4. Natural History Museums
Natural History Museums are institutions that collect, display and research materials, collected or extracted from the natural world. The multifaceted purpose of such a museum is to: (i) build or store natural history collections, (ii) conduct research and interpret the results, (iii) support the purpose of science and biological conservation, (iv) enhance public understanding and appreciation of the natural world, and (v) collaborate with the public in deriving their own meaning from the natural heritage they encounter in the museum and in nature.
The Oriental Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, established in Calcutta in 1814, had various natural history objects on display from its inception. During last two hundred years, sixty natural history museums or natural history galleries were set up in various parts of the country. The distribution
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Next was the Natural History Museum, set up in the premises of Kerala State Museum and Zoological Garden in Thrissur (1885), Gass Forest Museum was established in Coimbatore in 1902. Next was the Bengal Natural History Museum set up in Darjeeling in 1903. A Museum of Arthropoda was opened in Pune in 1961. A large natural history museum was opened in Thiruvananthapuram in 1964. Two natural history museums were attached to the nearest zoological gardens in Ahmedabad (1974) and Hyderabad (1979). Two natural history museums were opened in the northeast, namely, Assam Forest Museum (1983) in Guwahati and Biological Museum (1998) in Imphal. Five natural history museums with thematic galleries and extensive educational activities were established in New Delhi (1978), Mysore (1995), Bhopal (1997), Bhubaneswar (2004), and Sawai Madhopur (2014). A government natural history museum was established in Chandigarh in 2001 and another such private museum was opened at Thar in Rajasthan
Museums serve as a way to connect with the public on a large scale, and the knowledge held within exhibits can be a fruitful experience for those who choose to visit these institutions. Experiencing all that a museum has to offer, no matter how well intentioned, can at times be confusing and overwhelming to the individuals visiting the site. The Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian dedicates itself to Native Americans in North and South America, and worked tirelessly with varying tribes to create a new standard. Some visitors and scholars found their work to be successful in design and approach while others found it to be lacking in execution. This institution does not approach Native American history in a familiar fashion; however it does cover an expansive period of time, and produces a great amount of detail while generating powerful emotions.
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.
The museum focuses on teaching and making visitors aware of the local culture that once was. Its main exhibits are farming tools and items you would see and use on a working
Every effort should be made ahead of time to identify a museum that has items and works one can easily connect to our HUM 111 class and book. Since HUM 111 covers from ancient times to the 1500s AD, it makes more sense to focus on items from that time frame. In general, museums with artistic cultural artifacts and fine arts work better than history museums.
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles offers a surface level depiction of Mesoamerican civilization and culture. It excludes essential information and instead gives a shallow representation that offers implications of a barbaric civilization.
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
The Alabama Natural History Museum represents a unique aspect of Alabama’s history that is often overlooked. Alabama’s rich geological and archeological history has created the ecosystem we know today, yet is rarely explored by the common Alabama citizen. Regardless,
he National Museum of the American Indian-New York, established in 1916 by George Gustav Heye, is also known as the George Gustav Heye Center and is part of the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum complex. The museum is located in the Alexander Hamilton U.S Custom House, and is one of the three sites that make up the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). Its galleries present iconic objects selected for their aesthetic quality and power as emblems of Native beliefs, objects associated with prominent Indians that offer perspectives on their place in history, and objects that tell stories of cultural encounter among Native peoples and between Indians and non-Indians. From the oldest pieces on view-stone points found in
This museum was established by Dr. Allen Leepa and his wife, Isabelle. And, it opened on January 22, 2002. The first exhibition
The major weaknesses of the museum are in the absences of interactive educational displays, adjuncts for the states educational system, and the inability to reach the vast majority of its target audience. The collection policy and mission statements require the museum to provide statewide access of sufficient biological specimens for education and research. The current museum has
The Executive Director of the Museum begins to restore this organization with clear point of view, that the
This was actually my first visit to this museum since I have gone to Kennesaw. My expectations were pretty high initially upon going, because I have heard so many things about it from my peers. Just by their opinions, and my love for art I have myself, I was actually excited about going in to take a look. I must say, I was not disappointed by any of the art work I saw in there. I really enjoyed the exhibit of work from some students from a high school around this area. It really shows that the college really supports the youth of the future and their passion for art as a whole.
Collections play a crucial role in fulfilling a museum’s mission and purpose. A museum’s collection is defined by its collection policy past and present which in turn helps to shape the museum’s goals and direction. As stewards of collections, museums are expected to maintain the highest professional standards legally and ethically.
The Cambridge Dictionary Online defined museums as “places of study, buildings where objects of historical, scientific or artistic interest are kept, preserved and exhibited”. To The Museums Association, a museum is “an institution which collects documents, preserves, exhibits and interprets material evidence and associated information for the public benefit”. Since 1998, this definition has changed. Museums now enable the public to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society. Mike Wallace (1996) categorised museums into four distinct types, namely National Museums that hold collection of