The Future Of Natural History Museums

Download or read book The Future of Natural History Museums written by Eric Dorfman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-12 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Natural history museums are changing, both because of their own internal development and in response to changes in context. Historically, the aim of collecting from nature was to develop encyclopedic assemblages to satisfy human curiosity and build a basis for taxonomic information. Today, with global biodiversity in rapid decline, there are new reasons to build and maintain collections, while audiences are more diverse, numerous, and technically savvy. Institutions must learn to embrace new technology while retaining the authenticity of their stories and the value placed on their objects. The Future of Natural History Museums begins to develop a cohesive discourse that balances the disparate issues that our institutions will face over the next decades. It disassembles the topic into various key elements and, through commentary and synthesis, explores a cohesive picture of the trajectory of the natural history museum sector. This book contributes to the study of collections, teaching and learning, ethics, and running non-profit businesses and will be of interest to museum and heritage professionals and academics and senior students in Biological Sciences and Museum Studies.

Download or read book Biological Collections written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2021-01-29 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biological collections are a critical part of the nation's science and innovation infrastructure and a fundamental resource for understanding the natural world. Biological collections underpin basic science discoveries as well as deepen our understanding of many challenges such as global change, biodiversity loss, sustainable food production, ecosystem conservation, and improving human health and security. They are important resources for education, both in formal training for the science and technology workforce, and in informal learning through schools, citizen science programs, and adult learning. However, the sustainability of biological collections is under threat. Without enhanced strategic leadership and investments in their infrastructure and growth many biological collections could be lost. Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research and Education for the 21st Century recommends approaches for biological collections to develop long-term financial sustainability, advance digitization, recruit and support a diverse workforce, and upgrade and maintain a robust physical infrastructure in order to continue serving science and society. The aim of the report is to stimulate a national discussion regarding the goals and strategies needed to ensure that U.S. biological collections not only thrive but continue to grow throughout the 21st century and beyond.

Download or read book Natural History Museums written by Paisley S. Cato and published by Texas Tech University Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All persons involved with natural history museums--from administrators to exhibit designers--will find this work useful. The chapters in the volume provide a general overview as well as address specific topics concerning the roles and functions of natural history museums. Topics in this survey include conservation, care, use, management, and preservation of collections; the role of exhibits and other educational materials, as well as ideas and guidelines for some exciting new approaches for this facet of natural history museums; and, in addition, useful information about possible sources of funding for natural history museums.

Download or read book Curators written by Lance Grande and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2017-03-21 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Natural history museums have evolved from being little more than musty repositories of stuffed animals and pinned bugs, to being crucial generators of new scientific knowledge. They have also become vibrant educational centers, full of engaging exhibits that share those discoveries with students and an enthusiastic general public. Grande offers a portrait of curators and their research, conveying the intellectual excitement and the educational and social value of curation. He uses the personal story of his own career-- most of it spent at Chicago's Field Museum-- to explore the value of research and collections, the importance of public engagement, changing ecological and ethical considerations, and the impact of rapidly improving technology.

Download or read book The Lost Species written by Christopher Kemp and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-11-25 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We hear routinely about dinosaurs unearthed in the Gobi Desert, about new marsupials found in the forests of Madagascar, about darling deep sea squid in the polar regions. These discoveries tend to be accompanied by wondrous feats of adventuring scientists. But just as one can experience the world in a backyard, or farther reaches of the world with a good book and a comfy armchair, scientists themselves know that the natural history museums of the world contain some of the best terrain for discovering new species. In recent years scientists have found in museum drawers and cabinets a new rove beetle collected by Darwin, a tiny lungless salamander thinner than a matchstick, a monkey from the Brazilian rainforest, and a 40 million year old beardog. The Lost Species shares the thrill of spelunking in museum basements, digging in museum trays, and breathing new life in taxidermied beings--a in a days' adventure for the scientists in this book. These discoveries help tell the story of life, and the priceless collections of natural history museums.

Download or read book Curating the Future written by Jennifer Newell and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-08-12 with total page 603 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Curating the Future: Museums, Communities and Climate Change explores the way museums tackle the broad global issue of climate change. It explores the power of real objects and collections to stir hearts and minds, to engage communities affected by change. Museums work through exhibitions, events, and specific collection projects to reach different communities in different ways. The book emphasises the moral responsibilities of museums to address climate change, not just by communicating science but also by enabling people already affected by changes to find their own ways of living with global warming. There are museums of natural history, of art and of social history. The focus of this book is the museum communities, like those in the Pacific, who have to find new ways to express their culture in a new place. The book considers how collections in museums might help future generations stay in touch with their culture, even where they have left their place. It asks what should the people of the present be collecting for museums in a climate-changed future? The book is rich with practical museum experience and detailed projects, as well as critical and philosophical analyses about where a museum can intervene to speak to this great conundrum of our times. Curating the Future is essential reading for all those working in museums and grappling with how to talk about climate change. It also has academic applications in courses of museology and museum studies, cultural studies, heritage studies, digital humanities, design, anthropology, and environmental humanities.

Download or read book Museums at the Forefront of the History and Philosophy of Geology written by Gary D. Rosenberg and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Information on museum activities around the world.