Extinct Monsters to Deep Time - Conflict, Compromise, and the Making of Smithsonian''s Fossil Halls

Via the Smithsonian Institution, an exploration of the growing friction between the research and outreach functions of museums in the 21st century.

Describing participant observation and historical research at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History as it prepared for its largest-ever exhibit renovation, Deep Time, the author provides a grounded perspective on the inner-workings of the world's largest natural history museum and the social processes of communicating science to the public.

From the introduction:

In exhibit projects, the tension plays out between curatorial staff-academic, research, or scientific staff charged with content-and exhibitions, public engagement, or educational staff-which I broadly group together as "audience advocates" charged with translating content for a broader public. I have heard Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the NMNH, say many times that if you look at dinosaur halls at different museums across the country, you can see whether the curators or the exhibits staff has "won." At the American Museum of Natural History in New York, it was the curators. The hall is stark white and organized by phylogeny-or the evolutionary relationships of species-with simple, albeit long, text panels. At the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Johnson will tell you, it was the "exhibits people." The hall is story driven and chronologically organized, full of big graphic prints, bold fonts, immersive and interactive spaces, and touchscreens. At the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where Johnson had previously been vice president and chief curator, "we actually fought to a draw." That, he says, is the best outcome; a win on either side skews the final product too extremely in one direction or the other. This creative tension, when based on mutual respect, is often what makes good exhibitions.

Table des matières

List of Illustrations and Table

Foreward

Jennifer Shannon

Prologue: Fieldnotes from the Badlands

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

Chronology A: Lists of Relevant Leadership

Chronology B: Geologic Time Scale

Chronology C: Fossil Exhibits Timeline

Introduction

Chapter 1. Increase and Diffusion: Early Fossil Exhibits and a History of Institutional Culture

Chapter 2. Group Dynamics: Exhibit Meetings and Expertise

Chapter 3. Group Dynamics: The Roots of Team Frictions and Complementarities

Chapter 4. Content Development: Debates about Interconnected Processes and Static Things

Chapter 5. Content Development: The Roots of Interpretive Frictions and Complementarities

Chapter 6. Diffusion and Increase: Shifts in Institutional Culture from Modernization to Now

Chapter 7. Conclusion

Chapter 8. Coda: The Nation's T-rex

Appendix A: Consent Form

Appendix B: Interview Questionnaires

Sample Team Interview Questionnaire

Sample Oral History Interview Questionnaire

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

A propos de l'auteur

Diana E. Marsh is an Assistant Professor of archives and digital curation at the University of Maryland’s College of Information Studies (iSchool) who studies how heritage institutions share knowledge with communities and the public. Her current work focuses on improving discovery and access to colonially-held archives for Native American and Indigenous communities.

Résumé

Via the Smithsonian Institution, an exploration of the growing friction between the research and outreach functions of museums in the 21st century.

Describing participant observation and historical research at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History as it prepared for its largest-ever exhibit renovation, Deep Time, the author provides a grounded perspective on the inner-workings of the world’s largest natural history museum and the social processes of communicating science to the public.

From the introduction:

In exhibit projects, the tension plays out between curatorial staff—academic, research, or scientific staff  charged with content—and exhibitions, public engagement, or educational staff—which I broadly group together as “audience advocates” charged with translating content for a broader public. I have heard Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the NMNH, say many times that if you look at dinosaur halls at different museums across the country, you can see whether the curators or the exhibits staff  has “won.” At the American Museum of Natural History in New York, it was the curators. The hall is stark white and organized by phylogeny—or the evolutionary relationships of species—with simple, albeit long, text panels. At the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Johnson will tell you, it was the “exhibits people.” The hall is story driven and chronologically organized, full of big graphic prints, bold fonts, immersive and interactive spaces, and touchscreens. At the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where Johnson had previously been vice president and chief curator, “we actually fought to a draw.” That, he says, is the best outcome; a win on either side skews the final product too extremely in one direction or the other. This creative tension, when based on mutual respect, is often what makes good exhibitions.

Texte suppl.

“This book is an excellent contribution to our understanding of the history of the Smithsonian, of the representation of paleontology, of the changing dynamics of departments and disciplines over time, and of the shift in museums from an emphasis on research to public outreach. It is also an important contribution to the genre of museum ethnography.” • Jennifer Shannon, University of Colorado Boulder

Détails du produit

• Auteurs: Diana E Marsh, Diana E. Marsh, Diana Elizabeth Marsh
• Edition: BERGHAHN BOOKS, INC
• Langues: Anglais
• Format d'édition: Livre Relié
• Sortie: 31.01.2019
• EAN: 9781789201222
• ISBN: 978-1-78920-122-2
• Pages: 334
• Thèmes: Museums and Collections; Museums and Collections
• Catégories: Sciences humaines, art, musique > Art > Autres; Sciences sociales, droit, économie > Sociologie > Autres