Preserving the Future of Natural-History Museums

The author discusses practices in running a university natural history museum. He notes that standards and customs in exhibits have changed, but suggests that there is value in keeping older exhibits as they are and highlighting the principles by which they were made. He notes that natural history museums have been focused on attracting children since the 1960s. He gives recommendations for keeping them child-centered but attracting adults as well. These include emphasizing the aesthetic side of the exhibits and being respectful of the work of prior generations, not attempting to compete with fancy electronic forms of entertainment but instead focusing on what the museum is good at, and not condescending to children. Rules of decorum, he says, should be observed.