Too Much Theory Ruins Museums

In the early 19th century, most natural history and science museums were lit-tie more than cabinets of curiosities whose purpose was to delight and amaze people with the extravagant and the bizarre. In both the United States and Europe, little effort was made to organize the collections in any sort of coherent fashion; stuffed dugongs often sat next to meteorites and mastodon bones. These private cabinets full of oddities and the exotic were mostly a form of amusement for the wealthier classes.

Written byDouglas Preston

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Natural history museums have come a long way from being cabinets of curiosities, but there is a trend that threatens to push museums to the opposite extreme. That trend is the growing influence of educational theory on natural history museum exhibits. This rapidly expanding field, with its love of jargon and scientific testing, threatens to strangle the spontaneity, freshness and wonder of natural history museum exhibits. In recent years the number of artifacts and specimens on display has been decreasing in favor of placards, video loops, extensive graphics and other teaching aids.

The first role of a museum is to delight and entertain—not teach. Museums are about the only place where children and adults alike can get a real sense of the wonder and curiosity that is a fundamental and vitally important aspect of science. The history of science is full of great men and women who were enchanted by ...

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