FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Jordi Fabre]

In reading the current thread "Natural History Museum London" ( https://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/viewtopic.php?t=1577 ) it occurred to me that the reality is that all Museum have their own problems and probably we, the visitors, are unaware of them so we tend to ignore them.

I consider the role of Museums extremely important in promoting mineralogy, by attracting new generations of collectors and making the hobby attractive to them, but in fact we mostly ignore almost everything not directly related to the exhibits; such as the philosophies, the objectives and in some way the daily lives of the Museums and their curators. So I wonder if I can start with this post a new topic that will catch the interest of curators and FMFers in order to try to create a closer community between Mineral Museums and the rest of the society.

To start the discussion, a first question: should Museums promote mostly entertainment to attract more visitors, or should they instead promote only scientific research and ignore the visitors, or should there be a combination of both?

Jordi

[Jesse Fisher]

Natural history museums should represent repositories of scientifically and culturally valuable objects, which, hopefully, are used for study and research, ultimately resulting in publication of knowledge into the public domain. To justify the expenditure of public funds (or to get private donors to shell out large chunks of cash) necessary to support these institutions, there needs to be an appreciation of their value and worth to society amongst the general population. To get people interested in science there needs to be a "hook." The young seem to be naturally curious about the world around them, and for kids this hook is often something like a pretty rock or a fascinating bug. For me, it was seeing the Hawaiian volcanoes up close when I was 10 years old.

The study of science requires intellectual discipline and hard work, but once hooked, this "hard work" can become far more entertaining than other easier diversions such as TV or video games. Unfortunately, much of society never gets hooked, perhaps because the bait is becoming increasingly absent from modern educational curricula. So how does one get folks through the doors at Natural history museums these days? There seems to be a trend among many toward becoming institutions of light-weight entertainment to the exclusion of real science, perhaps because the museum management sees the attending public as increasingly less interested in true science.

In my mind, a museum should be a balance between entertainment and real science. Unfortunately, what I find myself experiencing at many natural history museums these days is analogous to eating a meal of nothing but candy bars - tastes real good for a minute or two but offers no nutritional substance.

[Jordi Fabre]

[Elise]

[Greg Toomey]

I believe that Jesse Fisher very succinctly and accurately expressed the ideals of what museums should be in society, and I agree with him 100%. The problem is how these ideals can be relevant to a society at large that is increasingly obtaining its knowledge via the internet, ipods, interactive games, television, movies, et al.

I do know for a fact in the United States right now there is a very vocal "slash and burn" mentality when it comes to funding anything that doesn't cover a very limited scope of base human fears, of which natural history museums and mineralogical knowledge (unless it is petroluem-based) are not part of the funding equation. Add to this a still sluggish economy and many museums are on a ledge - they may not fall but just being there pushes them further back in the public's mind. Most politicians do care that they have X Y Z museums in their district, but the vitality and condition of the institutions are of no great importance, which results in a struggle for the institution to survive and the museum becomes nothing more than a facade reminiscent of a movie set. I realize political trends and economic conditions come and go, but when museums go they are gone. We must save them now - we can't wait for "times to change."

As for the contibutions from the powerful and wealthy, most donor money in the United States seem to go to university medical centers, law buildings, scholarships and college athletics where the donor's name is prominently displayed ensuring (at least for a few years) an immortality of sorts. Over 100 years ago, "gentleman scientists" and their money funded a lot of natural history museums. The money for natural history museums today needs to come from both the wealthy and the public at large - natural history museums must appeal to the wealthy patron's sense of commitment to education while being an exciting and relevant place for the public to experience and learn.

The public, both adults and children, need something that can entertain and enlighten them to mineralalogy. I recently came across, online, a program at the Children's Museum in Bridgewater, New Jersey, entitled "Rocks, Minerals and Dinosaurs." It sparked a creative thought in my brain about connecting children's fascination with dinosaurs to their fascination with minerals, such as explaining the minerals that were around during the Mesozoic era, and the minerals that were forming during that time. Maybe throw in some "fun" animation of dinosaurs playing ballgames with zircon crystals as balls? I know the animation idea may sound lame and even absurd, but ideas need to be tossed around. Planetariums made money for years with laser shows, allowing them to update their facilities and remain relevant and exciting. What about mineral sales and auctions during special dinosaur exhibits and programs? Giant screen computer-generated action films showing the often violent formation of our planet? Present ideas to movie industry animators - a hit film can do wonders for its subject. Use all forms of the media to exploit these events. At the time laser shows started, I'm certain there was a reluctance among many planetarium professionals to pursue such trivialities such as light shows for the teenagers. Natural history museums need to move forward, unafraid, and accomplish the same: finding ways to raise money in order to retain their scientific relevance while using funds to update their public display cases and lighting so they don't become paragraphs in history books, like the "curiousity cabinets" and "gentleman scientists" of centuries ago.

I'll close with a paraphrase: "If you update it and make it exciting, they will come."

Greg