A Pyramid Of Learning : Creating The Exhibits Of Tomorrow Within The Boston Museum Of Science

Douglas Crimp begins his essay by delivering a story about a librarian, Julia Van Haaftan and how she was interested in the photography organization at the Art and Architecture Division of the New York Public Library. In addition, Crimp delivers his most enlightening and meaningful point by explaining how Julia Van Haaftan is also now a “director of the Photographic Collections Documentation Project”. She discovered several lost books and photographs, which she researched, re-categorizing, and placed them under the photography or art category in the photographic collection. I found this section of the essay entertaining because it demonstrates that the history books can get lost

The Museum of Natural History is an enchanting place for children of all ages, but it is an especially important place for Holden Caulfield. The Museum is a known certainty in Holden’s inconsistent life, where the glass displays always remain the same. Holden has been relocated to many different boarding schools, and few things remain constant throughout his life. As a result of this he clings on to this one place, the Museum of Natural History, because even if Holden, himself, returns to the museum different, “the deers would still be drinking out of that water hole…and that squaw with the naked bosom would still be weaving that same blanket,” (Salinger, 157-158). In Holden’s ideal world, life should mimic the museum exhibits, where everything is simple, people never come and go, and everything remains frozen in time forever. In The Catcher in the Rye, one symbol J. D. Salinger uses is the Museum of Natural History to show how Holden’s fear of variation makes him hold onto the past, and how he fears mental change even more than just aging physically.

Museums have long served a purpose as cultural staples. For every museum, big and small, careful consideration is used in selecting its contents. When securing new items for a museum, it is most important to consider public appeal, educational value, and cost-effectiveness.

Positioned alongside Central Park in the heart of New York City, The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the largest and most influential art museums in the world. The Met houses an extensive collection of curated works that spans throughout various time periods and different cultures. The context of museum, especially one as influential as the Met, inherently predisposes its visitors to a certain set of understandings that subtly influence how they interpret and ultimately construct meanings about each individual object within the museum. Brent Plate in Religion, Art, and Visual Culture argues that “objects obtain different meanings in different locations and historical settings.”An object placed on display behind a glass case inside a museum would hold a vastly different meaning if it was put on sale by a street vendor, like the ones who set up their tables in close proximity to the Met. The different meanings that objects are able to obtain is attributed to the relationships that are established between the object itself and the environment that surrounds it. These relationships often involve the kind of audience that a museum attracts, where the work is exhibited, and how the exhibits within a museum is planned out. Museums subsequently have the ability to control how these relationships are established which influences the way a viewer is able to construct meaning. When a visitor observes an object on display at the Met, they instinctively construct a certain set of

When a museum has prestige on a national level, they can be under high scrutiny of exhibits or objects displayed by the public. Controversial topics, for example, the Enola Gay exhibit, has left historians hesitant and confused on how to create exhibits with correct history, but also not upsetting any individual who were involved with said history. Historians have a trying task of addressing both sides of a historical event, even though it might depict individuals in an unflattering way. A historian is not allowed to have a bias for events, this could have an impact on the way an exhibit is created. Another point that was brought to light in Bunch’s article was museums have the ability to educate the public, so difficult topics should not be

The museum provides a place for the family to have a hands-on experiece with science and have creative learning moments with technology, art, engineering and math. Kids can take on the challenge of engineering their own projects with the help of the

To highlight the relationship between each of the exhibitions, the staff could provide daily visitors with a cohesive guide map of the entire museum. The current location of the museum is massive to accommodate for the displays as well as three research laboratories, but due to large size, each exhibit feels isolated and

I hope to see museums make more concerted efforts to educate the public. Too many exhibits are of the “passive, didactic looking” than like the engaging Object Stories program (Dartt, Murawski). Exhibits should seek to tell untold narratives, and programs should be places of communication and cross-cultural encounters. For too long, difficult confrontations have been avoided, both inside the museum, and by dominant communities

Include information derived from your course materials, research in the University Library, and your personal analysis describing why these exhibits must be included. Descriptions and analysis must use complete sentences and be at least 100 words in

Much like the name suggests, the exhibits revolve around two of the most defining aspects of history, Art and Science. Their galleries include displays from both the past and present, along with a planetarium for shows about our galaxy and the always entertaining laser rock shows. To learn about events and new exhibits coming to the Museum of Art and Sciences, you can visit their website here.

When deciding on a place for my science trip, I knew the perfect place would be the Liberty Science Center, located in Jersey City, New Jersey. I went there often as a child, so I already knew that there was a great deal to learn there. What I didn?t realize was how much it had been updated since I was there last. There are so many advances going on in science and technology, it?s all so amazing. What surprised me most, is that even at age 19, I still had as much fun there as I did when I was 9.

The Victoria and Albert Museum created many different ways to interact with the visitors. First, they created their website to be easily navigated and created interactive exercises such as “Design a Wig” to promote their exhibitions. By visitors having fun with creating a wig, it builds anticipation on their visit and creates more reason to visit the museum. At the museum itself, visitors will be met with the Hands-On Exhibitions. The exhibitions allows the visitors to try on Victorian costumes, make a brass rubbing or a giant slider puzzle, try on armour gauntlet, design their own tea post, and more (). Through out the whole experience, the visitors are met with fun interactive activities that are not only geared toward children, but adults as well. At Science Museum London, they take pride in their own section of interactive exhibits. Launchpad, packed with over 50 interactive exhibits geared to ward 8-14 years old, is now closed as the museum prepares to open new Interactive Gallery. The new Interactive Gallery, 60% larger than Launchpad will engage all visitors in the drama and spectacle of math and science (). This change was done to better engage the adults, especially experience seeking millennials. One of Gen Y panel member from Millennial Marketing recalled that: “My best museum experiences were London Science Museum and Victoria & Albert. One common thing these both museums have is that they mange to interact with their visitors. Once you walked into the exhibition hall, you find yourself in some place like Wonderland. The interior design, interactive tools and toys are simply designed to create a magical experience. It is never boring. A magical land would never be boring.”

I toured the virtual Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Though it was not face-to-face, I still really enjoyed my experience through the virtual word. I was more fascinated about the liveliness in the virtual world than anything else. I think the virtual museum itself was more of a work of art than the art it displayed because it covered almost every inch from many different points of view in the museum. I also liked how it was pretty easy to operate and move around, and no matter how much I zoomed in or out I could read almost everything perfectly fine. While being able to explore this museum from the comfort of my own home was a plus, I truly missed out on being able to read the display labels to learn more about the artifacts. Reading about the history or story behind a work of art is, in my opinion, the best part. This virtual tour was captivating, and I hope to someday visit the museum in person.”

According to the American Alliance of Museums, community engagement in museums includes the use of this facility as “a center where people gather to meet and converse and an active, visible player in civic life, a safe haven, and a trusted incubator of change” (Long 141). Different museums

A greater number of educators are looking to museums to help them attain their educational objectives. Howard Gardner has identified Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood as the perfect environment for stimulating the natural curiosity of a child. Furthermore, in response to demands for new educational approaches, older children are using museums to develop their critical facilities in art and design (Campbell, 1992).