One Hundred Strong: A Colloquium on Transforming Natural History Museums in the Twenty-first Century

April 1st, 2013 | RESEARCH

In February 2012, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History ( NMNH) convened 100 colleagues from 43 organizations to initiate a collaborative learning research agenda focused on examining important areas for innovation to better serve twenty-first-century audiences. The conference organizers anticipated that scientists, educators, exhibit professionals, and other members of the natural history community would identify and prioritize research questions about what, how, why, when, and where people learn about natural history. We prepared to engage in a conversation about how natural history museums could change what they do. The participants' overwhelming passion for their work, and for natural history museums and their transformative potential for society, quickly turned the conversation toward how natural history museums should change what they are. The result was an emergent learning research agenda situated within a broader vision for natural history museums.

Document

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Team Members

Bill Watson, Author, Smithsonian Institution
shari werb, Author, Smithsonian Institution

Citation

Identifier Type: DOI
Identifier: 10.1111/cura.12023

Publication: Curator: The Museum Journal
Volume: 56
Number: 2
Page(s): 255

Related URLs

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cura.12023/abstract

Tags

Audience: Educators | Teachers | Museum | ISE Professionals | Scientists
Discipline: Education and learning science
Resource Type: Conference Proceedings | Reference Materials
Environment Type: Conferences | Professional Development | Conferences | Networks