Museum Research Research Articles

Między monografią a koneserstwem. Badania nad polskim dizajnem XX i początków XXI wieku

The text aims to describe currents, tendencies and fields of interest in design history studies in Poland, which grew in number around the year 2000. There are several characteristic patterns to be observed. First of all, despite the fact that the pioneering monograph on the subject appeared in 1978 (I. Huml), one can still observe terminological diversity, with various terms, such as applied arts and design, being used as synonyms. Secondly, looking at the history of the research, one may draw up a calendar of key events (publications, exhibitions) which led to the development and/or consolidation of the basic vision of Polish design from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 21st century, related primarily to the political and artistic history of the country. Thirdly, the increase in historical knowledge on the subject has been generated not only by different environments but also in the context of diverse institutions (academic and museum research, art market, collecting/connoisseurship). Consequently, the research conducted so far has been methodologically diversified, influenced by different goals and results. As a result, in the social reception there is a specific coexistence of projects of a scientific, popular science and commercial nature. A critical point in the dynamics of research was marked by two events which took place at the beginning of the 21st century: the exhibition Rzeczy pospolite and the subsequent publication (2000/2001), and founding of the quarterly “2+3D” (2001). Another marked increase in initiatives has occurred since the end of the 2000s. The demand for knowledge about design history is also, to some extent, animated by the art market. On the one hand, old design collecting generates a spontaneous exchange of messages on social media, while on the other, it stimulates the creation of reliable popular science studies. Research on Polish design has been dominated by the perspective of art history, usually in its traditional version focusing on style as well as the artistic and theoretical context, and highlighting issues of uniqueness and individual authorship, which prevail over functional, technological or social aspects in the discourse. Consequently, there has been no approach that would perceive Polish design and its multiple contexts as a dynamic system, a set of practices and mediations, such as the approach proposed several years ago by Grace Lees-Maffei (Production-Consumption-Mediation Paradigm) for design history. Such a perspective would enhance and stress the importance of research on the relations between various actors in the Polish design community, such as institutions (educational, experimental and research, manufacturing), transmitters (exhibitions, advice) and mediators between production and consumption.

Museums as Places: Two review cases and a transdisciplinary perspective

In this essay, we theorize the differences and similarities between rhetorical and cultural geographic approaches to the study of one example of a memory place: museums. We use two major museum research studies to illustrate the findings. We argue that the relationship between memory and place render one major difference between these approaches: vertical versus horizontal readings. We refer to reading as the range of practices employed when studying places. Vertical reading comes mainly from the rhetoricians’ emphasis on hierarchy of meaning and horizontal reading comes mainly from geographers’ emphasis on representation and flexibility. Despite these differences, the disciplines share important similarities with respect to conceptualization and approach; both maintain that places are selective, contextual, and constitutive of identity. Studying museums as places requires both approaches, as we must attend to both how places are made (geographical) and what they do (rhetorical).

Beholding: the neuroaesthetic experience of a synesthetic dress

ABSTRACT Presently, there is a cultural phenomenon whereby technology-enabled dresses are displayed for aesthetic appraisal in museum contexts. The purpose of this study was to conduct an exploratory investigation of the impact that beholding technology-enabled dress sensory cues (i.e. dress, digital music, and coloured LED lights) had on museum vistors’ neuroaesthetic experiences. This study investigated how 44 millennial participants responded to a technology-enabled dress while using eye-tracking physiological technology during four different dress viewings (i.e. dress-only, music-only, lights-only, and music-lights). The results indicated that the dress with both music and lights had the most intensified and sustaining fixations for the participants. Therefore, it was concluded that diverse multisensory cues (i.e. music with coloured lights) provided a more enhanced aesthetic experience. This research is applicable to inform such fields as apparel, performing arts, and museum research.

Negotiating Food Heritage Interpretations: Experiences of a Project at the Estonian National Museum

Abstract The article examines varied interpretations of food heritage in contemporary Estonia, relying on the authors’ experiences of a three-year research and development project at the Estonian National Museum (ENM). The study focuses on the museum researchers’ collaboration with different stakeholders, representing small entrepreneurs and the public and non-profit sectors. The authors tackle the partners’ expectations and outcomes of diverse cooperational initiatives and the opportunities and challenges of a contemporary museum as a public forum for discussions on cultural heritage. The project revealed that diverse, complementary, and contested food heritage interpretations exist side-by-side on the Estonian foodscape. Additionally, the project enabled the authors to become better aware of the researcher’s role in the heritagisation process and of the museum as a place for negotiating the meanings and values of food culture.

Preschoolers’ social emotional learning in children’s museums and community playgrounds

Interest in social emotional learning (SEL) is higher than ever, as parents, educators, and policymakers recognize that children need more than cognitive skills for later life success. However, most SEL research has been conducted in formal education settings. This article describes results from an empirical study of 4–5 years old SEL in two informal learning settings, including children’s museums and community playgrounds. Members of the Children’s Museum Research Network observed 606 preschool children using the Revised/Shortened Minnesota Preschool Affect Checklist (MPAC-R/S). Findings show that preschool children engaged in SEL in both settings, but that significantly more instances of SEL were seen in children’s museums compared with community playgrounds. We argue that children’s museums may provide an important, peer-to-peer opportunity for children to develop and practice their SEL, one that is unique from the more common teacher-child interactions provided in schools.

The first fossil scorpion from Australia

The fossil record of scorpions in Australia is effectively non-existent. This lack of data is striking as there is evidence for other euchelicerates including eurypterids, spiders, and xiphosurids. Here, we describe a euarthropod from the Middle Triassic Hawkesbury Sandstone of Sydney, New South Wales, and attribute it to the Order Scorpiones. Due to lack of other diagnostic features, we are unable to assign the specimen to a higher-order classification. Nonetheless, this discovery confirms that scorpions were present in Australia since at least the mid-Triassic. Russell D. C. Bicknell* [rdcbicknell@gmail.com], Palaeoscience Research Centre, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, 2351, Australia; Patrick M. Smith [patrick.smith@australian.museum], Palaeontology Department, Australian Museum Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, 2010, Australia, and Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, 2109, Australia.

Explication of "places/museums of conscience" in the context of memory culture

The purpose of the article is to analyze the role and place of “museum of conscience” in modern politics of memory and cultural space. The methodology is based on a comprehensive study of a wide range of museum expositions (interviews, reports, museum projects, reviews of museum collections, etc.) and generalization of the obtained material to identify current trends in the development of "museums of conscience" in the context of memory culture. Scientific novelty. On the example of specific museum research institutions (the Sixth District Museum in Cape Town, the Holocaust Memorial Museum (Washington, USA), the Museum of Military Childhood in Sarajevo, etc.) for the first time in Ukrainian historiography, their contribution to the process of deeper study of crimes of the past and its reflection in modern politics of memory and cultural space is analyzed. Conclusions: Places of conscience are museums, memorials, and other historical places, which aim not only to preserve memory but also to stimulate people’s conscience. While working with a visitor, they prefer forms that contribute to the involvement of a visitor in discussion and dialogue. The museum exhibit serves as a safe place to discuss sharp issues and reconcile conflicting parties in society. The museum collection and the results of its research are distributed in order to stimulate the human conscience. The task of the museums is not only to preserve the memory about the crimes of the past but also to provide an opportunity for a visitor to establish a connection between this past and today’s struggle for human rights.

Classification Schemes Gone Awry: Implications for Museum Research and Exhibition Display Practices

AbstractClassification schemes for collecting, studying, and displaying objects in museum contexts are power‐filled forms of knowledge in Foucauldian senses. When such typologies are imprecise or, more harmfully, misleading or forthrightly mistaken, a museum’s collecting practices, curatorial interpretations, and exhibition display decisions can go astray and obscure the social structural and ideological processes that produced the objects in the first place. This introductory essay explores these issues in general theoretical terms and sets the scene for our special issue’s four case studies of historically and ethnographically complex exhibitions in several museums from Manhattan to Brooklyn to Worcester, MA. The literature on the impact of colonialism on museum worlds’ systems of thought and classification is especially important. [museum typologies, curatorship, classification schemes]

Mapping the research on museums and the public sphere: a scoping review

PurposeIn museum research, museums are held as vital in maintaining the public sphere. This scoping review takes stock of the present status of museum–public sphere research by providing an overview of the existing literature as a point of departure for future research. In short, it maps the research aims, theoretical concepts, research methods and findings within the field and identifies research gaps.Design/methodology/approachA scoping review methodology is used to provide a knowledge synthesis of the museum–public sphere literature. This approach is instrumental for researching multi-disciplinary, fragmented or underdeveloped research fields. Reviews can help identify otherwise easily overlooked gaps in the research literature and are an essential tool.FindingsOverwhelmingly, the published literature consists of case studies, some of which are theoretically ambitious. Still, cases are selected without explicit goals regarding analytical or theoretical generalization, and the studies are not placed within a theory-building framework. Moreover, the museum–public sphere research primarily focuses on museums in the core Anglosphere countries and is conducted by researchers affiliated with institutions in those countries. The museum–community relationship is a common research theme addressing engagement with the public through either visitor participation or community participation.Originality/valueThis is the first published scoping review or systematically conducted review and knowledge synthesis of the museum–public sphere research literature to our knowledge. The article finds and discusses a range of research gaps that need to be addressed theoretically and empirically.

The role of Karl K. Koststyushko-Valyuzhinich in developing scientific library of Tauric Chersonese State Museum and Heritage Site

On July 15 – September 5, 2020, the exhibition “Non-archeological values of the archeological museum” took place at Tauric Chersonese State Museum and Heritage Site. The exhibition revealed the history of the book collection of Karl Kazimirovich Koststyushko-Valyuzhinich (1847−1907), museum founder and first head of excavations. Museum researchers investigate into the origins of the museum scientific library, both the books purchased by the founder and individual publications in the museum book collection. The authors conclude that the museum library was formed, in large part, on the basis Koststyushko Valyuzhinich’s book collection and down to his book preferences. In fact, the unique museum book collection was formed during the lifetime of the outstanding figure. That is the reason for the museum library, and precisely, its part acquired by Koststyushko-Valyuzhinich, to be included into the register of Russian book monuments.

Proviviparus talbragarensis gen. et sp. nov., the first viviparid snail from the Late Jurassic of Australia

Extinct freshwater snails of the family Viviparidae can be found on all continents with the exception of Madagascar and Antarctica. These snails are usually thought to have evolved in the Early Jurassic of Laurasia. Our findings suggest that viviparids may have achieved an almost worldwide distribution by the Late Jurassic. Here we report viviparid snails from the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed in New South Wales, Australia, and describe them as a new genus and species. This represents the first reliable record of the family Viviparidae from the Jurassic of Gondwana. One specimen shows a thin operculum and in another there is evidence of brooding. Michael Frese [ michael.frese@canberra.edu.au ], Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia and Australian Museum Research Institute, College Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia; Winston Ponder [wponder@bigpond.net.au ], Australian Museum Research Institute, College Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia.

Heritage Education and Research in Museums. Conceptual, Intellectual and Social Structure within a Knowledge Domain (2000–2019)

Heritage and museums have constituted two fundamental axes of heritage education research in recent decades. This can be defined as the pedagogical process in which people can learn about heritage assets in formal or informal learning contexts. Museums, as centres of reference in informal education, are in constant and fluid contact with schools and produce different and varied didactic materials related to heritage. This paper provides results concerning the development and shaping of the knowledge domain known as heritage education between 2000 and 2019 on the Web of Science (WoS). To this end, different techniques and tools have been used: R-package Bibliometrix and VOSviewer. This analysis has identified five clusters with the topics underpinning heritage education as a specific field of knowledge. Our inquiry has highlighted the fact that there has been an increase in production regarding research topics associated with heritage education and museums in this period, particularly between 2015 and 2019. The inclusion of ESCI journals has led to a greater visibility of WoS-indexed academic production in some countries. Finally, the concepts “heritage”, “museum” and “education” are the axes around which the research paradigms related to heritage education research seem to have been developed.

A novel method for dendrochronology of large historical wooden objects using line trajectory X-ray tomography

Dendrochronology is an essential tool to determine the date and provenance of wood from historical art objects. As standard methods to access the tree rings are invasive, X-ray computed tomography (CT) has been proposed for non-invasive dendrochronological investigation. While traditional CT can provide clear images of the inner structure of wooden objects, it requires their full rotation, imposing strong limitations on the size of the object. These limitations have previously encouraged investigations into alternative acquisition trajectories, including trajectories with only linear movement. In this paper, we use such a line-trajectory (LT) X-ray tomography technique to retrieve tree-ring patterns from large wooden objects. We demonstrate that by moving a wooden artifact sideways between the static X-ray source and the detector during acquisition, sharp reconstruction images of the tree rings can be produced. We validate this technique using computer simulations and two wooden test planks, and demonstrate it on a large iconic chest from the Rijksmuseum collection (Amsterdam, The Netherlands). The LT scanning method can be easily implemented in standard X-ray imaging units available at museum research facilities. Therefore, this scanning technique represents a major step towards the standard implementation of non-invasive dendrochronology on large wooden cultural heritage objects.

Revealing researcher engagement in museum-related research: a reflective account

The absence of extended discussions about the feasibility of carrying out qualitative research within the ‘research methods’ sections of most heritage and mainstream museum studies articles means there is not much direction provided to novice heritage and museum researchers as well as aspiring PhD candidates to augment their own methodological practices. Literature related to unexpected circumstances during fieldwork, the importance of human interactions in data collection and the self-reflection of researchers in heritage and museum-related research remains limited. This paper reflectively explores aspects of the author’s journey as a PhD researcher at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, and the challenges encountered during fieldwork. The paper concludes that recognizing and encouraging reflexivity and interpersonal engagement and reflecting on challenging moments during the research process in museums and heritage sites brings insight to the study, and brings the researcher/researchee closer to the reader.

Moving beyond Weiss and Springer’sRepatriation and Erasing the Past:Indigenous values, relationships, and research

AbstractThis commentary debunks the poor scholarship inRepatriation and Erasing the Pastby Elizabeth Weiss and James Springer. We show that modern bioarchaeological practice with Indigenous remains places ethics, partnership, and collaboration at the fore and that the authors’ misconstructed dichotomous fallacy between “objective science” and Indigenous knowledge and repatriation hinders the very argument they are espousing. We demonstrate that bioarchaeology, when conducted in collaboration with stakeholders, enriches research, with concepts and methodologies brought forward to address common questions, and builds a richer historical and archaeological context. As anthropologists, we need to acknowledge anti-Indigenous (and anti-Black) ideology and the insidious trauma and civil rights violations that have been afflicted and re-afflicted through Indigenous remains being illegally or unethically obtained, curated, transferred, and used for research and teaching in museums and universities. If we could go so far as to say that anything good has come out of this book, it has been the stimulation in countering these beliefs and developing and strengthening ethical approaches and standards in our field.

Trilobites from the mid-Darriwilian (Middle Ordovician) of the Amadeus Basin, central Australia

Sixteen species of trilobites are described from the Middle Ordovician (mid-Darriwilian, Da2) Stairway Sandstone and Stokes Siltstone at multiple spot localities from the Amadeus Basin, Northern Territory, central Australia. New trilobite taxa described include two new genera: Ghanaspis gen. nov. and Iridis gen. nov.; as well as five new species; Eisarkaspis jonesi sp. nov., Ghanaspis ritchiei gen. et sp. nov., Iridis schoonorum gen. et sp. nov., Lycophron titan sp. nov., and Norasaphus (Norasaphus) patersoni sp. nov. Of these, Lycophron titan sp. nov. is the largest species of trilobite so far documented from Australia and possibly the third largest in the world. Also redescribed is Basilicus thorntoni [=Asaphus (Megalaspis?) thorntoni] based on the recently rediscovered type material and additional specimens from elsewhere in the basin. *P.M. Smith [Patrick.Smith@austmus.gov.au], Palaeontology Department, Australian Museum Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, 2010, Australia and, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, 2109, Australia; J.R. Laurie [john.r.laurie@gmail.com], Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, 2109, Australia.

Leadership Legitimacy

Leadership Legitimacy

국립중앙과학관과 대덕연구개발특구 과학기술계 정부출연연구기관의 과학문화 프로그램 융합적 협력 사례 연구

과학관은 과학전시와 체험 등의 과학 활동의 기회제공을 통한 과학문화 확산을 위한 주요 기관으로 강조되고 있다. 또한, 과학기술계 정부출연연구기관들도 과학교육과 기관홍보를 위한 다양한 콘텐츠의 과학활동 프로그램을 운영 중이다.<BR> 본 연구는 과학문화 활동 융·복합 협력사례로 시작되었으며, 본 연구의 목적은 국립중앙과학관과 대덕연구개발특구내 과학기술계 정부출연연구기관들이 과학대중화라는 공공의 목적으로 운영하는 프로그램의 협업과 협력사례를 조사하여 과학문화 확산에 기여하고자 한다. 본 연구를 위하여 연구 대상 기관들의 홈페이지, 보도자료, 공개청구, 면담 등을 통해 기관별 과학문화 활동을 조사하였고, 본 논문은 융합 협력 과학문화 활동을 중심으로 분석하였다.<BR> 본 논문의 연구결과 첫째, 과기출연(연)은 국가연구 개발성공사례를 국립중앙과학관에 지속적으로 전시·개발함으로써 연구성과 확산을 위한 과학전시 콘텐츠를 생성할 수 있다. 둘째, 국립중앙과학관은 과기출연(연)의 원천 콘텐츠를 기반으로 과학전시 R&D, ICT를 활용한 융합 과학문화 프로그램 개발에 지속적인 협력을 강구해야 한다. 셋째, 양 기관들에 의해 생성된 콘텐츠들은 전국의 국·공·사립 과학관에 공급함으로써 과학기술의 대중성 제고 및 성과 확산에 기여한다. 이러한 연구를 바탕으로 대중적 과학문화 활동 프로그램 개발 및 과학문화 확산을 기대한다.

«Без мінералогічних зібрань неможливий розвиток мінералогії» — академік В.І. Вернадський

The article briefly covers the history, mineral wealth, activities, problems of development of all official mineralogical museums of Ukraine that have different subordination and different status. The key role of academician V.I. Vernadsky is analyzed in the development of museums in Ukraine. Peculiarities of scientific-educational, research and scientific-organizational activity of mineralogical museums are considered.

Whether and How Knowledge Moderates Linkages between Parent–Child Conversations and Children’s Reflections about Tinkering in a Children’s Museum

ABSTRACT This study is a collaborative project between university researchers and museum practitioners investigating ways to advance STEM learning opportunities for young children and their families in museums. The focus of the work is on how the knowledge resources that are available to families (e.g., prior knowledge, information provided by the museum staff) can support talk about STEM during and after hands-on problem-solving activities in a museum exhibit. More specifically, we asked whether and how associations between parent–child talk about STEM during tinkering, and the STEM content of the children’s reflections on their learning afterward, might vary based on the knowledge that is available to families to make sense of their experiences. One hundred and eleven families with 5- to 10-year-old children (M = 7.23 years) were observed in a tinkering exhibit in a children’s museum. Results indicated that the more parents and children talked about STEM during tinkering, the more the children talked about STEM in their reflections. This association was moderated by children’s knowledge based on prior tinkering experiences, and knowledge that was acquired through a pre-tinkering, facilitated orientation by museum staff about engineering, but not by children’s age or parents’ educational attainment. Implications for museum research and practice are discussed.