Play For All at Chicago Children's Museum: A History and Overview

In 2004, Chicago Children's Museum founded the Play For All initiative, which creates a community where play and learning connect for visitors of all abilities. The Play For All team discovered that families with children with disabilities were looking for an opportunity to explore and enjoy the museum without limitations and the fear of being judged. CCM also learned that being ADA compliant was not enough; being accessible and inclusive meant going above and beyond the ADA. Children's museums are a rare treat where almost everything should be interactive and ready to be played with. The Play For All team has made significant changes to the exhibits, staff training, and programming at Chicago Children's Museum by working with local families with disabilities and partner organizations. A culture shift has taken place within CCM. Play For All is now a top priority when decisions are being made.     

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.     

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。     

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。     

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。     

Developing a Research Agenda Aimed at Understanding the Teaching and Learning of Science at a Natural History Museum

Over the past two decades, cultural institutions such as museums are beginning to develop their capacity for engaging in long‐term research on teaching and learning (Rennie et al. 2003; see also Crowley 2014). In this article, we describe one museum's efforts to develop an educational research agenda in relationship to these broader efforts. We explain how we got started; share steps taken; describe the agenda itself; and give examples of some of our current research studies. We end with insights into some of the challenges we've faced in developing this work and how we've addressed them and our next steps.     

New Directions,New Relationships: The Smithsonian's Twenty‐first Century Learning in Natural History Settings Conference and the Natural History Museum,London

The Twenty‐first Century Learning in Natural History Settings Conference at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (2012) has been more influential than similar conferences, resulting in new work streams and international collaborations for the Learning Research and Evaluation team at the Natural History Museum, London (NHM). The conference offered a rare opportunity to discuss issues relevant to our unique workplace and to be surrounded by an instant peer group. Although the event itself brought personal and professional satisfaction, it is the impact of the conference on our institution that has been most fulfilling. The conference has enabled us to think bigger—to think about the sector as a whole and the role the NHM can play as a large national museum.