of Natural History.

  19. 75 FR 82127 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Central Nigeria Unmasked...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-29

    ... River Valley,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural... also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los... Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, from on or about September 14, 2011...

  20. Bradbury Science Museum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alamos National Laboratory Delivering science and technology to protect our nation and promote world stability Science & Innovation Collaboration Careers Community Environment Science & Innovation Facilities Science Pillars Research Library Science Briefs Science News Science Highlights Lab Organizations

  1. The Art of ATLAS; multimedia installation by Neal Hartman and Claudia Marcelloni at Thinktank science museum in Birmingham, UK.

    CERN Multimedia

    Claudia Marcelloni

    2010-01-01

    The Art of ATLAS is an multimedia installation, developed by Neal Hartman and Claudia Marcelloni about the physicists, engineers and technicians behind the ATLAS Experiment. The installation will been shown at Planetarium entrance of the Thinktank science museum in Birmingham, UK from October 2010 until January 2011.

  2. Exhibition at CERN's Globe of Science and Innovation

    CERN Multimedia

    Claudia Marcelloni

    2006-01-01

    Here we see pictures of displays at one of the exhibitions held at the Globe of Science and Innovation taken in September 2006. Located opposite the main CERN site, the Globe houses many public exhibitions throughout the year covering many topics from astronomy to particle physics.

  3. Watt’s workshop: craft and philosophy in the Science Museum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ben Russell

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Accounts of the life of Scottish engineer James Watt have tended to take a rather monocular approach to his life’s work – primarily concentrating on the steam engine. However, the evidence of Watt’s workshop, preserved at the Science Museum, points to the diverse nature of his interests, and particularly to the close integration of philosophical and pragmatic elements in his work. Here is the workplace of one of the savant-fabricants that Britain’s ‘Industrial Enlightenment’ depended upon. All was, however, underpinned by physical work and the creation of tangible artefacts that took into account a range of factors at once technological, entrepreneurial, aesthetic and consumer-driven, a point worth emphasising in consideration both of Britain’s industrial revolution and the recent debate about a re-balancing of the UK economy towards manufacturing.

  4. Characterization of winter airborne particles at Emperor Qin's Terra-cotta Museum, China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Tafeng; Lee, Shuncheng; Cao, Junji; Chow, Judith C.; Watson, John G.; Ho, Kinfai; Ho, Wingkei; Rong, Bo; An, Zhisheng

    2009-01-01

    Daytime and nighttime total suspended particulate matters (TSP) were collected inside and outside Emperor Qin's Terra-cotta Museum, the most popular on-site museum in China, in winter 2008. The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of visitors to indoor airborne particles in two display halls with different architectural and ventilating conditions, including Exhibition Hall and Pit No.1. Morphological and elemental analyses of 7-day individual particle samples were performed with scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDX). Particle mass concentrations in Exhibition Hall and Pit No.1 were in a range of 54.7-291.7 μg m -3 and 95.3-285.4 μg m -3 with maximum diameters of 17.5 μm and 26.0 μm, respectively. In most sampling days, daytime/nighttime particle mass ratios in Exhibition Hall (1.30-3.12) were higher than those in Pit No.1 (0.96-2.59), indicating more contribution of the tourist flow in Exhibition Hall than in Pit No. 1. The maximum of particle size distributions were in a range of 0.5-1.0 μm, with the highest abundance (43.4%) occurred in Exhibition Hall at night. The majority of airborne particles at the Museum was composed of soil dust, S-containing particles, and low-Z particles like soot aggregate and biogenic particles. Both size distributions and particle types were found to be associated with visitor numbers in Exhibition Hall and with natural ventilation in Pit No.1. No significant influence of visitors on indoor temperature and relative humidity (RH) was found in either display halls. Those baseline data on the nature of the airborne particles inside the Museum can be incorporated into the maintenance criteria, display management, and ventilation strategy by conservators of the museum.

  5. 76 FR 35068 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations; “Monet/Lichtenstein: Rouen...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-15

    ... for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are... exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, from on or about July 3, 2011, until on or about September 18, 2011, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art...

  6. 77 FR 39319 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Bodies and Shadows...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-02

    ... exhibition ``Bodies and Shadows: Caravaggio and His Legacy'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition... exhibit objects at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, from on or about November 11, 2012, until on or about February 10, 2013; the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT, from on...

  7. 77 FR 38881 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Regarding Warhol: Sixty...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-29

    ... exhibition ``Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition... exhibit objects at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York from on or about September 11, 2012, until on or about December 31, 2012; then at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from on...

  8. Embodied discourse in the bourgeois museum: performative spaces at the Ordrupgaard collection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rasmus Kjærboe

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available In a suburb just north of Copenhagen is Ordrupgaard. At the inauguration in 1918, it was arguably the best collection of impressionism open to the public outside France and the USA. This paper has two goals: First, to reconstruct and analyze the important yet little known original exhibition ensemble at Ordrupgaard, and second, to develop a view of the bourgeois art exhibition as a performative ritual. Building on ideas of exhibition narratives and visitor involvement derived from diverse work done within museology and museum studies, the paper proposes a close examination of how collective memory and performative embodiment drive exhibition experience. From this, Ordrupgaard emerges as an early example of a museum that offers its audience the possibility of a pleasurable enactment of middle class identity within a setting encompassing nature, art and architecture. The case of a small collection museum therefore reveals important mechanics at work within a potentially much larger field of institutions.

  9. Investigation of the energy efficiency of the military museum building by infrared thermography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Slavica S. Ristić

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Infrared (IR thermography, as a diagnostic technique, is used to find anomalies in the thermal signature of the Military museum building in Belgrade, to identify irregularities or deficiencies, such as wet materials, voids, or missing insulation and to inspect energy efficiency of the museum building and microclimatic indoor conditions.  It is very important to perform preventative maintenance and stop undesirable environment influences that induce structural damage, modification of materials and agglomeration of pollutants and microorganisms on the cultural heritage artifacts, stored in the museum depot or exhibited in the galleries. The main causes for corrosion in historical buildings and museum artifacts are moisture and changeable temperature conditions. This paper deals with the results obtained in the application of IR thermography in determination of these conditions in the Military museum building, where very important metal artifacts are exhibited and deposed. The results show poor thermal insulation, wet walls and, generally, low energy efficiency.

  10. Demonstration of LED Retrofit Lamps at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miller, Naomi J.

    2011-09-01

    The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Eugene, Oregon, houses a remarkable permanent collection of Asian art and antiquities, modern art, and sculpture, and also hosts traveling exhibitions. In the winter and spring of 2011, a series of digital photographs by artist Chris Jordan, titled "Running the Numbers," was exhibited in the Coeta and Donald Barker Special Exhibitions Gallery. These works graphically illustrate waste (energy, money, health, consumer objects, etc.) in contemporary culture. The Bonneville Power Administration and the Eugene Water and Electricity Board provided a set of Cree 12W light-emitting diode (LED) PAR38 replacement lamps (Cree LRP38) for the museum to test for accent lighting in lieu of their standard Sylvania 90W PAR38 130V Narrow Flood lamps (which draw 78.9W at 120V). At the same time, the museum tested LED replacement lamps from three other manufacturers, and chose the Cree lamp as the most versatile and most appropriate color product for this exhibit. The lamps were installed for the opening of the show in January 2011. This report describes the process for the demonstration, the energy and economic results, and results of a survey of the museum staff and gallery visitors on four similar clusters of art lighted separately by four PAR38 lamps.

  11. 78 FR 22362 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “40 Part Motet”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-15

    ...,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The... that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, from on or about May 4, 2013, until on or about June 9, 2013; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York...

  12. 78 FR 79057 - Public Notice; Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Treasures...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-27

    ..., 1392-1910,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural... also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, from on or about March 2, 2014, until on or about May 26, 2014; the Los Angeles County Museum...

  13. 77 FR 8943 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Rembrandt's Self-Portrait”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-15

    ...-Portrait,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, is of cultural... determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit object at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York... of the object at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from on or about June 3, 2012 until on or about...

  14. 78 FR 59750 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Isa Genzken: Retrospective”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-27

    ...: Retrospective,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural... determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, from on or about November 23, 2013, until on or about March 10, 2014; the Museum of Contemporary Art...

  15. 77 FR 31420 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-25

    ... also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at The Museum of Modern Art, New...: Game Plan'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural...

  16. Experiential Posters: Theatrical and Improvisational Tools Aid in Science Museum Outreach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Verónica A. Segarra

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available We frequently use diagrams or animations to reveal to others biological phenomena that are both invisible to the naked eye and difficult to conceptualize.  But these didactic tools fall short in that they generally do not provide feedback or interaction with the user, nor adapt easily to the user’s needs and abilities.  Adaptability to the user’s educational level and needs is critical to catalyze effective learning, especially when the new content is highly complex in nature.  The need for adaptability is key in museum learning environments, where the student audience is very diverse in age and academic training.  We are rethinking the way we go about representing biological processes to general audiences, particularly highly complex topics such as those found in neuroscience.  We have experimented with the concept of using (what we are calling “experiential posters” in the context of museum educational experiences to represent processes in neuroscience in a way that is more accessible to the general public.  An experiential poster is an installation that uses props and staging to provide the user or learner an opportunity to “act out” the sequence of events and the flow of materials in a biological process of interest.  We describe the use of an “experiential poster” to meet specific learning objectives.  We also discuss the potential for its use in service learning and science outreach education.

  17. 76 FR 53705 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition; Determinations: “Seductive Luxury and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-29

    ... David Roentgen,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, is of cultural... Museum of Art, New York, NY, from on or about September 12, 2011, until on or about March 10, 2013, and the exhibition or display of the exhibit object at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, from on or about...

  18. Students-exhibits interaction at a science center

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botelho, Agostinho; Morais, Ana M.

    2006-12-01

    In this study we investigate students' learning during their interaction with two exhibits at a science center. Specifically, we analyze both students' procedures when interacting with exhibits and their understanding of the scientific concepts presented therein. Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse (1990, 2000) provided the sociological foundation to assess the exhibit-student interaction and allowed analysis of the influence of the characteristics of students, exhibits, and interactions on students' learning. Eight students (ages 12ndash;13 years of age) with distinct sociological characteristics participated in the study. Several findings emerged from the results. First, the characteristics of the students, exhibits, and interactions appeared to influence student learning. Second, to most students, what they did interactively (procedures) seems not to have had any direct consequence on what they learned (concept understanding). Third, the data analysis suggest an important role for designers and teachers in overcoming the limitations of exhibit-student interaction.

  19. Development of a Virtual Museum Including a 4d Presentation of Building History in Virtual Reality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kersten, T. P.; Tschirschwitz, F.; Deggim, S.

    2017-02-01

    In the last two decades the definition of the term "virtual museum" changed due to rapid technological developments. Using today's available 3D technologies a virtual museum is no longer just a presentation of collections on the Internet or a virtual tour of an exhibition using panoramic photography. On one hand, a virtual museum should enhance a museum visitor's experience by providing access to additional materials for review and knowledge deepening either before or after the real visit. On the other hand, a virtual museum should also be used as teaching material in the context of museum education. The laboratory for Photogrammetry & Laser Scanning of the HafenCity University Hamburg has developed a virtual museum (VM) of the museum "Alt-Segeberger Bürgerhaus", a historic town house. The VM offers two options for visitors wishing to explore the museum without travelling to the city of Bad Segeberg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Option a, an interactive computer-based, tour for visitors to explore the exhibition and to collect information of interest or option b, to immerse into virtual reality in 3D with the HTC Vive Virtual Reality System.

  20. "Wow! Look at That!": Discourse as a Means to Improve Teachers' Science Content Learning in Informal Science Institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holliday, Gary M.; Lederman, Judith S.; Lederman, Norman G.

    2014-01-01

    Currently, it is not clear whether professional development staff at Informal Science Institutions (ISIs) are considering the way exhibits contribute to the social aspects of learning as described by the contextual model of learning (CML) (Falk & Dierking in "The museum experience." Whalesback, Washington, 1992; "Learning from…

  1. Museums & Mermaids: Bringing Climate Literacy to the Party

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tillinger, D.

    2014-12-01

    If science is for everyone, then it needs to be taught in environments that are welcoming to people who may not feel at home in a traditional classroom. A team of scientists and educators at the American Museum of Natural History have developed a new course, Our Earth's Future, which prepares participants to contribute intelligently and fluently to informal "cocktail party" conversations about climate and climate change. The course, taught after hours at the museum, culminates in an actual cocktail party in one of the museum's halls where participants can practice their skills. Participants' knowledge of climate change and attitudes towards climate change were quantitatively and qualitatively assessed before and after the two five-week course sessions.Climate literacy can also be included in existing events that are not obviously science-focused. Venues such as festivals, galleries, and underground art parties may be willing to broaden their definition of culture to include science - but only if they are asked. Given the increase in public discourse around the topic of climate change, there is an opportunity to reach people who wouldn't attend a formal science lecture, but might attend a film screening or a fundraiser that had some scientific content. Qualitative audience assessments done after the annual "Mermaid Lagoon," a fundraiser for ocean related causes that includes a scientific segment along with dance and theatrical performances, show increased enthusiasm and support for climate science when it is presented in a relevant, fun, and non-intimidating manner.

  2. Mostre e musei nei cinegiornali dell’Archivio Luce tra le due guerre / Exhibitions and museums in the newsreels of the Institute Luce Archive between the WWI and the WWII

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tommaso Casini

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Il patrimonio cinematografi co dell’Istituto Nazionale Luce raccoglie alcune centinaia di ore di fi lmati che riguardano la storia delle mostre e dei musei del ‘900 in Italia e non solo. Sin dalla sua nascita, nel 1925, il LUCE (L’Unione Cinematografi ca Educativa inviò i suoi operatori a documentare musei, gallerie e mostre, specialmente in occasione di visite ufficiali dei sovrani e di esponenti del regime fascista. Cinegiornali e documentari didattici sono visibili on-line sul sito dell’Archivio, e parzialmente anche sul canale dedicato di YouTube. Il contributo traccia una prima ricognizione di un vasto panorama di materiali documentari e informativi, dando conto dell’uso del mezzo fi lmico per documentare le esposizioni temporanee e i musei. L’importanza del materiale del LUCE, che a partire dal 1931 diventa anche sonoro, offre uno spaccato ancora poco conosciuto di questa forma di documentazione in relazione al coevo dibattito sui musei, tra propaganda e uso pedagogico dell’immagine. Vengono esaminate modalità e strategie di presentazione visive e testuali distinguendo tra gli i musei di archeologia, arte antica, arte moderna e contemporanea, considerando alcuni casi specifi ci di esposizioni temporanee come la Biennale di Venezia e la Quadriennale di Roma. La conclusione è dedicata ad una rifl essione sui viaggi di Adolf Hitler in Italia in rapporto al patrimonio artistico e architettonico. The film heritage of the National Institute Luce collects several hundred hours of footage covering the history of the exhibitions and museums of the ‘900 in Italy and beyond. Since its inception in 1925, the LUCE (The Union Educational Film sent his workers to document museums, galleries and exhibitions, especially on the occasion of offi cial visits of kings and members of the fascist regime. Newsreels and educational documentaries and that for some years on-line are also visible on the Archive audiovisual database, and partly also

  3. 78 FR 23623 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “American Encounters...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-19

    ... exhibition ``American Encounters: Genre Painting and Everyday Life,'' imported from abroad for temporary... the exhibit objects at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, from on or about May 11, 2013, until on or about August 12, 2013, the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, from on...

  4. 77 FR 48582 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Plants of Virtue and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-14

    ...'' by Shitao to be imported by The Santa Barbara Museum of Art from abroad for temporary exhibition... exhibit object at The Santa Barbara Museum of Art in Santa Barbara, California from on or about October 20...

  5. 75 FR 3781 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “The Mourners: Tomb...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-22

    ... abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are... exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, from on or about March 1, 2010, until on or about May 23, 2010; the St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO, from on or...

  6. 78 FR 27470 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Impressionists on the Water”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-10

    ... on the Water,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of... custodians. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Fine Arts Museums..., 2013; the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, from on or about November 9, 2013, until on or about...

  7. Frames of References – Art Museums as Unique Visual Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aneta Hristova

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The age old activity of collecting arts is not intrinsically dependent on the art museum as separate architectural type. How was the art museum as an independent structure conceptualized and why? What was the idea behind that concept? Was it created as a medium consciously and what kind of messages was it supposed to deliver? What kind of unique “textual” overlaps the various disciplines of archaeology, art history, politics, literature, science and architecture created in order to produce what we today recognize as art museum space? This study focuses on the crucial historical moments of the late 17th century when such questions were posed for the first time within the classical discourse of the French architectural theory which followed the consolidation of French absolutism and the foundation of the Royal academies of arts and sciences, until the mid 19th century when the answers to those questions were finally exemplified in built architecture. The study gives a comprehensive overview of the cultural context art museums as public institutions emerged from and became new spatial models for collective cultivation.

  8. Pop Up/Drill Down: A Traveling Exhibit Designed to Reach Underserved Communities through Art and Geosciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurtz, N.

    2017-12-01

    Scientists observe the world around them in an attempt to understand it. Artists observe the world around them in an attempt to create a reflection or response to the environment. It is critical for the two fields to work together in order to engage and inform the general population. The Consortium for Ocean Leadership, the International Ocean Discovery Program and a series of collaborators are designing a traveling exhibit that will inspire underserved communities in the excitement of exploration, the process of science, and the people and tools required to get there. The project aims to learn more about how to increase access to and awareness of ocean/earth science by bringing a pop-up style museum exhibit to local libraries and public events. As an artist with a science and education background and the graphic designer for this exhibit, this author will highlight the ways this project utilizes art and design to educate underserved populations in ocean and geosciences.

  9. Exhibiting health and medicine as culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Whiteley, Louise; Tybjerg, Karin; Pedersen, Bente Vinge

    2017-01-01

    -being of their visitors, we instead focus on how museums should communicate about health and medicine. Methods: The paper describes three examples of exhibitions at Medical Museion that attempt to display medicine as culture, and draws out three of the key strategies they employ. Results: The three key strategies are: (1......Introduction: This paper discusses the potential role of medical museums in public engagement with health and medicine, based on the work of Medical Museion at the University of Copenhagen. Rather than asking whether cultural venues such as museums can directly improve the well......: There is increasing emphasis on the need for health communication to recognize people’s multiple, lived cultures. We argue that we should also recognize that medical research and practice is itself a form of culture, and as such is multiple and historically shifting. This paper demonstrates that museums are an ideal...

  10. Not what we expected: the Jewish Museum Berlin in practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Chametzky

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available An extensive existing literature studies Daniel Libeskind’s deconstructivist design for the Jewish Museum Berlin (JMB. This article focuses instead on the museum’s exhibits from 2001 to today, their evolution in response to visitor criticisms, and their discursive setting, all of which exhibit museum and marketing professionals’ attempts to deal with, and to an extent to overcome, the theory driven and Holocaust-laden architectural programme. The JMB, in practice, while including the Holocaust as one component of visitors’ experiences, instead emphasizes Jews and things Jewish as a positive component of a ‘postnational’ version of the German national narrative.

  11. [The collections of the museum and archives of the German Society of Urology. Reflections on objects in the museum].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moll, F H; Rathert, P; Fangerau, H

    2012-09-01

    Objects in a museum that were used by urologists are part of the history of urology. If we know how to look at them they can be sources for a better understanding of the history of urology. In a museum visitors are confronted with objects during exhibitions which are the stage on which one possible interpretation of the history of urology is displayed. Objects have become"carriers of symbols" between the past and present (Pomian). Collections from medical societies which are not connected with a university or another public institution cannot be legitimized on the basis of the argument of conserving historical heritage only. The museum itself with its many tasks and as a classical site of scientific communication should be seen as a topic of scientific interest.

  12. 78 FR 62326 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Toulouse-Lautrec and La...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-16

    ...: Paris 1880-1910,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of... custodians. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Nevada Museum of... Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio, from on or about February 8, 2014, until on or about May 18, 2014, the...

  13. 76 FR 58076 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Maharaja: The Splendor of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-19

    ... exhibition ``Maharaja: The Splendor of India's Royal Courts,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition... exhibit objects at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, from on or about October 21, 2011, until on or about April 8, 2012; the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, from on or about May 19, 2012...

  14. 76 FR 28499 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Picasso and Braque: The...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-17

    ...,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The... that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, from on or about May 29, 2011, until on or about August 21, 2011, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art...

  15. University Students and Local Museums: Developing Effective Partnerships with Oral History

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jane Eva Baxter

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available This is a descriptive paper that details the collaboration between a group of twenty-one DePaul University students and the Exhibitions Committee of the Chinese American Museum of Chicago (CAMOC in the spring of 2010.  The students were all junior and senior Anthropology Majors participating in a course on applied-anthropology, or the applications of anthropological methods and perspectives outside of an academic setting.  CAMOC is a significant, volunteer-driven Chicago museum devoted to the collection, study, and exhibition of materials relating to the Chinese-Americans and Chinese-Canadians who settled in the regions between the coasts of these nations.  The museum first opened its doors in 2005, and in 2008 suffered a devastating fire resulting in the loss of most of the collections and exhibits.  DePaul students partnered with the Exhibitions Committee to collect, archive, and display oral histories of community members to assist in their rebuilding efforts.  The presentation of this particular project focusing on three significant ideas: (1 The importance of developing a project that can be brought to fruition in the course of a single collaborative episode, (2 The types of infrastructure that should be provided by the partners in such a collaboration, and (3 The necessity of creating a project that can simultaneously address the needs of a small museum and the educational goals for student participants.

  16. The good field trip: How elementary students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds learn science, art, and technology at a museum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martell, Sandra Toro

    The Good Field Trip is a study that uses an ethnographic approach to answer the question of what learning looks like during a field trip to a museum. The study uses the Contextual Model of Learning (Falk & Dierking, 2000) to investigate elementary students' personal, physical, and sociocultural contexts of learning as well as how time affects students' thoughts and feelings about the experience. The author accompanied a group of eight students on a three and a half day camp-like experience to a museum that promotes environmental stewardship and the integration of art, science, and technology use and learning. The author videotaped the students' conversations and experiences and interviewed students before, during, and after the trip. Analyses of the videotapes were supplemented with student documents, including comic books, journal notes, and reflective essays about the trip. Findings include that not all experiences are marked as science, art, and technology; technology use does not occur; art is presented in a more formalized manner than science, which is composed of observation and the acquisition of knowledge about plants and animals; and conversations and activities resemble traditional modes of learning in school settings.

  17. Exploring the Intersections of Science and History Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Catherine; Cosbey, Allison

    2016-01-01

    How can history museums incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) activities while preserving their missions and identities? How do interdisciplinary experiences lead to learning? A cross-institutional exhibit development and evaluation team wrestled with these ideas as they developed "Create.Connect," an National…

  18. Treasure Transformers: Novel Interpretative Installations for the National Palace Museum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Chun-Ko; Liu, I.-Ling; Lin, Quo-Ping; Chan, Li-Wen; Hsiao, Chuan-Heng; Hung, Yi-Ping

    Museums have missions to increase accessibility and share cultural assets to the public. The National Palace Museum intends to be a pioneer of utilizing novel interpretative installations to reach more diverse and potential audiences, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) technology has been selected as the new interpretative approach. The pilot project in partnership with the National Taiwan University has successfully completed four interactive installations. To consider the different nature of collections, the four systems designed against different interpretation strategies are uPoster, i-m-Top, Magic Crystal Ball and Virtual Panel. To assess the feasibility of the project, the interactive installations were exhibited at the Taipei World Trade Center in 2008. The purpose of this paper is to present the development of the "Treasure Transformers" exhibition, design principles, and effectiveness of installations from the evaluation. It is our ambition that the contributions will propose innovative media approaches in museum settings.

  19. [Harmful biological agents at museum workposts].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skóra, Justyna; Zduniak, Katarzyna; Gutarowska, Beata; Rembisz, Daria

    2012-01-01

    The aim of the studies was to determine the level and kind of microbiological contamination of air and surfaces in museum premises with various collection specificities. In addition, the criteria for selecting indicators of contamination with harmful biological agents at museum workposts are proposed. The analysis of microbial contamination was carried out in 14 museum premises (storehouses, restoration workshops, exhibition hall). Microbiological air purity was measured with a MAS-100 Eco Air Sampler. Surface samples were collected using contact plates RODAC Envirocheck. Biochemical API tests were used to identify bacteria and yeasts. Fungi were diagnosed with taxonomic keys, based on macro- and microscopic mycelia assessment. The levels of microbiological contamination in museums varied and ranged from 2.1 x 10(2) to 7.0 x 10(3) cfu/m3 in the air and from 1.4 x 10(2) to 1.7 x 10(4) cfu/100 cm2 on surfaces. The dominant microorganisms were fungi, which accounted respectively for 18-98% and 23-100% of all isolates from tested sites and surfaces. It was found that the amount of fungi in the indoor air of the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography and the Museum of Independence Traditions equaled respectively 4.2 x 10(2) cfu/m3 and 1.4 x 10(4) cfu/m3, which means that they exceeded the recommended reference value of 2.0 x 10(2) cfu/m3. Having analyzed the frequency of strain isolation, the source of microorganisms and the hazard to human health, 10 fungal species were isolated, which may be regarded as indicators of contamination with harmful biological agents at museum workposts. They are: Aspergillus (A. niger, A. versicolor), Cladosporium (C. herbarum, C. macrocarpum), Penicillium (P. carneum, P. digitatum, P. italicum, P. paneum, P. polonicum), Rhizopus nigricans.

  20. 77 FR 73731 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Masterpieces of the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-11

    ... Determinations: ``Masterpieces of the Joseon Dynasty From the National Museum of Korea'' SUMMARY: Notice is... objects to be included in the exhibition ``Masterpieces of the Joseon Dynasty from the National Museum of Korea,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural...

  1. 78 FR 27470 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Shaping Power: Luba...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-10

    ... Determinations: ``Shaping Power: Luba Masterworks From the Royal Museum for Central Africa'' SUMMARY: Notice is... objects to be included in the exhibition ``Shaping Power: Luba Masterworks from the Royal Museum for Central Africa,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural...

  2. 76 FR 40419 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Prints and the Pursuit of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-08

    ... Modern Europe,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural... also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Harvard Art Museums... Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, from on or about January 17, 2012, until on...

  3. The museum foyer as a transformative space of communication

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laursen, Ditte; Kristiansen, Erik; Drotner, Kirsten

    2016-01-01

    has four transformative functions, and we ask the following question: How do people entering the museum practise these transformative functions so as to become visitors – and become non-visitors again on leaving? Answers are provided through an empirical analysis of the foyer as a transformative...... communicative space. Based on qualitative studies of four divergent Danish museums and a science centre, we demonstrate that the foyer’s communicative space supports transformative functions consisting of multiple phases before and after the visit itself, namely arrival–orientation–service–preparation (before......This article explores how we may study physical museum foyers as multilayered spaces of communication. Based on a critical examination of ways in which the museum foyer is conceptualised in the research literature, we define the foyer as a transformative space of communication for visitors which...

  4. Interactive activities to stimulate debate and critical thinking about issues related to Earth sciences and sustainable development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandra Magagna

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available During the International Year of Planet Earth (2007-2009, the Department of Earth Sciences of Turin University and a local Museum of Natural History promoted a project entitled, Understanding how the Earth works: from local situations to global processes. In this context, two geothematic exhibitions on the Cape Verde Archipelago were designed and staged in local museums. The exhibition called Getting to know a volcano in order to live with it was the subject of action research that involved the design of interactive activities and the analysis of data collected during guided tours conducted with students of different ages. This study allowed the demonstration of the effectiveness of teaching strategies in which relevant Earth sciences topics are proposed, like risk and sustainable development, thus stimulating debate among the students. This approach enhances the cultural experience of individuals by sharing it with other people. The aim was to widen their awareness of the cultural value of the territory, and to stimulate a new critical way of thinking about the Earth sciences. These didactic tools were further developed when they were proposed and pursued by experienced museum guides and teachers, who were able to involve not only institutions (museums and schools in the knowledge construction process, but also families, relatives and the local community.

  5. Curating Performance on the Edge of the Art Museum

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Groth, Sanne Krogh; Schwarzbart, Judith

    two-day festival offers a format that vary considerable from the exhibition series the museum puts on most of the time. The performance program includes artists such as composers usually working with contemporary music, electronic music composers, as well as performance artists working from......Since the Intermedia and Fluxus movements a variety of timebased artforms have been contained within visual art contexts. The performative works draw often as much on the tradition of theatre, music, dance, and poetry reading as fine art. Although the institutional context plays a role...... art institution. Our research relates specifically to a festival for performative art, ACTS 2014, which we co-curate for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Roskilde. Having grown out of a Fluxus spirit, the museum is not foreign to time-based practices like many museums are. Nevertheless, the intensive...

  6. Enhancing international tourism to the Ditsong (South African) National Museum of Military History

    OpenAIRE

    A Nicolaides

    2011-01-01

    Attractions such as military history museums which exhibit a wide range of important historical artefacts are fundamental sub-elements in any tourism systems, and yet their study suffers from lack of theoretical depth. Military history is an integral element of the history of any nation and countless varieties of tourists both local and international, visit military museums whenever the opportunity presents itself because museums are generally stimulating places of int...

  7. 3rd February 2011-Science Museum Patrons-Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland-visiting CMS cavern and LHC Tunnel with A. De Roeck,CMS Collaboration Deputy Spokesperson and M. Lamont,Beams Department, Operation Group Leader

    CERN Multimedia

    Maximilien Brice

    2011-01-01

    The delegation: Mr Ian Blatchford,Director of the Science Museum and NMSI Mrs Susan Fisher,Director of Development, National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI) Dr Douglas Gurr,Chairman of the Board of Trustees, NMSI Mr Martin Smith,Previous NMSI trustee Mrs Elise Smith,Spouse Mr Michael Wilson,NMSI trustee Mrs Jane Wilson,Spouse Mr Gregg Wilson,Son Dr Ann Coxon,UK Friends of the Science Museum Trustee Mr Nicholas Lewis,Contact of Martin Smith accompanied by P. Wells,Physics Department, ATLAS Inner Detector Group Leader and A. Koek,Communication group (International Arts Development, CERN Cultural Policy and Strategy with the Arts, The Collide Programme)

  8. 77 FR 34121 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Revealing the African...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-08

    ... exhibition ``Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe'' imported from abroad for temporary... exhibit objects at The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, from on or about October 14, 2012, until on or about January 21, 2013; at the Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ, from on or about February...

  9. Artefacts and the performance of an exhibition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svabo, Connie

    2008-01-01

    The article explores the role of mediating artefacts in children's encounters with a museum of natural history. Using actor network theory it explores how a specific artefact shapes the way users relate to exhibited objects and how the artefact guides users' movements in the exhibition....... The mediated performance of an exhibition is explored through an empirical case....

  10. Art exhibit focuses on African astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Showstack, Randy

    2012-07-01

    Connections between Africans and astronomy are the focus of a new exhibition in the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D. C. "African Cosmos: Stellar Arts," which includes artwork, cultural items, and scientific displays from ancient to contemporary times, is the first major exhibit "that brings together arts and science focused on Africa's contribution to keen observations of the heavens over time," curator Christine Mullen Kreamer said at a 20 June news briefing. Among the exhibit's nearly 100 objects are an ancient Egyptian mummy board that includes a representation of the sky goddess Nut, sculptures by the Dogon people of Mali depicting figures in relation to the cosmos, a video that uses data from two square degrees of the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Evolution Survey, and a nearly floor-to-ceiling "Rainbow Serpent" constructed of plastic containers by Benin artist Hazoume. An untitled acrylic painting (Figure 1) by South African Gavin Jantjes evokes a myth of the Khoi San people of southern Africa, as it portrays a girl throwing evening fire embers into the night sky, where they remained as the Milky Way.

  11. A Checklist of Legal Considerations for Museums.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weil, Stephen E.

    1980-01-01

    A checklist for museum compliance with federal, state, and local laws covers administrative organization, general endowment and restricted funds, trustees, staffing and employment practices, volunteers, acquisition and disposition, exhibition programs, visitors and membership, auxiliary activities, building, and miscellaneous regulations. (MSE)

  12. 77 FR 38374 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “The Human Beast: German...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 7935] Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``The Human Beast: German Expressionism at The San Diego Museum of Art'' SUMMARY: Notice is... objects to be included in the exhibition ``The Human Beast: German Expressionism at The San Diego Museum...

  13. 76 FR 12399 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Paris: Life & Luxury”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-07

    ... the exhibition ``Paris: Life & Luxury,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the... objects at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California, from on or about April 26, 2011, until on or about August 7, 2011, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, from on or about [[Page 12400

  14. Free-choice worksheets increase students' exposure to curriculum during museum visits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mortensen, Marianne Foss; Smart, Kimberly

    2007-01-01

    The museum visit is an important part of elementary school science teaching. However, a divide exists between teachers, who require curricular accountability, and museums, who emphasize free-choice exploration. Can a carefully constructed worksheet bridge this divide by providing free......-choice exploration of curricular topics during the museum visit? In the present study, a theoretical framework was constructed to inform the design of worksheets as free-choice learning devices. This framework was used to analyze the design of an existing museum worksheet. Subsequently, curriculum......-related conversations among school groups visiting a museum were monitored in groups supplied with the worksheet and in control groups without. Overall, the worksheet complied well with design criteria synthesized from the free-choice learning literature. Furthermore, the use of the worksheet increased the number...

  15. Characterization of winter airborne particles at Emperor Qin's Terra-cotta Museum, China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Tafeng, E-mail: hutafeng@hotmail.com [Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, 710049 (China); SKLLQG, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi' an, 710075 (China); Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (China); Lee, Shuncheng [Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (China); Cao, Junji [Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, 710049 (China); SKLLQG, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi' an, 710075 (China); Chow, Judith C.; Watson, John G. [SKLLQG, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi' an, 710075 (China); Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Desert of Research Institute, Reno (United States); Ho, Kinfai; Ho, Wingkei [Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (China); Rong, Bo [Emperor Qin' s Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, Xi' an (China); An, Zhisheng [SKLLQG, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi' an, 710075 (China)

    2009-10-01

    Daytime and nighttime total suspended particulate matters (TSP) were collected inside and outside Emperor Qin's Terra-cotta Museum, the most popular on-site museum in China, in winter 2008. The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of visitors to indoor airborne particles in two display halls with different architectural and ventilating conditions, including Exhibition Hall and Pit No.1. Morphological and elemental analyses of 7-day individual particle samples were performed with scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDX). Particle mass concentrations in Exhibition Hall and Pit No.1 were in a range of 54.7-291.7 {mu}g m{sup -3} and 95.3-285.4 {mu}g m{sup -3} with maximum diameters of 17.5 {mu}m and 26.0 {mu}m, respectively. In most sampling days, daytime/nighttime particle mass ratios in Exhibition Hall (1.30-3.12) were higher than those in Pit No.1 (0.96-2.59), indicating more contribution of the tourist flow in Exhibition Hall than in Pit No. 1. The maximum of particle size distributions were in a range of 0.5-1.0 {mu}m, with the highest abundance (43.4%) occurred in Exhibition Hall at night. The majority of airborne particles at the Museum was composed of soil dust, S-containing particles, and low-Z particles like soot aggregate and biogenic particles. Both size distributions and particle types were found to be associated with visitor numbers in Exhibition Hall and with natural ventilation in Pit No.1. No significant influence of visitors on indoor temperature and relative humidity (RH) was found in either display halls. Those baseline data on the nature of the airborne particles inside the Museum can be incorporated into the maintenance criteria, display management, and ventilation strategy by conservators of the museum.

  16. Digital Repatriation: Constructing a Culturally Responsive Virtual Museum Tour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loriene Roy、Mark Christal

    2002-04-01

    Full Text Available

    頁次:14-18

    This paper describe a project that involved educators and three Native American communities in the construction of a virtual tour now available on the Web site of the National Museum of the American Indian(http://www. conexus.si.edu/. In fall 1998, the Pueblo of Laguna Department of Education, the College of Education and Graduate School of Library and Information Science at The University of Texas at Austin, and the Smithsonians National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI began the first collaboration that brought Native American students, teachers, and cultural representatives to the NMAI George Gustav Heye Center in New York City. The virtual tour makes extensive use of QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR. The panoramas of the exhibition space serve as an interface for accessing the featured objects selected by the students. Clicking on a hot spot over the museum display of a featured object causes the QTVR object to load in a separate Webpage frame accompanied by an interpreted essay written by a student. Clickable floor plans of the exhibition- space offer another method of navigating the virtual tour and accessing the virtual objects.

  17. Displaying lives: the narrative of objects in biographical exhibitions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caterina Albano

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Biographical exhibitions are a museum practice that asks for critical consideration. Grounding the argument in critical theory, social studies and museum theory, the article explores the narrative function of objects in biographical exhibitions by addressing the social significance of objects in relation to biography and their relevance when presented into an exhibition display. Central is the concept of objects as ‘biographical relics’ that are culturally fetishized in biographical narratives. This raises questions about biographical reliability and the cultural role that such objects plays in exhibition narratives as bearers of reality and as metonymical icons of the biographical subject. The article considers examples of biographical exhibitions of diverse figures such as Gregor Mendel, Madame de Pompadour and Roland Barthes, and the role that personal items, but also portraits and photographs, play in them.

  18. British Museum paintings

    OpenAIRE

    Edmonds, Frances

    2011-01-01

    Frances Edmonds is one of a group of artists selected for the show ‘Territories’ taking place at Galerie Windkracht 13 in Den Helder, Holland this July 2012. This exhibition is curated by Sharon Beavan and Gethin Evans. The artists represented work across the boundaries of two and three-dimensional and time based form. The brief – to interrogate and explore the notion of territories. Frances will be showing several paintings from the British Museum series, based on imagery collected ...

  19. New Designs in Circulation Areas And Museums the Case of the Quai Branly Museum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nihan CANBAKAL ATAOĞLU

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available During the Pre-Modern Era of 1970s; new buildings questioning general typologies and offering advances in terms of design and function are started to be built. Architects not only looked for unattempted block structures but also their quest for unattempted block structures were continued for internal places, too and internal implicit setups were designed using ortographic tools like plans and sections. In today’s museums; new and multiple circulation routes are designed; in which visitors do not read books from beginning to end but choose their own paths and walk through the exhibition as if in a labyrinth on their own. These radical perceptional, spatial changes and spatial scenarios are particularly emphasized in museum buildings. These new spatial arrangements in circulation areas are offering new spatial experiences with irregular gaps in sections, regular but non-geometric floor plans, vagueness of the borders, striking colors, patterns and materials, differentiated circulation parts (stairs, moving stairways, elevators, platforms, bridges. In the study; Jean Nouvel’s Quai Branly Museum (2006 which is a recent example of this striking change will be analyzed thorough spatial experiences, observations, syntactic analysis technique and semantic examinations.   

  20. The Organization of Museums: Practical Advice. Museums and Monuments, IX.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Philip R.; And Others

    This manual deals with the organization of museums. The manual includes 10 chapters written by different people involved in museum work in various parts of the world. Chapter I, The Museum and Its Functions, deals with such topics as definition, collecting, identifying, and recording. Chapter II considers the administration of museums. Chapter…

  1. 76 FR 27742 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Picasso: Masterpieces...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-12

    ...[eacute]e National Picasso, Paris,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United... Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum, San Francisco, California, from on or about June...

  2. 78 FR 14619 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Overdrive: L.A...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-06

    ... exhibition ``Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future, 1940-1990,'' imported from abroad for temporary... exhibit objects at The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, from on or about April 9, 2013, until on or about July 21, 2013; and the National Building Museum, Washington, DC, from on or about October 15, 2013...

  3. 77 FR 48198 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Faking It: Manipulated...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-13

    ... exhibition ``Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop,'' imported from abroad for temporary... exhibit objects at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, from on or about October 11, 2012... February 17, 2013, until on or about May 5, 2013, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, from on or about...

  4. 75 FR 32980 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Olmec: Masterworks of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-10

    ... included in the exhibition ``Olmec: Masterworks of Ancient Mexico,'' imported from abroad for temporary... of the exhibit objects at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, from on or about September 26, 2010, until on or about January 1, 2011; the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco...

  5. Transformational Effects of Museum Exhibits upon Their Patrons: The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caruso-Woolard, Cassandra

    2013-01-01

    The focus of this research was on the affective learning experienced at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center--a museum that tells the history of slavery in the United States, the courage, cooperation, and perseverance enacted by many who overcame the challenges and consequences of the unfreedoms once practiced in America. Such a study…

  6. Links between Libraries and Museums: a Case Study of Library-Museum Collaboration at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick Lo

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Established in 2005, the Hong Kong Maritime Museum (HKMM is a relatively new private museum that aims to collect all forms of materials related to the development of boats, ships, maritime exploration and trade, and naval warfare on the South China coast, as well as its adjacent seas.  The Museum not only serves as a unique platform for teaching and learning of the local heritage in Hong Kong, it also contributes greatly to the promotion of community engagement and social connections.  The HKMM is also equipped with its own museum library, and it is called the CSSC (China State Shipbuilding Corporation Maritime Heritage Resource Centre.  In addition to supporting various research activities carried out by the Museum, this Resource Centre also serves as a central, and yet comprehensive repository for publications, and other archival documents on maritime heritage and history related to Southeastern China.  This paper aims to compare the distinctive operational practices, and user needs between museums and libraries.  It also examines the benefits and challenges of museum-library collaborations in the new knowledge-driven society.  This paper features an interview with Kitty But (Librarian, CSSC Maritime Heritage Resource Centre, The Hong Kong Maritime Museum and Robert Trio (Project Officer for Technology, The Hong Kong Maritime Museum, and in which they discussed their professional experiences in the fields of audience education; the implementation of different new technologies associated with the museum and library services; and various collaborative initiatives carried out between the Museum and the Resource Centre.  Upcoming challenges and opportunities faced by both the Museum and Resource Centre are also discussed in this paper.

  7. 75 FR 57102 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Titian and the Golden Age...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-17

    ...,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The... that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA, from on..., Minneapolis, MN, from on or about February 6, 2011 to on or about May 1, 2011; at the Museum of Fine Arts...

  8. The Museum as a platform for tobacco promotion in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Fan; Sun, Shaojing; Yao, Xinyi; Fu, Hua

    2016-01-01

    The China Tobacco Museum in Shanghai is the largest in China, consisting of seven pavilions of tobacco-related exhibits. A focus group and previous survey data revealed that the museum conveys messages that make tobacco use appealing. Of the pavilions, three were found to contain blatant misinformation about tobacco and tobacco consumption. We argue that the China Tobacco Museum is a platform for tobacco promotion, a form of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and thus contravenes the FCTC. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  9. 78 FR 41972 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Kongo Across the Waters”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-12

    ... the exhibition ``Kongo across the Waters,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the... objects at the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, Florida, from on or about October 22, 2013, until on or about March 23, 2014, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, Atlanta, Georgia...

  10. 75 FR 15764 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Gods of Angkor: Bronzes...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-30

    ... Determinations: ``Gods of Angkor: Bronzes From the National Museum of Cambodia'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given... objects to be included in the exhibition ``Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The...

  11. 77 FR 26067 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “American Encounters...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-02

    ...,'' imported from abroad by the High Museum of Art for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of... Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas from on or about May 12 until on or about August 13, 2012; the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia from on or about September 22, 2012 until on or about...

  12. 78 FR 2478 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Ming Masterpieces From...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-11

    ... ``Ming Masterpieces from the Shanghai Museum,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the... Determinations: ``Ming Masterpieces From the Shanghai Museum'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the following... at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, from on or about March 3, 2013, until on or...

  13. Development Of An Android Based Interactive Guide For The Berliner Medizinhistorisches Museum Der Charité

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iris Klempert

    2016-06-01

    The “BMM Guide” is available for all visitors of the museum on lendable devices or for students (professional audience using their personal devices and installing the application manually via the web-access eduroam. The guide is connected to the internet. It is designed to easily expand, update or transfer the content catalogue data. At the moment there is a connection between the exhibit and text-, image-, video- or virtual microscope content via QR-Code. The offline mode is limited to the connection between text content and the exhibit. We also implemented a multi-language support for English and German. The application has information like room plans, opening times and latest news of the museum. The museum guide is an easy handable, selfexplaining blended learning tool that can be embedded in the general education. .This guide for the exhibitions of the Berliner Medizinhistorisches Museum opens a new branch for self-study of students. Nevertheless he still has a potential to be integrated in curricular lectures in the future.

  14. 77 FR 25226 - Culturally Significant Object Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “The Wealth of a Nation...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 7860] Culturally Significant Object Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``The Wealth of a Nation: British Silver From the Museum's Collection'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby... object to be included in the exhibition ``The Wealth of a Nation: British Silver from the Museum's...

  15. Museum Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Susan

    2002-01-01

    Virtual museums focus on a specific curriculum theme and showcase electronic museum-type collections such as artifacts, paintings, photographs, numerous databases, and Web links to resources around the world. Museums of all types include vital teaching tools that help students make discoveries and form connections with the past, present, and…

  16. National Identity, International Visitors: Narration and Translation of the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chia-Li Chen

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Although many museums nowadays provide multilingual services, translations in museums have not received enough attention from researchers. The issue of how ideology is embedded in museum texts is translated is particularly underresearched. Since museums are often important sites for tourists to learn about a nation, translation plays a pivotal role in mediating how international visitors construct the host nation’s identity. The translation of national identity is even more important when sensitive topics are dealt with, such as exhibitions of the past in memorial museums. This paper takes the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum as a case study to examine how Taiwanese identity is formatted in the Chinese text and reframed in the English translation. The current study found inconsistent historical perspectives embedded in both texts, particularly in the English translation. We argue that, without awareness of ideological assumptions embedded in translations, museums run the risk of sending unintended messages to international visitors.

  17. Museum Education and Archaeological Ethics: An Approach to the Illicit Trade of Antiquities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasilike Argyropoulos

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Many museum educational programs and exhibitions worldwide, designed to communicate to the public the importance of archaeology, adopt a treasure hunt approach often inspired by emblematic mass culture figures, such as Indiana Jones or Lara Croft. Alternatively they organize exhibitions on the identification of fakes in the spirit of TV series such as 'X-files' or 'CSI'.    These programs usually avoid dealing with a fundamental issue in archaeological practice, which pertains to the paramount importance of context and the scientific consequences of its destruction through, among others, the illicit trade of antiquities. The hesitation in promoting this sensitive topic may be due to the fact that many objects in major museum collections are often unprovenanced. Although the 'ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums' (2006, section 4.5 advises against displaying material of questionable origin, most museums do host such antiquities.     The paper explores how museums can begin to discuss the issue of context using the materials produced by the European Culture project 'Witness the Past' (WTP: film documentaries or educational kits and related activities aimed at children on the topic of the importance of context and the destructive effects of the illicit trade of antiquities. The WTP project was implemented in three European museums as well as in Egypt and Jordan.

  18. Outreach to Science Faculty and Students through Research Exhibitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Tina; Hebblethwaite, Chris

    2014-01-01

    Penfield Library at the State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego) has a gallery exhibit space near the front entrance that is used to showcase student-faculty research and art class projects. This article features the library's outreach efforts to science faculty and students through research exhibitions. The library held an exhibition…

  19. Creating Virtual Exhibitions for Educational and Cultural Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela DUMITRESCU

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents different tools and mechanisms to implement a virtual exhibition in different cultural areas, such as museums and libraries. Quality characteristics of virtual exhibitions are identified and described. The possibility to create native mobile applications for virtual exhibitions presentation is analyzed. The functional flow of creating a virtual exhibition is presented and discussed. The Seals - History Treasure exhibition is presented and significant historical documents are revealed.

  20. A Study of Applying Digital Mobile Museum Guide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao-yun Chaucer Liang

    2003-09-01

    Full Text Available With the prosperous development of information technology, museums begin to apply new technology to enhance operation and communication efficiency. One of the information technology. Personal Digital Mobile, featuring light weight and mobility, can help museum to set up an interactive navigation system, which offering capability of user-controlled guidance and both broad and depth information. In this study, literature related to museum tour guide, digital mobile navigation, and multimedia interaction design were reviewed, and two examples were offered for reference. The first one example is Exploratorium in American, which is cooperated with HP labs to integrate wireless networking and PDA devices. The domestic example is the design project of the Personal Digital Mobile Guide for the Emperor Ch’ien-lung’s Grand Cultural Enterprise Exhibition in National Palace Museum, 2002. This paper introduces the techniques involved, interactive storyboard, interface design, color planning, electronic element planning, etc. The process of applying theory into creative project may help future researches in the related areas.[Article content in Chinese

  1. The Whipple Museum and Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pippard, Brian

    The Whipple Museum is part of the History and Philosophy of Science Department in the University of Cambridge. It is on your right as soon as you enter Free School Lane from Pembroke Street, and is normally open between 1:30 and 4:30 P.M. on weekdays. The main room, a hall with hammer-beam roof, is a relic of Stephen Perse’s school (1624) now flourishing elsewhere in the city. It houses a large collection of mathematical, physical and astronomical instruments — abaci, Napier’s bones, slide rules; sextants and other surveying instruments; telescopes, compasses and pocket sundials (especially of ivory from Nuremberg 1500-1700); and a Grand Orrery by George Adams (1750). The gallery of a second room is used for special exhibitions, often of items from the well-stocked store. Some specialist catalogues have been compiled and are on sale.

  2. Let's play game exhibitions : A curator's perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vos, Jesse; Glas, M.A.J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/330981447; van Vught, J.F.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/413532682

    2017-01-01

    The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision is home to The Experience, a museum exhibiting the history of media in the Netherlands. For ten months in 2016 and 2017, The Experience hosted a temporary exhibition entitled Let’s YouTube . During the Let’s YouTube game month, we programmed a ten-day

  3. Four steps in the history of museum technologies and visitors' digital participation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Jørgen Riber

    2011-01-01

    technologies used today in three different museums and galleries: the Bode Museum in Berlin, the Victoria and Albert Museum and Dr. Johnson's House in London. The historical verification and documentation in this article describe four steps in the development of exhibition technologies: the Boydell Shakespeare...... participation of visitors and audience. Here the argumentation is based on how the displayed object creates signification in its position between its autonomy and its contexts. The following display technologies are described and analysed: stipple engraving, photography, the audio guide, and the interactive...

  4. Hands-On Math and Art Exhibition Promoting Science Attitudes and Educational Plans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena Thuneberg

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The current science, technology, engineering, art, math education (STEAM approach emphasizes integration of abstract science and mathematical ideas for concrete solutions by art. The main aim was to find out how experience of learning mathematics differed between the contexts of school and an informal Math and Art Exhibition. The study participants (N=256 were 12-13 years old from Finland. Several valid questionnaires and tests were applied (e.g., SRQ-A, RAVEN in pre- and postdesign showing a good reliability. The results based on General Linear Modeling and Structural Equation Path Modeling underline the motivational effects. The experience of the effectiveness of hands-on learning at school and at the exhibition was not consistent across the subgroups. The lowest achieving group appreciated the exhibition alternative for math learning compared to learning math at school. The boys considered the exhibition to be more useful than the girls as it fostered their science and technology attitudes. However, for the girls, the attractiveness of the exhibition, the experienced situation motivation, was much more strongly connected to the attitudes on science and technology and the worthiness of mathematics. Interestingly, the pupils experienced that even this short informal learning intervention affected their science and technology attitudes and educational plans.

  5. 75 FR 30459 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Dynasty and Divinity: Ife...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-01

    ... temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are imported... display of the exhibit objects at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, from on or about September 19, 2010, until on or about January 9, 2011; at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, from on or...

  6. 77 FR 54647 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Sicily: Art and Invention...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-05

    ... exhibition ``Sicily: Art and Invention Between Greece and Rome,'' imported from abroad for temporary... exhibit objects at The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California from on or about April 3, 2013, until on or about August 19, 2013; and then at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio from...

  7. Birth of a science centre. Italian phenomenology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paola Rodari

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available In May 2004 the Balì Museum, Planetarium and interactive science museum, was opened to the public in Italy: 35 hands-on exhibits designed according to the interactive tradition of the Exploratorium in San Francisco, an astronomic observatory for educational activities, a Planetarium with 70 places. With a total investment of about three million euros, about two thirds of which were spent on restructuring the splendid eighteenth-century villa in which it is housed, the undertaking may be considered a small one in comparison with other European science centres. Three million euros: perhaps enough to cover the cost of only the splendid circular access ramp to the brand-new Cosmocaixa in Barcelona, an investment of one hundred million euros. But the interesting aspect of the story of the Balì Museum (but also of other Italian stories, as we shall see lies in the fact that this lively and advanced science centre stands in the bucolic region of the Marches, next to a small town of only 800 inhabitants (Saltara, in the Province of Pesaro and Urbino, in a municipal territory that has a total of 5000. Whereas in Italy the projects for science centres comparable with the Catalan one, for example projects for Rome and Turin, never get off the ground, smaller ones are opening in small and medium-sized towns: why is this? And what does the unusual location of the centres entail for science communication in Italy? This Focus does not claim to tell the whole truth about Italian interactive museums, but it does offer some phenomenological cues to open a debate on the cultural, economic and political premises that favour their lives.

  8. Informal adult education and museum andragogics in the context of the history of modern museums in Ukraine (review historiography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. O. Kutsaeva

    2016-08-01

    the audience. There is no clear understanding of the problem’s thesaurus. The participation in the international action «Days of Adult Education» is minimal, therefore the museums still cannot be called adult education providers. However, it is still possible to identify and to characterize certain significant stages of the formation of the andragogics, informal museums adult education, historiography’s indexes names, draft law documents and practice activity centres’ compilation. There exists the mutual dependence and connection between museum andragogics, which is in the process of institutionalization, and pedagogy, sociology and other sciences about man, its interdisciplinary nature.

  9. Learning from Exhibitions: Chuck Close.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Mark M.

    1998-01-01

    Discusses the artwork of Chuck Close, who is well known for his over-sized portraits of fellow artists and anonymous sitters, and the exhibition of his work that premiered at New York's Museum of Modern Art before traveling to other cities in the United States. (CMK)

  10. Awakening Objects and Indigenizing the Museum: Stephen Gilchrist in Conversation with Henry F. Skerritt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen Gilchrist

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Curated by Stephen Gilchrist, Everywhen: The Eternal Present in Indigenous Art from Australia was held at Harvard Art Museums from February 5, 2016–September 18, 2016. The exhibition was a survey of contemporary Indigenous art from Australia, exploring the ways in which time is embedded within Indigenous artistic, social, historical, and philosophical life. The exhibition included more than seventy works drawn from public and private collections in Australia and the United States, and featured many works that have never been seen outside Australia. Everywhen is Gilchrist’s second major exhibition in the United States, following Crossing Cultures: The Owen and Wagner Collection of Contemporary Aboriginal Australian Art at the Hood Museum of Art in 2012. Conducted on April 22, 2016, this conversation considers the position of Indigenous art in the museum, and the active ways in which curators and institutions can work to “indigenize” their institutions. Gilchrist discusses the evolution of Everywhen, along with the curatorial strategies employed to change the status of object-viewer relations in the exhibition. The transcription has been edited for clarity.

  11. 77 FR 56251 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “The Body Beautiful in...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-12

    ... exhibition ``The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the... at the Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, from on or about October 6, 2012, until on or about January 6, 2013, the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, from on or about May 5, 2013, until on or about...

  12. Designing museum exhibits that facilitate visitor reflection and discussion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skydsgaard, Morten Arnika; Andersen, Hanne Møller; King, Heather

    2016-01-01

    This paper explores how four design principles (curiosity, challenge, narratives and participation) facilitate reflection and discussion among young visitors in the issues-based exhibition Dear, Difficult Body. The investigation is based on a mixed-method approach combining questionnaire and inte......This paper explores how four design principles (curiosity, challenge, narratives and participation) facilitate reflection and discussion among young visitors in the issues-based exhibition Dear, Difficult Body. The investigation is based on a mixed-method approach combining questionnaire...... and interview data. The implementation of design principles resulted in a variety of exhibits which variously prompted reflection and discussion on the part of visitors. Exhibits with narratives, for example, here defined as both personal and expert narratives, were found to be effective in facilitating...... personal reflection but also prompted discussion. Participation, defined as including both physical interaction with exhibits, and dialogic interaction between visitors, facilitated the sharing of ideas and feelings between visitors. Exhibits with elements of curiosity and challenge were found to attract...

  13. INTERPRETING THE PAST: THE COMPETING MEMORIES OF THE YUGOSLAVIAN PERIOD THROUGH THE CASE STUDY ANALYSIS OF SLOVENIAN HISTORY MUSEUM AND PRIVATE EXHIBITION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alina Zubkovych

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In the given article we analyze the representation of the period from the recent history- Socialist Yugoslavia- through the case study of national history museum and private exhibition. Although both of the analyzed objects are located in Ljubljana, the metastories which they construct and display are based on the different cultural patterns. We compare the differences of the narratives being used by the private and state institution and apply the visual analysis method together with semi-structured interviews for these purposes. As a result of our research, we show how differs ‘official narration’ compared to the so-called ‘Yugonostalgic’ or ‘Titostalgic’ viewpoint and describe their main characteristics.

  14. Data-Driven Analysis of Virtual 3D Exploration of a Large Sculpture Collection in Real-World Museum Exhibitions

    KAUST Repository

    Agus, Marco

    2018-01-29

    We analyze use of an interactive system for the exploration of highly detailed three-dimensional (3D) models of a collection of protostoric Mediterranean sculptures. In this system, when the object of interest is selected, its detailed 3D model and associated information are presented at high resolution on a large display controlled by a touch-enabled horizontal surface at a suitable distance. The user interface combines an object-Aware interactive camera controller with an interactive point-ofinterest selector and is implemented within a scalable implementation based on multiresolution structures shared between the rendering and user interaction subsystems. The system was installed in several temporary and permanent exhibitions and was extensively used by tens of thousands of visitors. We provide a data-driven analysis of usage experience based on logs gathered during a 27-month period at four exhibitions in archeological museums for a total of more than 75K exploration sessions. We focus on discerning the main visitor behaviors during 3D exploration by employing tools for deriving interest measures on surfaces and tools for clustering and knowledge discovery from high-dimensional data. The results highlight the main trends in visitor behavior during the interactive sessions. These results provide useful insights for the design of 3D exploration user interfaces in future digital installations.© 2017 ACM 1556-4673/2017/12-ART2 $15.00.

  15. Data-Driven Analysis of Virtual 3D Exploration of a Large Sculpture Collection in Real-World Museum Exhibitions

    KAUST Repository

    Agus, Marco; Marton, Fabio; Bettio, Fabio; Hadwiger, Markus; Gobbetti, Enrico

    2018-01-01

    We analyze use of an interactive system for the exploration of highly detailed three-dimensional (3D) models of a collection of protostoric Mediterranean sculptures. In this system, when the object of interest is selected, its detailed 3D model and associated information are presented at high resolution on a large display controlled by a touch-enabled horizontal surface at a suitable distance. The user interface combines an object-Aware interactive camera controller with an interactive point-ofinterest selector and is implemented within a scalable implementation based on multiresolution structures shared between the rendering and user interaction subsystems. The system was installed in several temporary and permanent exhibitions and was extensively used by tens of thousands of visitors. We provide a data-driven analysis of usage experience based on logs gathered during a 27-month period at four exhibitions in archeological museums for a total of more than 75K exploration sessions. We focus on discerning the main visitor behaviors during 3D exploration by employing tools for deriving interest measures on surfaces and tools for clustering and knowledge discovery from high-dimensional data. The results highlight the main trends in visitor behavior during the interactive sessions. These results provide useful insights for the design of 3D exploration user interfaces in future digital installations.© 2017 ACM 1556-4673/2017/12-ART2 $15.00.

  16. 78 FR 77771 - Culturally Significant Object Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Love and Play: A Pair of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-24

    ... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 8571] Culturally Significant Object Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``Love and Play: A Pair of Paintings by Fragonard-- Toledo Museum of Art and Thyssen-Bornemisza... the exhibition ``Love and Play: A Pair of Paintings by Fragonard--Toledo Museum of Art and Thyssen...

  17. Designing Art Exhibitions in an Educational Virtual World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Julian, June; Crooks, Julian

    2011-01-01

    Demonstrating the multiple features of the Cerulean Gallery in Second Life, this research report showcases several exemplar exhibits created by students, artists, and museums. Located in The Educational Media Center, a Second Life teaching and social space, the Cerulean Gallery exhibits functioned as case studies that tested its effectiveness as…

  18. The communication of heritage: Assessment of the communicative process in museums of Asturias

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Ángel SUÁREZ SUÁREZ

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Communicating of heritage, especially in museums, is a complex process due to certain particularities. Each museum is unique because of the diversity of objects, the discourses generated and the interactions between different audiences. It makes it difficult to build theories which help to understand and improve the communicative process with in the museum context. In this way, from prior studies and through both a direct observation and monitoring of the guided visits, this work shows the analysis of 7 museums from Asturias, focusing on the spatial distribution, the museography and the interventions of the teachers and students. The results show that museums are making an ef-fort to set up multidirectional communication models, doing a coherent design between exhibition spaces, the ob-jects’ museography and the teachers’ explanation. Nevertheless, there are some problems which impede a full con-nection between the school and the museum, which limit the effective communication of the message about herit-age.

  19. Educational tools in the Museum of Rocks and Minerals

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Brito Barreto, S.; Ribeiro Sales, E.; de Lima Correia, A. Maria; Lima, M. Abreu e.; Bretas Bittar, S. Maria

    2012-04-01

    The Museum of Rocks and Minerals is a small museum which belongs to the Department of Geology of the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil. It was founded in the 1950's and its main exhibits are samples of scarns and pegmatites from the Northeast of Brazil, especially from the Borborema Pegmatitic Region. This museum has been visited by a wide variety of people, but mainly students from private and state schools on scheduled visits. Over the years museum staff felt the necessity to develop some mediating tools to develop a relationship between exhibits and visitors. Due to a lack of technical staff and finance to create interactive exhibits as well as space limitations, the museum decided to produce some games such as memory games, puzzles and dominoes. These fifteen games deal with different subjects of geosciences, especially those more interesting for children. The subjects chosen were: minerals, industrial minerals, gems, dimension stones, rock cycle, fossils, dinosaur footprints (Ichnofossils), wood fossils, Mohs scale. The games were created by the authors, and undergraduate students were responsible for researching concepts and images. Each game presents a concept and images related to it. The interns are undergraduate students of geology and mining engineering and this experience gives them an opportunity to review and improve some concepts and discuss what is important such as pedagogical actions in museums and geology teaching. To give an example, the subject of the industry mineral was treated using two games - a memory game and a puzzle. The first one shows images of minerals related each one to an industrial product and in the second, children can see different parts of a house labeled with the minerals used in the production of that space. Another interesting example is the puzzle about dinosaur footprints that uses an image of a dinosaur footprint, part of the paleontological collection of the Departament, and a representative ichnofossil from the

  20. Science comics as tools for science education and communication: a brief, exploratory study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Tatalovic

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Comics are a popular art form especially among children and as such provide a potential medium for science education and communication. In an attempt to present science comics in a museum exhibit I found many science themed comics and graphic books. Here I attempt to provide an overview of already available comics that communicate science, the genre of ‘science comics’. I also provide a quick literature review for evidence that comics can indeed be efficiently used for promoting scientific literacy via education and communication. I address the issue of lack of studies about science comics and their readers and suggest some possible reasons for this as well as some questions that could be addressed in future studies on the effect these comics may have on science communication.

  1. 78 FR 61871 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “focus: Monika Baer” and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-04

    ... Williams College Museum of Art,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States...; the Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA, from on or about February 22, 2014, until on or...

  2. Il Museo Salinas: un case study di social museum … a porte chiuse / The Salinas Museum: a case study of social museums… behind closed doors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisa Bonacini

    2016-06-01

    “Closed for renovation, open by vocation” that is the slogan with which the archaeological museum “Antonino Salinas” in Palermo began to revive its image about a year ago. Closed for four years for the restoration of the architectural complex that houses it, the seventeenth-century Olivella’ s House of the Philippine Fathers, the museum has decided to open up to the public through a strategic mix of cultural and educational activities, exhibitions, advertising visual campaigns on various social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google+, Pinterest and throgh adhesion to social improvement campaigns for museums, from #invasionidigitali to #museumweek. The result, after a year, it is of an unprecedented success and of the creation of a real brand and total renovation of the museum’s reputation.

  3. Vulnerability as a Key Concept in Museum Pedagogy on Difficult Matters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tinning, Katrine

    2018-01-01

    In recent years there has been an increasing interest in museum studies in exhibitions on what is termed Difficult Matters (Silvén and Björklund 2006)--such as rape and mass murder--and how such exhibitions may evoke ethical change. This raises the question about the conditions on which such exhibitions can lead to an ethical change. By developing…

  4. 75 FR 6249 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Fiery Pool: The Maya and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-08

    ... exhibition ``Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within... objects at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, from on or about March 27, 2010, until on or about July 18, 2010; the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX, from on or about August 29, 2010, until on or about...

  5. 77 FR 3320 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Print/Out”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-23

    ... that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York... from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The...

  6. 77 FR 26353 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Lygia Clark”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-03

    ... that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York... in the exhibition ``Lygia Clark,'' within the United States, are of cultural significance. The...

  7. NASA Lunar Sample Education Disk Program - Space Rocks for Classrooms, Museums, Science Centers and Libraries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, J. S.

    2009-12-01

    NASA is eager for students and the public to experience lunar Apollo rocks and regolith soils first hand. Lunar samples embedded in plastic are available for educators to use in their classrooms, museums, science centers, and public libraries for education activities and display. The sample education disks are valuable tools for engaging students in the exploration of the Solar System. Scientific research conducted on the Apollo rocks has revealed the early history of our Earth-Moon system. The rocks help educators make the connections to this ancient history of our planet as well as connections to the basic lunar surface processes - impact and volcanism. With these samples educators in museums, science centers, libraries, and classrooms can help students and the public understand the key questions pursued by missions to Moon. The Office of the Curator at Johnson Space Center is in the process of reorganizing and renewing the Lunar and Meteorite Sample Education Disk Program to increase reach, security and accountability. The new program expands the reach of these exciting extraterrestrial rocks through increased access to training and educator borrowing. One of the expanded opportunities is that trained certified educators from science centers, museums, and libraries may now borrow the extraterrestrial rock samples. Previously the loan program was only open to classroom educators so the expansion will increase the public access to the samples and allow educators to make the critical connections of the rocks to the exciting exploration missions taking place in our solar system. Each Lunar Disk contains three lunar rocks and three regolith soils embedded in Lucite. The anorthosite sample is a part of the magma ocean formed on the surface of Moon in the early melting period, the basalt is part of the extensive lunar mare lava flows, and the breccias sample is an important example of the violent impact history of the Moon. The disks also include two regolith soils and

  8. Communicating Science to Impact Learning? A Phenomenological Inquiry into 4th and 5th Graders' Perceptions of Science Information Sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gelmez Burakgazi, Sevinc; Yildirim, Ali; Weeth Feinstein, Noah

    2016-04-01

    Rooted in science education and science communication studies, this study examines 4th and 5th grade students' perceptions of science information sources (SIS) and their use in communicating science to students. It combines situated learning theory with uses and gratifications theory in a qualitative phenomenological analysis. Data were gathered through classroom observations and interviews in four Turkish elementary schools. Focus group interviews with 47 students and individual interviews with 17 teachers and 10 parents were conducted. Participants identified a wide range of SIS, including TV, magazines, newspapers, internet, peers, teachers, families, science centers/museums, science exhibitions, textbooks, science books, and science camps. Students reported using various SIS in school-based and non-school contexts to satisfy their cognitive, affective, personal, and social integrative needs. SIS were used for science courses, homework/project assignments, examination/test preparations, and individual science-related research. Students assessed SIS in terms of the perceived accessibility of the sources, the quality of the content, and the content presentation. In particular, some sources such as teachers, families, TV, science magazines, textbooks, and science centers/museums ("directive sources") predictably led students to other sources such as teachers, families, internet, and science books ("directed sources"). A small number of sources crossed context boundaries, being useful in both school and out. Results shed light on the connection between science education and science communication in terms of promoting science learning.

  9. An Interactive Exhibition about Animal Skeletons: Did the Visitors Learn Any Zoology?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tunnicliffe, Sue Dale; Laterveer-de Beer, Manon

    2002-01-01

    Explores museum visitors' understanding of skeleton exhibits and whether such exhibits increase their understanding of the zoology displayed. The exhibition under study focused on the diversity of vertebrae skeletons which were arranged according to the mode of locomotion. (DDR)

  10. The internet and contemporary visual culture: balancing aesthetics and politics in museums during the global era

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine Bernier

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This essay looks at the use made by several museums of highly advanced technological and communication tools. An examination of a number of recent media events highlights the important place assigned by museums to new exhibition platforms and techniques, such as virtual exhibitions and extremely high-resolution reproductions. Through an analysis of several recent cases that illustrate how controversies sparked by contemporary artworks are handled, I consider how museums deal with politics and aesthetics in their mediation of artworks in the global era. Particular attention is paid to the Internet presentation of a work by the contemporary artist Chris Ofili entitled No Woman, No Cry , which was selected by Tate Britain to be part of the Google Art Project. A review of several other events dating from 2011 reveals how in the context of the Internet museums pursue the same principles they have long been applying in their exhibition galleries and communications with the public. This essay also casts light on the fundamentally new methods that can be employed by websites in the presentation of images in general and artworks in particular.

  11. Factors Influencing Museum Sustainability and Indicators for Museum Sustainability Measurement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izabela Luiza Pop

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to identify the factors upon which museum sustainability depends and the way in which this can be measured. Methodologically, we applied a qualitative research approach, using semi-structured interviews with experts from the Romanian museum sector, complemented by an in-depth study of the literature in this field. Results indicated that any objective measuring of sustainability must take into account the size of a museum’s collections and its organizational structure. It was also found that museum type can affect sustainability via its competitive advantage. However, the sustainability of a museum is not strictly determined by these factors, but also by the management and marketing strategies applied. Based on analysis of literature- and respondent-based factors influencing sustainability, this article proposes a set of 33 indicators that can be used by museums to measure their sustainability, as well as a model that enables evaluation of the sustainability levels of various museums comparatively, regardless of their type, size or importance (e.g., national, regional and local. The results obtained are useful both from a theoretical point of view, given that there are few writings on this topic, and from a practical point of view, as they provide a basis for a clear, objective model of museum sustainability measurement.

  12. Investigating Iran's Traditional Display Approach In Display Museum Design: A Case Study In Kish Island

    OpenAIRE

    Takhtkeshian, Samaneh; Ghiai, Mohammad Mehdi

    2016-01-01

    Museum reflects thoughts and creativities of human that expresses his content with specific language namely, the real language of thing. Therefore, building a museum should be on the basis of cultural statute and certain regulations such as cultural requirement, religious, historical, tourism value, geographical area, proximity to centers of science and culture are the criteria for its building. Also, human consigns his past and present to the museum to regularly refer to it and t...

  13. Perspectives on learning through research on critical issues-based science center exhibitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedretti, Erminia G.

    2004-07-01

    Recently, science centers have created issues-based exhibitions as a way of communicating socioscientific subject matter to the public. Research in the last decade has investigated how critical issues-based installations promote more robust views of science, while creating effective learning environments for teaching and learning about science. The focus of this paper is to explore research conducted over a 10-year period that informs our understanding of the nature of learning through these experiences. Two specific exhibitions - Mine Games and A Question of Truth - provide the context for discussing this research. Findings suggest that critical issues-based installations challenge visitors in different ways - intellectually and emotionally. They provide experiences beyond usual phenomenon-based exhibitions and carry the potential to enhance learning by personalizing subject matter, evoking emotion, stimulating dialogue and debate, and promoting reflexivity. Critical issues-based exhibitions serve as excellent environments in which to explore the nature of learning in these nonschool settings.

  14. Museums and Philosophy--Of Art, and Many Other Things. Part 2.

    OpenAIRE

    Gaskell, Ivan

    2012-01-01

    This two-part article examines the very limited engagement by philosophers with museums, and proposes analysis under six headings: cultural variety, taxonomy, and epistemology in Part I, and teleology, ethics, and therapeutics and aesthetics in Part II. The article establishes that fundamental categories of museums established in the 19th century – of art, of anthropology, of history, of natural history, of science and technology – still persist. Among them, it distinguishes between hegemonic...

  15. Online Exhibits & Concept Maps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douma, M.

    2009-12-01

    Presenting the complexity of geosciences to the public via the Internet poses a number of challenges. For example, utilizing various - and sometimes redundant - Web 2.0 tools can quickly devour limited time. Do you tweet? Do you write press releases? Do you create an exhibit or concept map? The presentation will provide participants with a context for utilizing Web 2.0 tools by briefly highlighting methods of online scientific communication across several dimensions. It will address issues of: * breadth and depth (e.g. from narrow topics to well-rounded views), * presentation methods (e.g. from text to multimedia, from momentary to enduring), * sources and audiences (e.g. for experts or for the public, content developed by producers to that developed by users), * content display (e.g. from linear to non-linear, from instructive to entertaining), * barriers to entry (e.g. from an incumbent advantage to neophyte accessible, from amateur to professional), * cost and reach (e.g. from cheap to expensive), and * impact (e.g. the amount learned, from anonymity to brand awareness). Against this backdrop, the presentation will provide an overview of two methods of online information dissemination, exhibits and concept maps, using the WebExhibits online museum (www.webexhibits.org) and SpicyNodes information visualization tool (www.spicynodes.org) as examples, with tips on how geoscientists can use either to communicate their science. Richly interactive online exhibits can serve to engage a large audience, appeal to visitors with multiple learning styles, prompt exploration and discovery, and present a topic’s breadth and depth. WebExhibits, which was among the first online museums, delivers interactive information, virtual experiments, and hands-on activities to the public. While large, multidisciplinary exhibits on topics like “Color Vision and Art” or “Calendars Through the Ages” require teams of scholars, user interface experts, professional writers and editors

  16. Museums Connect: Teaching Public History through Transnational Museum Partnerships

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard J. W. Harker

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Museums Connect is a program funded by the US Department of State and administered by the American Alliance of Museums that sponsors transnational museum partnerships. This program provides one model for teaching public history in a transnational context, and this article analyzes the experiences of two university-museums—the Museum of History and Holocaust Education (MHHE in the United States and the Ben M’sik Community Museum (BMCM in Morocco—during two grants between 2009 and 2012. In exploring the impact of the program on the staff, faculty, and students involved and by analyzing the experiences and reflections of participants, I argue that this program can generate positive pedagogical experiences. However, in addition to the successes of the MHHE and BMCM during their two grants, the participants encountered significant power differentials that manifested themselves in both the processes and products of the grants. It is the conclusion of this article that both partners in a public history project need to address and confront potential power issues at the outset in order to achieve a more balanced, collaborative partnership.

  17. 78 FR 8682 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Henri Labrouste...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-06

    ... exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York, from on or... abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are...

  18. 78 FR 62355 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Ileana Sonnabend...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-18

    ... exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York, from on or... abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are...

  19. Comparison of Wearable Optical See-through and Handheld Devices as Platform for an Augmented Reality Museum Guide

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Serubugo, Sule; Skantarova, Denisa; Nielsen, Lasse Kjærsgård

    2017-01-01

    Self-service guides are a common way of providing information about artworks exhibited in museums. Modern advances in handheld mobile applications and wearable optical see-through devices that use augmented reality offer new ways of designing museum guides that are more engaging and interactive...... than traditional self-service guides such as written descriptions or audio guides. In this study we compare wearable (smart glasses) and handheld (smartphone) devices as a platform for an augmented reality museum guide. We have developed a museum guide for both a smartphone and smart glasses that can...... of potentials of these platforms as augmented reality museum guides and suggest promising future work....

  20. 75 FR 66419 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Object of Devotion...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-28

    ... Determinations: ``Object of Devotion: Medieval English Alabaster Sculpture From the Victoria and Albert Museum... Devotion: Medieval English Alabaster Sculpture from the Victoria and Albert Museum,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are...

  1. Museum documentation on museum objects in the context of scientific studies: examples of different storage groups, rarities of rituals and daily life of the Jewish community in Ukraine in 19-20 centuries in the collection of NMHU

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. O. Kutsaeva

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Issues, met by scientists during the process of research on museum documentation (inventory cards, scientific and standardized passports, cards of catalogues on museum objects, related to themes «History of Ukraine in the 20th century» and «Rites and everyday life of the Jewish community in Ukraine in 19-20 centuries», have been studied in the article. Consideration of the abovementioned situations allowed describing the museum documentation as phenomena which has to evolve together with the access to information in the 21st century. It has been emphasized that due to the modernization (transformation of inventory cards into the format of scientific and standardized passports, review of ideological clichés and correction of erroneous information in these documents, additional attribution and (reattribution of exhibits, even better use of museum collections will be provided with minimal time expenditures. Gathering of accurate information about historic attractions will be continued. The accent of the research is the necessity of museum workers’ training (researches and employees of museum funds within the non-formal education by means of museum’s internal resources. The purpose and relevance of the research has been defined by the given thesis. By generalizations of historiography, it has been found that the suggested topic, including awareness of the obsolescence by museum community (extreme ideological stance, emptiness, falsity of certain blocks of museum documentation and the criteria of their systematic and complete replacements have not been subjects of the discussion in the museum field yet. In order to expand the research, the list of required types of museum documentation - inventory cards, scientific and standardized passports, catalogs, descriptions, а systematic card index, has been created. It has been determined that the actual museum legislation never uses the word «revision» and uses the word «correction» only in

  2. 75 FR 22172 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Vatican Splendors”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-27

    ... ``Vatican Splendors,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of... Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri, from on or about May 15, 2010, until on or about September 12, 2010, the... about January 9, 2011, the Museum of Art, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from...

  3. Examining the Complexities of School-Museum Partnerships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Preeti; Adams, Jennifer; Kisiel, James; Dewitt, Jennifer

    2010-01-01

    We examine the research conducted by Kang, Anderson and Wu by discussing it in a larger context of science museum-school partnerships. We review how the disconnect that exists between stakeholders, the historical and cultural contexts in which formal and informal institutions are situated, and ideas of globalization, mediate the success for…

  4. Museums as spaces and times for learning and social participation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    César M.

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available A museum is valued according to its collections, communication and knowledge exchange with visitors (Primo, 1999. Museums should be in dialogue with the public, contributing to their development (Skramstad, 2004 and collective memory (Wertsch, 2004. Social interactions and working in participants’ zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1934/1962 play an important role in non-formal learning opportunities that take place at museums. The National Museum of Natural History and Science (Lisbon University offers weekly holiday programmes for children and teenagers, aiming at developing scientific literacy in intercultural and inclusive spaces and times, facilitating knowledge appropriation and social participation. We studied these programmes, assuming an interpretive approach (Denzin, 2002 and developing an intrinsic case study (Stake, 1995. The main participants were these children and teenagers, their parents, and museum educational agents. Data collecting instruments included observation, interviews, questionnaires, children and teenagers’ protocols and tasks inspired in projective techniques. Data treatment and analysis was based on a narrative content analysis (Clandinin & Connelly, 1998 from which inductive categories emerged (Hamido & César, 2009. Some examples illuminate participants’ expectancies, their engagement in activities, and the contributions of social interactions and non-formal education to the development of scientific literacy.

  5. An experimental study of a museum-based, science PD programme's impact on teachers and their students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aaron Price, C.; Chiu, A.

    2018-06-01

    We present results of an experimental study of an urban, museum-based science teacher PD programme. A total of 125 teachers and 1676 of their students in grades 4-8 were tested at the beginning and end of the school year in which the PD programme took place. Teachers and students were assessed on subject content knowledge and attitudes towards science, along with teacher classroom behaviour. Subject content questions were mostly taken from standardised state tests and literature, with an 'Explain:' prompt added to some items. Teachers in the treatment group showed a 7% gain in subject content knowledge over the control group. Students of teachers in the treatment group showed a 4% gain in subject content knowledge over the control group on multiple-choice items and an 11% gain on the constructed response items. There was no overall change in science attitudes of teachers or students over the control groups but we did find differences in teachers' reported self-efficacy and teaching anxiety levels, plus PD teachers reported doing more student-centered science teaching activities than the control group. All teachers came into the PD with high initial excitement, perhaps reflecting its context within an informal learning environment.

  6. Archeovirtual 2011: An evaluation approach to virtual museums

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pescarin, S.; Pagano, A.; Wallergård, M.; Hupperetz, W.; Ray, C.; Guidi, G.; Addison, A.C.

    2012-01-01

    November 2011 saw the opening of the exhibition "Archeovirtual" organized by CNR ITABC - Virtual Heritage Lab - and V-MusT Network of Excellence, in Paestum, Italy, under the general direction of BMTA1. The event, that was part of a wider European project focus on virtual museums, turned to be a

  7. Musei del migration heritage / Migration heritage museums

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrizia Dragoni

    2015-01-01

    Since the second half of the 1960s of the 20th century, a profound cultural innovation was accompanied to the radical change in the social, political and economic climate. The anthropological notion of culture as opposed to idealistic vision, the unusual and strong interest in material culture, the enunciation of the concept of cultural property by the Franceschini Commission, the luck of the Public History bring a change of the disciplinary statutes of historical sciences, which begin to attend to social history, focusing on the spontaneous sources of information and initiating experiences of oral history. To all this a remarkable transformation of the themes and of the social function of museums is added. This paper illustrates, in relation to this more general context, the foundation and the dissemination of museums dedicated to the history of migration in Italy and in the world, enunciates their possible social utility for the integration of present migrants in Italy and illustrates, by way of example, the museum recently opened in Recanati.

  8. Keien van helden. De maanstenen van Museum Boerhaave

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ad Maas

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Rocks of Heroes. The Moon Rocks of Museum Boerhaave After both the first successful manned moon landing in 1969 (Apollo 11 and the last one in 1972 (Apollo 17 the United States authorities donated small samples of moon rocks to the heads of state of other countries. However, not all of these samples were kept in a careful manner; quite a few even disappeared. I argue that this can partly be explained through cultural differences and misunderstandings between the United States and other countries about the nature and recognition of heroic achievements. This article's point of departure is the fate of the samples that were given to the then Dutch head of state, Queen Juliana. In turn, she donated these to the Dutch National Museum for the History of Science and Medicine (now: Museum Boerhaave, where they have been held in storage ever since, instead of being put on display.

  9. DEVELOPMENT OF A VIRTUAL MUSEUM INCLUDING A 4D PRESENTATION OF BUILDING HISTORY IN VIRTUAL REALITY

    OpenAIRE

    T. P. Kersten; F. Tschirschwitz; S. Deggim

    2017-01-01

    In the last two decades the definition of the term “virtual museum” changed due to rapid technological developments. Using today’s available 3D technologies a virtual museum is no longer just a presentation of collections on the Internet or a virtual tour of an exhibition using panoramic photography. On one hand, a virtual museum should enhance a museum visitor's experience by providing access to additional materials for review and knowledge deepening either before or after the real ...

  10. The Bomb in the Museum: Nuclear Technology and the Human Element

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robin Gerster

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available This article examines the commemorative role played by museums of nuclear technology in the United States, particularly those supported by the government agency responsible for the nation’s nuclear weapons and reactor programs, the Department of Energy. The management of public perceptions of America’s nuclear history in these museums reflects national defence and security imperatives in the post 9/11 era. The legacy of American nuclearism is complex and contradictory, and presents a daunting challenge to curators in museums sanctioned by vested interests. The many beneficial civilian applications of nuclear technology have be balanced by the recognition of the dire destructiveness of nuclear weapons; the compulsion to celebrate American technological achievement has to be checked by the acknowledgement of the damage wrought by the military use of nuclear energy both at home and abroad. A comparison with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum suggests that nuclear ‘victory’ is more problematic to exhibit than nuclear victimhood.

  11. 78 FR 51802 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Silla: Korea's Golden...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-21

    ... Golden Kingdom,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural... determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York...

  12. Life, the universe, and everything: an education outreach proposal to build a traveling astrobiology exhibit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barge, Laura M; Pulschen, André A; Emygdio, Ana Paula Mendes; Congreve, Curtis; Kishimoto, Darío E; Bendia, Amanda G; de Morais M Teles, Antonio; DeMarines, Julia; Stoupin, Daniel

    2013-03-01

    Astrobiology is a transdisciplinary field with extraordinary potential for the scientific community. As such, it is important to educate the community at large about the growing importance of this field to increase awareness and scientific content learning and expose potential future scientists. To this end, we propose the creation of a traveling museum exhibit that focuses exclusively on astrobiology and utilizes modern museum exhibit technology and design. This exhibit (the "Astrobiology Road Show"), organized and evaluated by an international group of astrobiology students and postdocs, is planned to tour throughout the Americas.

  13. Mobile drama in an instrumented museum: inducing group conversation via coordinated narratives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callaway, Charles; Stock, Oliviero; Dekoven, Elyon; Noy, Kinneret; Citron, Yael; Dobrin, Yael

    2012-03-01

    Museum visits can be more enjoyable to small groups if they can be both social and educational experiences. One very rewarding aspect of a visit, especially those involving small groups such as families, is the unmediated group discussion that can ensue during a shared cultural experience. We present a situated, mobile museum system that delivers an hour-long drama to museum visitors. It perceives and analyzes group behavior, uses the result to dynamically deliver coordinated dramatic narrative presentations about the nearby museum exhibit, with the expected result of stimulating group discussion. To accomplish this, our drama-based presentations contain small, complementary differences in the content delivered to each participant, leveraging the narrative tension/release cycle of drama to naturally lead visitors to fill in missing pieces by interacting with friends, thus initiating a conversation. We present two evaluations for these story variations, one in a closed, non-mobile environment, and the other a formative evaluation to gauge how well the methodology used in the non-mobile evaluation performs in evaluating the fully implemented system in a real museum environment.

  14. THE IMPACT OF PROMOTION IN CREATIVE INDUSTRIES – THE CASE OF MUSEUM ATTENDANCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iva Buljubašić

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In times of crises, some cultural institutions in Croatia have experienced difficulties attracting an audience, which drove them to try out creative and unconventional forms of promotion. Promotion is one of the most popular, widespread and influential parts of marketing. Promotion is also of major importance for a cultural institution because of its ability to attract a large number of visitors. Setting out from this starting point, this paper focused on conventional and unconventional forms of promotion in museums as a part of the creative industries. Creative industries are gaining importance nowadays, and museums as a part of the visual arts sector of the creative industries are gaining popularity thanks to the promotion efforts. With this in mind, a survey was carried out among the visitors of the Museum of Fine Arts in Osijek during Julije Knifer's retrospective exhibition “Uncompromising” in March and April 2015. Participants were given a questionnaire consisting of closed-ended questions about conventional and unconventional forms of promotion and their impact on visitors. The authors participated in the organization of promotional activities for the exhibition and employed certain conventional and unconventional forms of promotion to get an idea of their impact on museum attendance (or lack thereof. The results demonstrated that the promotional activities had a positive impact on museum attendance, and unconventional forms of promotion had a greater impact than the conventional ones.

  15. A new way of telling earthquake stories: MOBEE - the MOBile Earthquake Exhibition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tataru, Dragos; Toma-Danila, Dragos; Nastase, Eduard

    2016-04-01

    In the last decades, the demand and acknowledged importance of science outreach, in general and geophysics in particular, has grown, as demonstrated by many international and national projects and other activities performed by research institutes. The National Institute for Earth Physics (NIEP) from Romania is the leading national institution on earthquake monitoring and research, having at the same time a declared focus on informing and educating a wide audience about geosciences and especially seismology. This is more than welcome, since Romania is a very active country from a seismological point of view, but not too reactive when it comes to diminishing the possible effect of a major earthquake. Over the last few decades, the country has experienced several major earthquakes which have claimed thousands of lives and millions in property damage (1940; 1977; 1986 and 1990 Vrancea earthquakes). In this context, during a partnership started in 2014 together with the National Art University and Siveco IT company, a group of researchers from NIEP initiated the MOBile Earthquake Exhibition (MOBEE) project. The main goal was to design a portable museum to bring on the road educational activities focused on seismology, seismic hazard and Earth science. The exhibition is mainly focused on school students of all ages as it explains the main topics of geophysics through a unique combination of posters, digital animations and apps, large markets and exciting hand-on experiments, 3D printed models and posters. This project is singular in Romania and aims to transmit properly reviewed actual information, regarding the definition of earthquakes, the way natural hazards can affect people, buildings and the environment and the measures to be taken for prevent an aftermath. Many of the presented concepts can be used by teachers as a complementary way of demonstrating physics facts and concepts and explaining processes that shape the dynamic Earth features. It also involves

  16. 76 FR 42158 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Lyonel Feininger...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-18

    ... ``Lyonel Feininger: Photographs: 1928- 1939,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the... objects at The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, from on or about October 25, 2011, until on or about March 11, 2012; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA, from on or about March 30, 2012, until on or about...

  17. Asian Martial Art Exhibitions at the Swiss Castle of Morges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolae Gothard Bialokur

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available This article reports on two unique cultural exhibitions (2005 and 2007 held in Morges, Switzerland. The main theme for these exhibitions was Asian martial arts with a focus on those from Japan, including presentations by notable masters in aikido, karate, judo, kyudo, iaido, kenjutsu, jodo, juttejutsu, kusarigamajutsu, naginatajutsu, tameshigiri, and kendo. On exhibit were artifacts from Morges Castle museum collections as well as numerous ancient objects borrowed specifically for these exhibitions from other Swiss museums and private collections. There was also a lecture on Japanese sword collecting and care, and presentations of Japanese dance, flower arranging (ikebana, the art of tea (châ no yu, châdo, paper folding (origami, traditional kimono dress, and detailed demonstrations on the manufacture of bladed weapons. Text and photography were arranged to record these events for this article, showing how excellent organization and cooperation can introduce high-quality martial traditions to the public.

  18. Looking from above: saying and doing in the history museums of Latin America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marisa González de Oleaga

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available What functions might the history museum fulfill in the twenty-first century? How could this powerful ideological device, so closely linked in its origins to the nation-state and neo-colonial expansion, be changed into an instrument of multicultural citizenship? In some Latin American museums, new historical subjects and audio-visual media have been incorporated into the exhibits. But, is that enough? We do not believe so, because things are said in a museum, but things are also done while speaking: reality is ordered, evaluated and hierarchized, so that a certain way of conceiving and being in the world is conveyed. Therefore, making the museum suitable to the new needs of the community demands changes not only in what is said, but also in the way it is said. It serves little to incorporate new social subjects (the native peoples of Latin America, for example if this inclusion results from a pejorative conception of these communities, which is just what happens in the Museum of America in Madrid, where the Spanish appear as masters of the word while the indigenous people are represented by ceramic vessels. If, in the accounts of the museums, the part continues to be taken for the whole by essentializing and naturalizing the difference, then those other social subjects must appear to be merely a historical afterthought. It seems to us that the performative dimension of the discourse in the museum is a very important aspect at the moment its function in the new global society is evaluated. We propose two objectives for new museums: serving the purposes of multicultural coexistence, and being spaces where the subjects may examine their social situation. In order to do this, we have analyzed the setup of three museums: a colonial museum (the Museum of America in Madrid, a national museum (the National Historical Museum in Buenos Aires, and an ethnic museum (the Mennonite Jacob Unger Museum in the Paraguayan Chaco.

  19. Can Virtual Museums Motivate Students? Toward a Constructivist Learning Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katz, James E.; Halpern, Daniel

    2015-12-01

    This study aims to assess the effectiveness of immersive environments that have been implemented by museums to attract new visitors. Based on the frameworks introduced by telepresence and media richness theories, and following a constructivist-based learning approach, we argue that the greater the similarity of an online museum experience is to its physical counterpart, the more positive will be the observer's perception of the collection. We reason that the similarity would lead online visitors to develop greater cognitive involvement which in turn will produce more positive attitudes toward the collection. In support of this argument, we present the results of a comparative study in which 565 participants were exposed randomly to four different exhibitions: two-dimensional collections of art and aircraft museums and three-dimensional tours of similar museums. Results indicate that whereas 3D tours have a strong effect on users' intentions to visit the real museum, cognitive involvement and sense of presence mediate the association between these variables. In terms of managerial implications, our study shows that if educational professionals want to stimulate their students to visit museums, 3D tours appear to be more effective for engaging learners through a realistic-looking environment. By offering richer perceptual cues and multimodal feedback (e.g., users can view 3D objects from multiple viewpoints or zoom in/out the objects), the study suggests that participants may increase their reasoning process and become more interested in cultural content.

  20. Turning energy around: an interactive exhibition experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah Kellberg

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available A transition from the fossil-fuel driven to a sustainable energy system is an enormous global challenge: climate change and finite resources require countries all over the world to change their way of producing, transporting and using energy. The Energiewende (energy transition will require major changes in the current energy supply system in Germany – but also worldwide. These changes will not only affect the technical sector but will also include ecological questions, social issues and political matters. Whether any transition is going to favour large scale solutions or decentralised technologies depends on local situations and global interconnections, and above all on a democratic process. Hence energy transition succeeds or fails with the acceptance and participation of society. To deal with this overwhelmingly complex topic and its multi-layered dependencies, the Deutsches Museum has designed an exhibition providing visitors with background knowledge about the necessities and challenges of energy transition, unpicking the links between the different technical, economic and social challenges. The exhibition accomplishes the task with an engaging and facilitating approach while taking into account the highly emotive aspects of energy transition as a societal issue. This paper presents the concept of the travelling exhibition energie.wenden, relating it to the Deutsches Museum´s tradition of exhibitions as well as to the challenge of how to deal with socio-scientific topics in scientific exhibitions.

  1. Historical empathy in a museum : Uniting contextualisation and emotional engagement

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Savenije, G.M.; de Bruijn, P.

    2017-01-01

    Museums, memorial centres and other heritage institutions use various strategies to evoke an emotional response that serves to elicit empathy with the historical events and actors that are portrayed in exhibitions. To increase historical understanding, however, both emotional engagement with and

  2. Using earthquakes to uncover the Earth's inner secrets: interactive exhibits for geophysical education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Nostro

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The Educational & Outreach Group (E&O Group of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV designed a portable museum to bring on the road educational activities focused on seismology, seismic hazard and Earth science. This project was developed for the first edition of the Science Festival organized in Genoa, Italy, in 2003. The museum has been mainly focused to school students of all ages and explains the main topics of geophysics through posters, movie and slide presentations, and exciting interactive experiments. This new INGV museum has been remarkably successful, being visited by more than 8000 children and adults during the 10 days of the Science Festival. It is now installed at the INGV headquarters in Rome and represents the main attraction during the visits of the schools all year round.

  3. 78 FR 32000 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Before and After the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-28

    ... Lakes,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural... also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the National Museum of the...

  4. 75 FR 51518 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Picasso: Masterpieces...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-20

    ...[eacute]e National Picasso,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are... Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA, from on or about October 8, 2010, until on or about January 17, 2011; at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, from on or about February 19, 2011, until on or about...

  5. Lunar and Meteorite Sample Education Disk Program - Space Rocks for Classrooms, Museums, Science Centers, and Libraries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Jaclyn; Luckey, M.; McInturff, B.; Huynh, P.; Tobola, K.; Loftin, L.

    2010-01-01

    NASA is eager for students and the public to experience lunar Apollo samples and meteorites first hand. Lunar rocks and soil, embedded in Lucite disks, are available for educators to use in their classrooms, museums, science centers, and public libraries for education activities and display. The sample education disks are valuable tools for engaging students in the exploration of the Solar System. Scientific research conducted on the Apollo rocks reveals the early history of our Earth-Moon system and meteorites reveal much of the history of the early solar system. The rocks help educators make the connections to this ancient history of our planet and solar system and the basic processes accretion, differentiation, impact and volcanism. With these samples, educators in museums, science centers, libraries, and classrooms can help students and the public understand the key questions pursued by many NASA planetary missions. The Office of the Curator at Johnson Space Center is in the process of reorganizing and renewing the Lunar and Meteorite Sample Education Disk Program to increase reach, security and accountability. The new program expands the reach of these exciting extraterrestrial rocks through increased access to training and educator borrowing. One of the expanded opportunities is that trained certified educators from science centers, museums, and libraries may now borrow the extraterrestrial rock samples. Previously the loan program was only open to classroom educators so the expansion will increase the public access to the samples and allow educators to make the critical connections to the exciting exploration missions taking place in our solar system. Each Lunar Disk contains three lunar rocks and three regolith soils embedded in Lucite. The anorthosite sample is a part of the magma ocean formed on the surface of Moon in the early melting period, the basalt is part of the extensive lunar mare lava flows, and the breccias sample is an important example of the

  6. The Science, Engineering and Technology Career Library Corner. Final report, February 1, 1995--January 31, 1996

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cole, P.R.

    1996-03-01

    A grant was made to install and pilot-test the Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Career Library Corner at the New York Hall of Science. The SET Career Library Corner is located in a multi-media library setting where visitors can explore careers in a quiet, uninterrupted environment, in contrast to the original installation designed as a museum floor exhibit.

  7. Frames as visual links between paintings and the museum environment: An analysis of statistical image properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christoph eRedies

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Frames provide a visual link between artworks and their surround. We asked how image properties change as an observer zooms out from viewing a painting alone, to viewing the painting with its frame and, finally, the framed painting in its museum environment (museum scene. To address this question, we determined three higher-order image properties that are based on histograms of oriented luminance gradients. First, complexity was measured as the sum of the strengths of all gradients in the image. Second, we determined the self-similarity of histograms of the orientated gradients at different levels of spatial analysis. Third, we analyzed how much gradient strength varied across orientations (anisotropy. Results were obtained for three art museums that exhibited paintings from three major periods of Western art. In all three museums, the mean complexity of the frames was higher than that of the paintings or the museum scenes. Frames thus provide a barrier of complexity between the paintings and their exterior. By contrast, self-similarity and anisotropy values of images of framed paintings were intermediate between the images of the paintings and the museum scenes, i.e., the frames provided a transition between the paintings and their surround. We also observed differences between the three museums that may reflect modified frame usage in different art periods. For example, frames in the museum for 20th century art tended to be smaller and less complex than in the two other two museums that exhibit paintings from earlier art periods (13th-18th century and 19th century, respectively. Finally, we found that the three properties did not depend on the type of reproduction of the paintings (photographs in museums, scans from books or images from the Google Art Project. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the relation between frames and paintings by measuring physically defined, higher-order image properties.

  8. Self-Regulated Learning in the Museum: Understanding the Relationship of Visitor's Goals, Learning Strategies, and Appraisals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Ji; Urhahne, Detlef

    2017-01-01

    Self-regulated learning (SRL) in the museum was explored by 2 investigations. The first one investigated 233 visitors on their goals and intended learning strategies by questionnaire before they visited the science museum. Results indicated visitors' learning goals can predict their intended deep-learning strategy. Moreover, visitors can be…

  9. 76 FR 12786 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Poetry in Clay: Korean...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-08

    ... Determinations: ``Poetry in Clay: Korean Buncheong Ceramics from the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art'' SUMMARY... in Clay: Korean Buncheong Ceramics from the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are imported...

  10. An Astrobiology Microbes Exhibit and Education Module

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindstrom, Marilyn M.; Allen, Jaclyn S.; Stocco, Karen; Tobola, Kay; Olendzenski, Lorraine

    2001-01-01

    Telling the story of NASA-sponsored scientific research to the public in exhibits is best done by partnerships of scientists and museum professionals. Likewise, preparing classroom activities and training teachers to use them should be done by teams of teachers and scientists. Here we describe how we used such partnerships to develop a new astrobiology augmentation to the Microbes! traveling exhibit and a companion education module. "Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract."

  11. [Engineering education reform plan created by Prof. Dr. Shimizu and establishment of Nagoya Municipal Science Museum--regarding cooperative education between universities and industries in Japan after the Second World War].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mabuchi, Koichi

    2014-07-01

    This paper gives an account of Prof. Dr. Kinji Shimizu, the first president of Nagoya Institute of Technology, and his establishment of Nagoya Municipal Science Museum. After graduating from the Electrical Engineering Department of Kyoto Imperial University in 1923, Shimizu was impressed by the German Museum in Munich during his stay there as a student in 1932. It's the first time that he learned the education in cooperation with industries. Just after the Second World War, he became director general of the Ministry of Education. However, new education system given by the United States focused not on developing practical ability but on gaining the basic knowledge, which is contrary to what he expected. Then, he contributed to the establishment of the Japanese Society for Engineering Education, besides working as the president of Nagoya Institute of Technology in the earlier 1950s. His idea was supported by industries for the economic growth. Throughout his career, Prof. Dr. Shimizu was convinced that practical engineering education would benefit Japan, and wanted to introduce cooperative education between universities and industries, along the lines of the same system in Germany and the United States. With this vision he founded Nagoya Municipal Science Museum in cooperation with local industries and local government as his final achievement. The museum was completed in 1964.

  12. The soul-sucking wasp by popular acclaim--museum visitor participation in biodiversity discovery and taxonomy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Ohl

    Full Text Available Taxonomy, the science of describing and naming of the living world, is recognized as an important and relevant field in modern biological science. While there is wide agreement on the importance of a complete inventory of all organisms on Earth, the public is partly unaware of the amount of known and unknown biodiversity. Out of the enormous number of undescribed (but already recognized species in natural history museum collections, we selected an attractive example of a wasp, which was presented to museum visitors at a special museum event. We asked 300 visitors to vote on a name for the new species and out of four preselected options, Ampulex dementor Ohl n. sp. was selected. The name, derived from the 'soul sucking' dementors from the popular Harry Potter books is an allusion to the wasps' behavior to selectively paralyze its cockroach prey. In this example, public voting on a scientific name has been shown to be an appropriate way to link museum visitors emotionally to biodiversity and its discovery.

  13. The soul-sucking wasp by popular acclaim--museum visitor participation in biodiversity discovery and taxonomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohl, Michael; Lohrmann, Volker; Breitkreuz, Laura; Kirschey, Lukas; Krause, Stefanie

    2014-01-01

    Taxonomy, the science of describing and naming of the living world, is recognized as an important and relevant field in modern biological science. While there is wide agreement on the importance of a complete inventory of all organisms on Earth, the public is partly unaware of the amount of known and unknown biodiversity. Out of the enormous number of undescribed (but already recognized) species in natural history museum collections, we selected an attractive example of a wasp, which was presented to museum visitors at a special museum event. We asked 300 visitors to vote on a name for the new species and out of four preselected options, Ampulex dementor Ohl n. sp. was selected. The name, derived from the 'soul sucking' dementors from the popular Harry Potter books is an allusion to the wasps' behavior to selectively paralyze its cockroach prey. In this example, public voting on a scientific name has been shown to be an appropriate way to link museum visitors emotionally to biodiversity and its discovery.

  14. MUSEUMS, MARKETING, TOURISM AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT. THE BRITISH MUSEUM – A SUCCESSFUL MODEL FOR ROMANIAN MUSEUMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Răzvan-Andrei CORBOS

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The continuous growth of cultural influence upon the modern societycombined with the increasing role of tourism in the economic life of cities, ledto the development of the “emblem museums”. The “emblem museum”usually becomes a touristic attraction objective that must be visited bytourists from a city, and by taking the decision of prolonging their staying inthat city, the tourists will increase the amount of money they spend in thatlocation. The “emblem museums” represent a way to develop urban tourism,gain competitive advantage and attract new sources of income for the city`seconomy. A recent study showed that 3 out of 10 tourists visited London forits museums. One of them is the British Museum, which, in 2010 was on the2nd place in the top10 world`s most visited museums. This study aims topresent the British Museum from the mix marketing perspective, from thevisitor’s point of view, and to present some of the good practices this giant isusing to attract more visitors and to maintain its competitive advantage,practices which may be used by Romanian museums in order to increase thevisitors number and to obtain a better position in the economy life ofRomanian cities.

  15. 75 FR 47338 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition; Determinations: “The Emperor's Private...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-05

    ..., Treasures from the Forbidden City,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States... Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, from on or about September 14, 2010, until on or about January 9, 2011, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, from on or about February 3, 2011...

  16. 75 FR 53013 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Treasures of Heaven...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-30

    ..., Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the... objects at The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, from on or about October 17, 2010, until on or about January 17, 2011; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, from on or about February 13, 2011, until...

  17. Editorial Notes: Exhibition Complex: Displaying People, Identity, and Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy Cymbala

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Editorial Notes on section relating to submissions from the symposium Exhibition Complex: Displaying People, Identity, and Culture held October 18-20, 2012 at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

  18. The attitude of museums to socialism in the period of bulgarian transition to democracy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ignatova, A.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The museum stands for a social and cultural testimonial depositof history, which is greatly influenced by the State policy of the country. During communism, throughout many countries of Eastern Europe, museums played an ideological part, enforcing the Marxist-Leninist dogma and the socialist lifestyle into the people’s minds. Nowadays, Bulgaria does not possess a socialism-profiled museum; however there are institutions,museums and temporary exhibitions, both State-owned and private, which display communist artifacts. The article herein sets off to describe them both in a few words and resorting to a few pictures. It also aims at emphasizingtheir role, which is to analytically and critically point to the past ideologies and events, to the past culture and civilization, in order to synthesize and build a glorious future.

  19. Exhibits Recognition System for Combining Online Services and Offline Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, He; Liu, Jianbo; Zhang, Yuan; Wu, Xiaoyu

    2017-10-01

    In order to achieve a more convenient and accurate digital museum navigation, we have developed a real-time and online-to-offline museum exhibits recognition system using image recognition method based on deep learning. In this paper, the client and server of the system are separated and connected through the HTTP. Firstly, by using the client app in the Android mobile phone, the user can take pictures and upload them to the server. Secondly, the features of the picture are extracted using the deep learning network in the server. With the help of the features, the pictures user uploaded are classified with a well-trained SVM. Finally, the classification results are sent to the client and the detailed exhibition’s introduction corresponding to the classification results are shown in the client app. Experimental results demonstrate that the recognition accuracy is close to 100% and the computing time from the image uploading to the exhibit information show is less than 1S. By means of exhibition image recognition algorithm, our implemented exhibits recognition system can combine online detailed exhibition information to the user in the offline exhibition hall so as to achieve better digital navigation.

  20. Institutional comunication and cultural marketing: Peculiarities in museum communication within the framework of public relations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camelia BURGHELE

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Cultural management theoreticians believe that the main target of museum communication is gaining knowledge on specific messages by as large a number of people as possible. Museum public relation practice – intensified and upgraded at the same time with the revolution of the new communication technologies – is both science and art which analyse certain tendences (in attitude, taste and informal of anticipating their consequences for implementing certain museum offer programs to appeal to the public.As an institution with a decisive role in guarding cultural heritage and in outlining cultural identity – as it keeps the necessary instruments for this, the specialists and also the motivation through its own purposes – the museum in its dynamic, modern, enhanced shape must provide an attractive cultural product to the public, based on a anthropological approach to cultural fact.Modern museum-ology is built upon the concept that museum is a story and modern museums stimulate to a high degree participative learning, generated by a productive dialogue.

  1. Perception Modelling of Visitors in Vargas Museum Using Agent-Based Simulation and Visibility Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carcellar, B. G., III

    2017-10-01

    Museum exhibit management is one of the usual undertakings of museum facilitators. Art works must be strategically placed to achieve maximum viewing from the visitors. The positioning of the artworks also highly influences the quality of experience of the visitors. One solution in such problems is to utilize GIS and Agent-Based Modelling (ABM). In ABM, persistent interacting objects are modelled as agents. These agents are given attributes and behaviors that describe their properties as well as their motion. In this study, ABM approach that incorporates GIS is utilized to perform analyticcal assessment on the placement of the artworks in the Vargas Museum. GIS serves as the backbone for the spatial aspect of the simulation such as the placement of the artwork exhibits, as well as possible obstructions to perception such as the columns, walls, and panel boards. Visibility Analysis is also done to the model in GIS to assess the overall visibility of the artworks. The ABM is done using the initial GIS outputs and GAMA, an open source ABM software. Visitors are modelled as agents, moving inside the museum following a specific decision tree. The simulation is done in three use cases: the 10 %, 20 %, and 30 % chance of having a visitor in the next minute. For the case of the said museum, the 10 % chance is determined to be the closest simulation case to the actual and the recommended minimum time to achieve a maximum artwork perception is 1 hour and 40 minutes. Initial assessment of the results shows that even after 3 hours of simulation, small parts of the exhibit show lack of viewers, due to its distance from the entrance. A more detailed decision tree for the visitor agents can be incorporated to have a more realistic simulation.

  2. Preserving Precious Instruments in Mathematics History: The Educational Museum of Teachers College and David Eugene Smith's Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Diane R.

    2011-01-01

    A history is given of the Educational Museum of Teachers College, which began in 1886, and David Eugene Smith's extensive collection of mathematical tools used in the Museum's exhibits is discussed. Historic mathematical instruments including, the astrolabe, abacus and counting rods, and the slide rule are examined. The author uses digitized…

  3. ‘The house’ as a framing device for public engagement in STEM museums

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Whiteley, Louise Emma; Stenslund, Anette; Arnold, Ken

    2017-01-01

    In the last five to ten years, several science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM) museums have been experimenting with new forms of public engagement, aiming to be places for curiosity-driven investigation of the cultures of science via multiple perspectives, bringing artists, scientists...

  4. Museum education today: creative synergies and pedagogic innovations in multicultural contexts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anastasia Filippoupoliti

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Museums as mere repositories for cultural artefacts have long disappeared giving their place to museums as active institutions that prioritize engagement with a diverse range of communities. In today’s multicultural landscape1 that refers, reflects and at the same time adapts to diverse cultures, it is true that there is a growing international growing international recognition of the importance of ethnic diversity2 and a constant demand for museums to update their profile as social and learning settings (Ang 2005. Increasing emphasis has been put by museums, nowadays, on interacting with a variety of multicultural audiences, not only visitors and education programs’ participants, but also educators and teachers, via a wealth of education programmes (Acuff and Evans 2014. Also, several examples of museum exhibitions, mostly temporary, set out to narrate and share the stories of various social and ethnic groups. Museum education offers theoretical insights and practical means to engage visitors, trigger aesthetic and cultural sensitivities, exercise creativity and imagination, increase tolerance, reduce prejudices (Sleeter and Grant 1988, after Chin 2013, display historical empathy (Skolnick et al. 2004, as well as respect for all, promote equity and justice, in order to address challenges of cultural dialogue, social inclusion, and new models of cultural identity (Innocenti 2014, p. 2. Museums need to adapt to a diversifying and multicultural society and shall offer accessibility to inclusive, comprehensive and creative educational experiences that embrace and foster cultural diversity, and provide to everyone the ability to live and participate equally in a pluralistic society.

  5. Virtual Museums as Educational Tool

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2007-01-01

    Virtual Museums as Educational Tool On this web site you will find a collection of resources on virtual museums. The web site is meant to be a knowledge base for people with interest in museums, virtuality and education, and how virtual museums may contribute to adult education and lifelong...

  6. 76 FR 44977 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “De Kooning: A Retrospective”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-27

    ... determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, New... Retrospective,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural...

  7. 77 FR 75489 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Projects 99: Meiro Koizumi”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-20

    ... also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at The Museum of Modern Art in New...: Meiro Koizumi,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural...

  8. Museums and Their Functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osborne, Harold

    1985-01-01

    Historical background concerning the nature and function of museums is provided, and the aesthetic functions of museums are discussed. The first major aesthetic function of museums is to preserve the artistic heritage of mankind and to make it widely available. The second major function is patronage. (RM)

  9. Orientalist Imaginations and Touristification of Museums

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ooi, Can-Seng

    2005-01-01

    This paper draws inspiration from Edward Said's orientalism, and examines how the three National Museums of Singapore - the Singapore History Museum, the Singapore Art Museum and the Asian Civilizations Museums - are orientalized. The process is mediated through the museums' close links to touris...

  10. The urge to exhibit: the Egyptian and Etruscan Museums in the Vatican at the dawn of a nationalist era in Europe (1815-1840)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoijtink, M.

    2008-01-01

    The Musei Gregoriano Etrusco and Egizio in the Vatican were opened in the 1830s. The auctor intellectualis of these museums was Pius VII and the conceptualisation can be attributed to Antonio Canova who foresaw the Vatican collections as a future ‘Museum of the World’. The author compares these and

  11. 78 FR 61981 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Anders Zorn: Sweden's...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-08

    ... ``Anders Zorn: Sweden's Master Painter,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United... Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, from on or about November 9, 2013, until on or about February 2, 2014; the National Academy Museum, New York, NY, from on or about February 27, 2014, until on...

  12. 75 FR 82128 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “The Orient Expressed...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-29

    ... Influence on Western Art, 1854-1918,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United... the Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Mississippi, from on or about February 19, 2011, until on or about July 17, 2011, the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas, from on or about October 5, 2011, until...

  13. 76 FR 18292 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “The Steins Collect...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-01

    ... the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA, from on or about May 21, 2011, until on or about September 6, 2011, and the temporary display of six of the objects at The Metropolitan Museum of..., and the Parisian Avant-Garde'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States...

  14. Non-destructive analysis of museum objects by fibre-optic Raman spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandenabeele, Peter; Tate, Jim; Moens, Luc

    2007-02-01

    Raman spectroscopy is a versatile technique that has frequently been applied for the investigation of art objects. By using mobile Raman instrumentation it is possible to investigate the artworks without the need for sampling. This work evaluates the use of a dedicated mobile spectrometer for the investigation of a range of museum objects in museums in Scotland, including antique Egyptian sarcophagi, a panel painting, painted surfaces on paper and textile, and the painted lid and soundboard of an early keyboard instrument. The investigations of these artefacts illustrate some analytical challenges that arise when analysing museum objects, including fluorescing varnish layers, ambient sunlight, large dimensions of artefacts and the need to handle fragile objects with care. Analysis of the musical instrument (the Mar virginals) was undertaken in the exhibition gallery, while on display, which meant that interaction with the public and health and safety issues had to be taken into account. Experimental set-up for the non-destructive Raman spectroscopic investigation of a textile banner in the National Museums of Scotland.

  15. Communicating Climate Change: Lessons Learned from a Researcher-Museum Collaboration †

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Christopher T.; Cockerham, Debbie; Foss, Ann W.

    2018-01-01

    The need for science education and outreach is great. However, despite the ever-growing body of available scientific information, facts are often misrepresented to or misunderstood by the general public. This can result in uninformed decisions that negatively impact society at both individual and community levels. One solution to this problem is to make scientific information more available to the public through outreach programs. Most outreach programs, however, focus on health initiatives, STEM programs, or young audiences exclusively. This article describes a collaboration between the Research and Learning Center at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Dallas–Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex area. The collaboration was a pilot effort of a science communication fellowship and was designed to train researchers to effectively convey current science information to the public with a focus on lifelong learning. We focus on the broader idea of a university-museum collaboration that bridges the science communication gap as we outline the process of forming this collaboration, lessons we learned from the process, and directions that can support future collaborations. PMID:29904536

  16. The Pedagogic Museum of Aragon. Some thoughts on its first ten years of active life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Víctor JUAN BORROY

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The Pedagogical Museum of Aragon will be 10 years old in spring 2016. In this paper, a brief summary of the work done during this period of time is set out, paying particular attention to some relevant signs to assess the work achieved by the museum such as the number of visits, items comprising the museum’s collection, cataloguing system, works published by the Pedagogical Museum of Aragon –which reflect the research and diffusion activities of the educational-historical heritage that have been undertaken– or temporary loans for exhibitions organised by other institutions.Finally, the author will present a series of considerations on matters he had not taken into account before being appointed Director of the Pedagogical Museum of Aragon. These may be useful for those interested in pedagogical museums and the preservation and diffusion of the educational-historical heritage.

  17. The museum as information space

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Navarrete, T.; Mackenzie Owen, J.

    2016-01-01

    space to being outside the museum in the online information space of the Internet. This has fundamental implications for the institutional role of museums, our understanding of metadata and the methods of documentation. The onsite museum institution will, eventually, not be able to function...... as an institutional entity on the Internet, for in this new information space, objects, collections and museums, all function as independent components in a vast universe of data, side by side at everyone’s disposal at anytime. Potentially, users can access cultural heritage anytime, anywhere and anyhow. © The Author......Although museums vary in nature and may have been founded for all sorts of reasons, central to all museum institutions are the collected objects. These objects are information carriers organized in a catalogue system. In this chapter, the museum will be conceived as an information space, consisting...

  18. The Behavior of Online Museum Visitors on Facebook Fan Page of the Museum in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arta Moro Sundjaja

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research was to discover the behavior of museum visitors on Facebook fan page in Indonesia based on the user motivation, user expectation, online community involvement, and Facebook fan page of the museum. This research used a quantitative approach to descriptive analysis. The population was the Facebook users who had followed the Facebook fan page of the museum in Indonesia. The samples used were 270 respondents. The researchers distributed the questionnaire to a Facebook group managed by museums or communities. Based on the demographic profile of respondent, the researchers discover that the respondents are highly educated, work as employees or student, and allocate more than Rp500.000,00 per month for traveling expense. Based on social media behavior of the respondents, the respondents are active using Facebook and not aware of the presence of museum in social media. The respondents require museum information, social interaction, and entertainment on Facebook fan page of the museum. Therefore, museum managers must maintain the content quality and perceived usefulness in delivering the information through Facebook. The involvement of cultural community can help people to get honest information about museum through credible opinion from the respondents.

  19. 78 FR 61948 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Franz von Stuck”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-07

    ... the exhibition ``Franz von Stuck,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United... the Frye Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, from on or about November 2, 2013, until on or about...

  20. The Electric Vehicle Project for High School Students in Nagoya City Science Museum : As the First Step of Global Engineering Education to Create Value from Knowledge

    OpenAIRE

    馬渕, 浩一; Mabuchi, Koichi

    2014-01-01

    This paper gives an account of "The Electric Vehicle Project", a science museum activity in cooperation with Nagoya Institute of Technology and major manufacturing companies. The project is intended to encourage Japanese high school students' interest in science and technology, based on Nagoya, Japan and Asia, the center of the manufacturing industries. The project contains three programs: 1) Students make practical lead acid batteries. 2) Students drive an electric vehicle of their own desig...