Technical Museums Research Articles

Reshaping future museums through innovativeness: the views of locals and tourists

ABSTRACT Innovations play a key role in museum development. However, there remains a gap regarding the extent to which museums’ innovativeness enhances the appeal for both locals and tourists. This study offers insights into museums’ innovativeness, visitor satisfaction, and behavioural intentions by adopting a demand-side perspective. The aim is to examine and compare the impact of museums’ innovativeness on the behaviour of locals and tourists applying consumer-centric views. A face-to-face survey of visitors (N = 344) in one of the technical museums of Saint-Petersburg was conducted. The empirical part is based on the CFA and SEM techniques. This research reveals the strong impact of the perceived innovativeness of a museum on visitors’ satisfaction and revisit intention (for locals and tourists separately). The study facilitates the comprehension of the impact of museum innovations on the behaviours of visitors and their decision-making processes.

Possibilities and limits of development of technical museums in Ostrava region in the nineteenth–twenty-first centuries

The paper analyses the ways in which the idea of the technical museum developed in the industrial region of Ostrava in the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The issue is determined by political, economic and cultural changes in the following time periods: from the end of Austro-Hungarian monarchy (until 1918); the first Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938); WWII (1938–1945); post-war development, the so called Third Republic (1945–1948); the communist era (1948–1989); and from 1989 to the present. The development was always determined by whether the idea of the regional technical museum was interesting to powerful and intellectual elites, and what the response was from broader society – hence the significance of newspaper articles and other period reflections of the situation.

Two centuries of Russian railway history

The history of the creation of one of the oldest scientifi c and technical museums in the world — the Central Museum of Railway Transport, which is 210 years old — is considered.The Central Museum of Railway Transport collection began with models made under the leadership of Augustine de Betancourt, the founder and first inspector (rector) of the Institute of the Corps of Railway Engineers, chief director of railways, and the founder of engineering in Russia. These include models of spiers used in the construction of St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, the Manege in Moscow, the pontoon of a floating bridge across the Oka River in Nizhny Novgorod, etc. This is the only collection that has survived in the world to this day, reflecting the developments of an outstanding scientist. Using the museum’s stock materials, one can trace all the main stages of the development of railway transport in Russia: from the opening in 1837 of the Tsarskoye Selo Railway, the first public railway in Russia, to the achievements of modern railway transport. Today, the Center for Railway Transport of the Russian Federation is the only state museum of the industry. The museum’s collections contain more than 70 thousand items refl ecting the history of the development of Russian railways over the entire period of their existence. The large-scale exhibition “Gallery of the Heads of the Department of Railways for 225 Years” is dedicated to the festive date, which displays the only collection of portraits in Russia of all the heads of the Department of Transport.

Acoustic Emission Monitoring as a Non-invasive Tool to Assist the Conservator in the Reactivation and Maintenance of Historical Vehicle Engines

ABSTRACT Historical cars are an important part of the cultural heritage of the last 150 years. Their preservation in technical museums raises the question of how to preserve their primary functionality, namely their mobility. This implies being able to reactivate and to maintain their thermal engines, which are the source of their motion. However, the diversity and complexity of these engines generally require the presence of highly qualified personnel as well as detailed condition reports to assist the conservators. This study proposes to use acoustic emission techniques to facilitate these conservation procedures by objectifying the evaluation of the state of the engines and by providing systematic quantitative indicators for their health monitoring. To illustrate the implementation and the potentialities of this approach, different tests have been carried out at the National Automobile Museum of Mulhouse, on a Renault Type AG1. A dedicated experimental setup and the associated measurement protocol are presented in this paper. The derived results show the ability of this method to detect specific types of engine malfunctions, both during bench test and in situ measurement conditions. A critical discussion is finally proposed to highlight the feasibility and the possibilities of such laboratory techniques in the context of conservation assistance.

PROBLEMS OF EXHIBITING RARE AVIATION EQUIPMENT IN MUSEUMS OF KYIV

The article gives a brief description of technical museums, which, along with historical, artistic, military, and local lore, are an element of preserving the people’s cultural heritage. It is noted, in particular, those technical museums are divided into multidisciplinary and sectoral (which are more common). In addition, the development of military equipment is reflected in military history museums. A brief description of the first technical museums of Kyiv and the most famous aviation museums in the world is given. In particular, the attention paid in the West to the planes of the Second World War and their participation in air shows, which gather thousands of spectators, is described. As an example of the restoration and the difficulties that arose during its implementation, which was due to the lack of technical documentation, the process of restoration of the WB bomber is given. It turns out that the stamp «secretly» extended to all drawings of it. That is why after the removal of this model of the bomber from production, all the documentation for the aircraft was destroyed, even though the operation of the machine in civil aviation continued for several years. The way of ANT-7 production of the end of 1920s to the exposition in the hangar of the 11th building of NAU is considered in detail. The exhibit was collected from three planes that crashed in different parts of the North and Siberia in the 1940s. It is noted that the restoration of the engines was the most excellent part of the process, as the manual for their operation and highly qualified specialists were found. Attention is also paid to the reasons for deviations from the technical norms of the late 1920’s – early 1930’s models in the process of the restoration of the aircraft. Attention is also paid to the opening of the State Aviation Museum of Ukraine and the expansion of its exposition. In addition, the prospects of searching for World War II aircraft in Ukraine are considered and the need for state involvement, in this case, is emphasized.

International committee for museums and collections of science and technology – CIMUSET ICOM : past activities and prospects for future direction (including in the context of Czech technical museums and activities)

The article summarizes information about the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Science and Technology CIMUSET, which is one of the oldest independent professional units within the organizational structure of ICOM. It focuses on changes in the concept and goals of CIMUSET in the past, specific activities and projects, but also the vision of further development. The aim of the authors of the contribution is also to draw attention to the possibility of getting involved in the activities of this committee, because the issue of preserving and using the cultural heritage of science and technology is a matter of a much wider spectrum of museum and memory institutions, not only specialized museums and science centres.

Plastics in robots: a degradation study of a humanoid skin mask made of soft urethane elastomer

Understanding the degradation of plastic materials is a big challenge for curators, conservators and conservation scientists in museums worldwide aiming to preserve their collections due to the variety of formulations of synthetic polymers and pigments. The conservation of polyurethane (PUR) based objects is challenging because they can suffer from extensive degradation. Particularly PUR elastomers can degrade shortly after their production, as occurred to the mask of the Japanese robot SAYA, which within 8 years suffered from two large tears, discoloration and stickiness. This research aims at studying the degradation phenomena of the androids’ synthetic skin. Better knowledge of the chemical composition of the mask and the chemical and physical decay will contribute to planning a suitable stabilization treatment. Within a multi-analytical approach, colorimetric and microscopic investigations highlighted discolored areas, which showed further color changes within a five months monitoring campaign, confirming the instability of the material likely due to ongoing degradation. Raman microscopy allowed the identification of Pigment White 6 (titanium dioxide TiO2) in the anatase form, known to promote the photosensitivity of PUR substrates towards ultraviolet (UV) light. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy identified the PUR composition of the mask, the presence of phthalates as plasticizers and suggested the formation of quinone chromophores in the polymer structure as a result of photo-oxidation, possibly responsible for the mask yellowing. Evolved gas analysis-mass spectrometry (EGA-MS) and double-shot-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD/Py–GC/MS) analyses support the characterization of the formulation of the mask as being made of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) PUR ether elastomer. Plasticizers in high concentration, mainly diisononyl phthalate (DINP) and bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), and the UV stabilizer Tinuvin 328 were also detected. In addition, the presence of styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) could also contribute to the mask’s chemical instability. More amount of UV stabilizer and phthalates were detected at the surface (contributing to its stickiness) than in the inner core. The degradation of the mask results from the light susceptibility of MDI PUR ether and SAN, as well as the higher photochemical activity of anatase. The mask was transferred on to a mannequin and placed in the storage area to prevent light exposure and photo-oxidation. As loose edges had to be stabilized, tests were conducted and adhesive stripes glued with a PUR dispersion were selected for keeping the head’s shape. The novelty of this study is the implementation of conservation science on the study of androids with PUR elastomeric components in robotic collections, which are becoming increasingly popular in technical museums, however still seldomly studied.

Origins and Formation of the German Museum of Outstanding Achievements in Natural Science and Technology

The German Museum of Outstanding Achievements in Natural Science and Technology in Munich was founded in 1903. For three years its founder electrical engineer Oskar von Miller collected an extensive collection of historical and technical exhibits, and in 1906 the museum was opened to the public. The German Museum in Munich demonstrated for the first time that not only artists, but also technicians created masterpieces, not only philosophers, but also inventors had ingenious ideas, not only medieval objects, but also modern technology is a relic. O. von Miller formulated the most important motives and goals of the museum as follows: documentation of the role of technology for the development of society and culture; the implementation of an educational function in the presentation of technology, the achievement of a national status. The didactic principles of organizing exhibitions in the museum served to popularize natural science laws, to visually demonstrate the functional application of technical inventions. The presentation of technical objects was qualitatively different from the exhibition principles of other technical museums. Demonstration of old technologies and historical machines in action was already the norm in museum work. O. von Miller set the task of the museum to explain the technology of manufacturing technical products, such as watches, fabrics, and so on, for which fragments of workshops and factories were reproduced in exhibitions. For the first time in a technical museum, in addition to the traditional chronological display of technical inventions, the principle of operation of machines and apparatus was explained by means of experiments conducted with exhibits by visitors and museum staff. This function was extremely new for the technical museum and was nevertheless carried out mainly by the public, mainly students and young people.

Философские основания и возможности интерпретации технического наследия в музейном пространстве

The article is devoted to the issues of preservation of technology in the museum space and its conceptual understanding on the example of interpretation. The purpose of the article is to identify possible methods of interpreting technology through the study of concepts of philosophy of technology and interdisciplinary museum projects. The article provides examples of interdisciplinary and inter-museum projects, during the implementation of which the possibilities for interpreting both the printed instrument and the legacy of the industrial era were identified. As a result, the illuminated approaches to the consideration of technology can be used to create museum projects. Technical museums can generate new meanings, initiate intercultural dialogue, attract specialists of various profiles and museum visitors themselves to preserve technology through updating and interpretation.

Top­-4 secrets for science literacy promotion

This article informs about new segment of scientific activity, which is developing rapidly through the entire world, namely: science literacy. The results of two international conferences on the subject (Beijing, 2018 and 2019) were presented. Discussions on these conferences gives enough confirmations that science literacy has its own niche (target group, methodology, etc.), which is differ from well-known STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). The main objective of STEM is the selection of talented individuals. The same time certain amount of scientific information is required not only for the mentioned individuals but also for the rest people of our planet. It is impossible to identify correctly what is the percentage of population has interest in specific scientific information. But there are no doubts that all inhabitants of the Earth should have fair information of how science, technology and engineering would change their personal life in the nearest and far future. Climate change is the most evident example. But one also can add artificial intelligence as well as irradiation influence from cell phones on the brain, or shortage of pure water and etc. To cover above demands the specific area of scientific activity should be distinguished. The natural name of this area is science literacy. As the first step of science literacy identification the author gives its own definition of new area of scientific activity. The specific promotion tools for this new area of scientific activity already exist worldwide. They are: popular science books, technical museums and etc. Author analyzed these tools and made the conclusion that for efficient science literacy promotion they should be: a) inexpensive; b) reproducible; c) interesting; d) using modern technologies. The examples, which confirm this conclusion, were listed. The action plan was proposed for more efficient international promotion of science literacy.

Gyrolog – Developing a Digital Collection of Gyro Instruments for Historical and Didactical Research

AbstractTechnical artefacts and instruments form an essential part of cultural heritage. If historically analysed and suitably explained, they provide insights into developments and objects that had and still have a significant influence upon our present civilization. Without any explanation and contextualization, however, these objects will remain stubbornly silent, especially if they are technically complex or highly encapsulated.Based on a gyroscope collection at the University of Stuttgart, the Gyrolog project intends to take these instruments out of their black boxes by digital means. These inconspicuous yet indispensable objects of many of today's key technologies (from automatic car navigation to handheld devices) are of prime interest to historians of technology as well as to technical didactics and to technical museums. The project will render the unique gyroscope collection at the University of Stuttgart digitally accessible and, moreover, will virtually unite it with smaller collections at other institutions.Apart from their importance for daily life technologies, gyroscopes have always been of prime military interest as well. Reproducing the artefacts digitally will therefore open further ways to science and technology studies of dual use technologies.Gyrolog aims at a basic digital representation of all gyroscopes found in German collections. At the centrepiece of the project, however, cutting edge imaging and digitalizing technologies will exhibit carefully selected objects literally in depth. By combining advanced animation and optical technologies, Gyrolog seeks to present a unique technical collection in digital format as well as an elaborated methodical approach for exploring complex small technical artefacts.

FROM MUSEUM-TEMPLE TO MUSEUM-FORUM - THE EVOLUTION OF MUSEUM IN THE PUBLIC SPACE

A nu arăta o operă de artă înseamnă a nu-i permite să fiinţeze. (Boris Groys) Museums and their public haven’t always been as we know them today. In 17th century, curiosity cabinets (mirabilia) have been realized by nobles and aristocrats; the only public of these cabinets was the collector and his fellows, belonging to the same social class. The first museums as public institutions appear in 18th century, continuing to develop during 19th century, but their image and accessibility is very different from nowadays. The situation changes after the World War II, when appear a lot of theoretical studies about museums and their public. The Museum-Temple is transforming into Museum-Forum, where every member of the community must feel represented. In the second part of the article we realized a classification of the museums and a description of each specific class which form this cultural diversity: art museums, history museums, anthropology museum, natural history museums, technical museums, monetary museums. Historical and contemporary examples of museums can be found through this study.

The History of Russian Railway Museums

In Russia there are hundreds of railway museums and expositions of railways. The article is concerned with the history of railway museums of Russia, in particular, museum in Saint Petersburg, one of the oldest technical museums in the world, creation of which showed the beginning of history of railway museums of Russia in 1813 and further which was opened as the museum of the department of transport named after the emperor Nicholas I in 1902. The emperor Nicholas II visited it and donated some personal belongings of Nicholas I from the imperial palaces to the museum. In 1987 it became the Central Museum of Railway Transport of the Ministry of Railways in Russia. Also the history of the museum of railway transport of Rostov-on-Don is analyzed. The museum is the second in Russia by the uniqueness of the collection and out of competition by the number of the existing exhibits. As the construction of railways have changed the development of Russia, visiting of the railway museums let to examine the historical periods of development of the country.

Interdisciplinary Cooperation in the Virtual Presentation of Industrial Heritage Development

The issue of industrial heritage conservation as well as its new use has been worldwide hot topic for a longer period. Industrial heritage provides one of the most important records of urban development and progress of human civilization in the last two centuries. Monumental industrial buildings reflect the extraordinary technical and economic development and the progress in science and technology. Even after the termination of their original function, industrial heritage buildings and equipment's with their architecture are still participating in the atmosphere of each city in a significant way.The electricity industry played a key role in the life of the mankind. Electricity and electrical currents are intangible symbols of the creative use of the natural forces by man, also a real driving force for technological progress and extensive development of human knowledge. The young generation takes it for granted, with no interest in learning about its causal impact and context.A global problem is the decreasing interest of young people in studying natural sciences and engineering, which is a prerequisite for further technological progress and socio-economic development of the life of inhabitants. This lack of interest is justified by the high abstraction and lack of clarity in the scientific and technical fields which are move about from people's everyday lives. Therefore, the current trend is developing an interactive virtual model of presentations of this rich source of knowledge and experiences. Those are able to make technical museums more attractive and allow the inspirational use for a broader audience.The article “Interdisciplinary cooperation in the virtual presentation of industrial heritage development” is aimed to explore opportunities for collaboration between theoretical research, monument preservation, virtual reality and architectural practice. It deals with the identified key factors that conditionally affect the quality and efficiency of architectural design process within the cooperation in the conservation process. As well as it deals with the opportunities of transfer the research results from futuristic disciplines. For this purpose, the paper examines the case study “the reconstruction of old Power plant in city Piestany” and describes one of the possible solutions on the basis of the operational research model so-called “Educational polygon.”

Historical and Cultural Bases in the Evolution of Foreign Scientific and Technical Museums

Using the historical and culturological approach, the author analyzes key phases of genesis and evolution of foreign scientific and technical museums as a cultural phenomenon. Scientific and social potential of the technical museums and their role in the modern society are conceptualized in the article.

Museums designing for the future: some perspectives confronting German technical and industrial museums in the twenty-first century

During the 1970s the German museum professionals debated the pressing question of whether museums are places of learning or just temples of the Muses. In the 1990s, the terms ‘experiential museums’ and ‘museum experience’ came to the fore. Furthermore, the whole cultural landscape was affected by the crisis of de-industrialisation that has been taking place over the past decades. How can industrial and technical museums deal with these challenges? What can be done to make museums more attractive? What can they do to design future? The present article explores these questions and reaches the conclusion that, at present, most of industrial and technical museums are tackling social changes. They are focusing increasingly on current issues such as migration, Europeanisation and globalisation and they are relating history to contemporary questions. They are developing new policies and applying advanced presentation and education methods, inspired by science centres and the brand lands of the company museums. Some are concentrating on more interactive elements, while others are utilising scenography. New foundations are profiting above all from a crossover that is occurring. Many new museums broadened their definition, now being a hybrid of cultural heritage site, science centre, archaeological site and tourist destination.

Topical issues of administrative and legal support of the establishment and activities of science and technology museums

The features of the functioning of science and technology museums in Ukraine and abroad. It is shown thatthe absence of adequate government support creates difficulties for the operation of technical museums that have typically departmental in nature. The measures of the legislative and fiscal support.

The role of technical museums in the regeneration of industrial functionally: Restructured regions Romania

The main purpose of the study is to depict the evolution of technical museums across Romania, high-lighting a new trend - visible in the past few years - towards preservation of industrial heritage assets in areas that have undergone functional reorganization. This trend is the result of the country's adaptation to the new socio-economic conditions, but also an accession into the stage of cultural and touristic capitalization on industrial heritage assets, acting as a support-activity in boosting the economy of dis advantaged industrial areas. The second purpose of the study consists of elaborating a critical analysis of technical museums from Romania in order to identify the characteristics to use to increase their cultural role. Also, the analysis is focused on the premise to make technical museums stand out as tourist attraction hubs and to preview their role in the redevelopment of industrial areas in decline, banking on a positive economic and socio-cultural impact.

The ‘context museum’: integrating science and culture

One of the most important tasks facing science and technology museums today is to shed the view of science as divorced from culture. Ivo Janousek explains how the history of Western thought resulted in this dichotomy and points a way forward to bring about a more integrated understanding of the world around us. The author is director of the National Technical Museum in Prague and a specialist in cybernetics, philosophy of science and culture, and contemporary art criticism. He is a member of the board of the European Collaborative for Science, Industry and Technology (ECSITE) and the Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTECH), and is a vice‐president of the Middle‐European Union of Technical Museums (MUT). He is the author of numerous monographs, patents, scientific articles and art catalogues, and radio and television programmes, as well as a lecturer in logic and epistemology at Charles University in Prague.

Museums of Technology in Germany

To the historian of technology, technical museums serve several purposes: they are historical sources made material, and their exhibitions confront a wide audience with historical questions, helping to popularize the history of technology and to recruit new scholars. In this article we will offer a necessarily too brief introduction to German technical museums, beginning with institutions that take a broad approach and then turning to more specialized museums of industry, transportation, and other aspects of technology.