Collecting contemporary science, technology and medicine

Abstract

Museums are often associated exclusively with bygones. This can be problematic, especially for those who manage science, technology and medicine (STM) collections. In seeking to correct this misconception with contemporary collecting, they also face other problems, especially in scale and complexity. While acknowledging such challenges, this opinion piece proposes opportunities afforded by the material culture of recent STM. Contemporary material can be used to tell stories as well as explain technicalities; it can connect with visitors using everyday objects and put 'difficult' material into context.

Sustainability in out-of-school science education: identifying the unique potentials

“…Science and technology museums have a special role to play here, as industrialisation has often made forceful intrusions into the homelands of indigenous people and communities, who had otherwise lived in harmony with nature (Anderson and Hadlaw 2018;Main 2017). Science and technology museums can build relationships with such groups to create and enrich collective understandings of the role of science, technology and engineering in contemporary society (Alberti et al 2018), and help audiences grapple with the emotional, cultural and physical challenges of the present crisis (Main 2017). For instance, Museums Victoria offer education activities based on the science and technology of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders that illustrate how these communities lived in ways that were sustainable for the future and the lessons that can be learned from them (Museums Victoria 2020).…”

“The oil adventure”. A timeline exhibition at the Norwegian Petroleum Museum

“…One example is the ongoing collection of petroleum-related objects at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh being understood to represent "the end of a technical endeavour" (Alberti et al 2018:417). The broad decommissioning of offshore infrastructures motivates collecting, and the focus is on the decline of petroleum industry, the removal of platforms, and on the personal histories told by the people working offshore (Alberti et al 2018:418, Cox 2017. Another example is seen with the exhibition "Energy from the Ocean -Danish Offshore in the North Sea", which opened in 2016 at the Fisheries and Maritime Museum in Esbjerg, Denmark.…”