One Hundred Strong: A Colloquium on Transforming Natural History Museums in the Twenty‐first Century

In February 2012, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) convened 100 colleagues from 43 organizations to initiate a collaborative learning research agenda focused on examining important areas for innovation to better serve twenty‐first‐century audiences. The conference organizers anticipated that scientists, educators, exhibit professionals, and other members of the natural history community would identify and prioritize research questions about what, how, why, when, and where people learn about natural history. We prepared to engage in a conversation about how natural history museums could change what they do. The participants' overwhelming passion for their work, and for natural history museums and their transformative potential for society, quickly turned the conversation toward how natural history museums should change what they are. The result was an emergent learning research agenda situated within a broader vision for natural history museums.     

Displaying Dinosaurs at The Natural History Museum,London

Dinosaur reconstructions have been exhibited in public for over a hundred years. During that time, scientific and public understanding of these extinct animals has changed considerably. Changes in perception have influenced and been influenced by the three-dimensional reconstructions mounted in museums and galleries, and these in turn have been influenced by the availability and use of mounting materials and techniques. The dinosaur exhibition in The Natural History Museum (NHM) in London contains examples of original, altered, and new dinosaur reconstructions that are described here—two, Gallimimus and Massospondylus, in detail. The final form of any reconstructed dinosaur is often influenced by factors beyond the control of the conservation, preparation, and mounting workers involved.     

About Face: The Rebirth of the Portrait Gallery in the Twenty‐first Century

Abstract Given the Victorian origins of the idea of a national portrait gallery, how relevant are such institutions today? The rebirth of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. has involved a reinvestigation of notions of greatness, national identity, and the ongoing vitality of portraiture as an artistic form. Who should be deemed crucial to the telling of our national history? The evolution of thinking in our own day about the nature of national identity has undergone a dramatic shift. We have made decisions that might curl a Victorian's toes.     

The Natural History Museum: Taking on a Learning Agenda

Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the University of Pittsburgh are engaged in a research and practice partnership to bring new learning sciences findings and theories into contact with the design and deployment of innovative natural history learning experiences. In this article, we describe four strands of work: 1) connecting people to nature; 2) engaging people of all ages in complex and current scientific debates of regional consequence; 3) partnerships to build a strong regional learning ecology for nature and science; and 4) iterative professional development to support staff as they work with new definitions of learning and engagement in the museum.     

匈牙利自然历史博物馆的历史、设施和活动

匈牙利自然历史博物馆是世界上最早的自然历史博物馆之一,具有独特的传统并在社会中发挥着决定性的文化作用。馆内收藏有丰富的植物学、动物学、人类学、古生物学和地质学的藏品、原生型标本以及藏书,为世界各地研究人员的研究活动提供收藏品和设施。该馆每年举办的展览吸引观众约30万人次,组织近500场教育活动,受众达到了44000人。该馆意识到博物馆当前所面临的挑战与机遇,积极应对诸如气候变化、生物多样性危机、新发传染病、生物入侵等全球性问题,在探索与相关政府部门以及其他科学组织和机构合作方式过程中发挥主导作用。     

Nation and National Museums,a Contested Relationship: An Analysis of U.S. National Museums in the Twenty‐first Century

The motivation for this article arose from the wish to share our outside perspectives on how national museums in the U.S. mediate ideas of national identity. We are four students out of a larger group of 15 German students in Cultural Studies at Leuphana University of Lueneburg. We conducted empirical research on various national museums within the Smithsonian Institution and also on the soon‐to‐be‐opened National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York City. The objective of our research was to explore the role that American national museums play in a globalized world by investigating how such museums address changing national identities over time.     

中国人创办的第一家综合性自然科学博物馆——中国西部博物馆

1943年7月,中国科学社等六个学术团体在重庆北碚举行年会,共同发起在北碚筹备自然科学博物馆。同年12月,中国西部科学院会同迁碚的十二个国内顶级学术研究机关,推翁文灏、卢作孚为正副主任委员、组成筹备委员会。经一年筹备,1944年12月25日,中国西部博物馆正式成立并于次日开馆。中国西部博物馆的宗旨为推广科学教育、提倡专门科学研究。这是中国人创办的第一家综合性自然科学类博物馆。     

从科技藏品的收藏、研究与传播，看自然历史博物馆的传承与转变——以美国自然历史博物馆为例

2019年是美国自然历史博物馆建立150周年。在150年的发展历程中,随着博物馆功能逐渐明确为教育、研究与收藏,藏品在该博物馆中的作用也逐渐发生转变。藏品在收藏、研究与传播中所发挥的作用,是自然历史博物馆历史传承与新时代转变的体现。美国自然历史博物馆正在经历一系列的创新与转型,对于自然历史博物馆的未来发展有很大的启示意义,也有助于我们在当代背景下去理解自然历史博物馆的本质与价值。     

Finding the Natural Interface: Graduate and Public Education at One University Natural History Museum

University natural history museums are much like their public museum counterparts, yet they differ in some important ways including how they are funded and staffed and how they serve their parent institutions. These circumstances provide some unique opportunities for university‐based natural history museums but they also present challenges, especially for their public education goals. While there are surely a variety of creative solutions for resolving these dilemmas, this article explores how the graduate program at the University of Colorado Museum may be seen as an example serving as an interface between diverse facets of the Museum and its several audiences and constituencies. The usefulness of the program as a model and as a means of training and nurturing future museum professionals is discussed.