Christian
I would just like to add my voice to that
of
As a curator at the National Museums
Scotland (NMS), my role is very much tied in with the collections - their
storage, conservation and interpretation. My involvement in exhibition work is
less intimate. Having said that, in the NMS we are currently developing new
galleries for the refurbished
In the past, the Geology Department (now
Department of Natural Sciences) kept a couple of cases in the galleries for
private collectors to come in and show off their collections. We would provide
labels and, of course, cases and they would supply the information and the
objects. They were rotated on a six months cycle and were very popular. Alas
this will not survive into the new galleries. Another way is through loans. If
communities can get together with their local museums and make an application
for a loan of material to go on display in their communities, then I would like
to think we could look favourably upon this. Another new scheme we have been
trying is “Create Your Own Exhibition” (CYOE) where a number of
curators have made short films which are aimed at schools (primary and
secondary) and demonstrate how to set up your own little exhibition.
I would like to see much more interaction
between local groups and the NMS so that our vast treasury of specimens, all
owned by the people of Scotland, can somehow be spread much more widely and
become accessible to a wider body of people. How this is achieved remains to be
seen, but I would like to see this as a fundamental part of our work and not an
optional extra. I also feel that Natural Sciences can get a little side-lined
in favour of more art based or historical exhibitions.
What I also feel strongly about is the
need to put science right at the centre of this. Presenters like David
Attenborough, Ian Stewart or Brian Cox have been at the centre of pushing the “science
as entertainment” line and there can be no denying the role they have
played in bringing science into the public eye. But having seen these
programmes, don’t you just sometimes long for a bit of real science? The
recent BBC series on Atoms and Time were much better in that they seemed able
to marry difficult scientific and mathematical concepts with television in a
way that was both fascinating and scientific. Good science can make good
television. Anyway that is my tuppence worth for now.
Have a great weekend everyone
Peter Davidson
Curator of Minerals
Department of Natural Sciences
National Museums Collection Centre
Tel: 00 44 131 247 4283
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
From:
The Geological Curator's Group mailing list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Christian Baars
Sent: 02 February 2011 14:17
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Community curation of
geological collections
Hi,
there have recently been various
initiatives to involve the local community in helping museums to determine
which objects they ought to display, and how. This appears to work quite well,
at least in social/local history.
My question is: is anyone aware of a
community curation type approach in natural history? And if yes, how did you go
about it? Did you invite specialist amateurs into the building, or the general
public with relatively little subject knowledge? How did you then define the
criteria for the selection of specimens that would later go on display?
Presumably there would have been certain exclusion criteria constrained by
space, budget, conservation, etc. considerations.
Part of the background to the question is
that I am working with pupils from two local schools who will be selecting some
geology specimens for a little display. The other part is curiosity, as I have
heard very good things about community curation but find it hard to imagine it
working really well in disciplines where a considerable amount of expert
knowledge may be required. Or are we making too much of scientific expertise
when it comes to displaying collections?
Best wishes
Christian
Dr Christian Baars
Department of
Telephone: 0044 (0)29 2057 3352
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