Science, meaning and myth in the museum

Abstract

The paper depicts the potential of the exhibit which addresses science and technology historically to answer urgent contemporary problems. Such exhibits can, it is argued, help the public respond to the threat posed by scientific and technological change to categories—ranging from motherhood to self-will—used to structure our world. Museum accounts can play a mythological role in helping individuals make renewed sense of their world. Examples show how hypothetical exhibits dealing with themes such as fermentation and optics can be used to enable visitors to examine their own interpretations of the natural and the subjective respectively.