ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

The first science museums began to develop in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as naturalist or natural history museums with collections on display to educate the public.

The science center movement, which had a greater emphasis on the use of technology to educate, began in the beginning of the twentieth century. Some of the first major such institutions (which were not literally called science centers at that time) included:

Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany (1903)

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago (1933)

Franklin Institute, Philadelphia (1934)

The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, Pittsburgh (1939)

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
  < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh: 
  < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: 
  < http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com > 
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh: 
  < http://incline.pghfree.net >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >


--- On Wed, 3/30/11, Andrea Motto <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> From: Andrea Motto <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: emergence of science centers
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 12:13 PM
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the
> Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and
> related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> Hello friends and smart people,
> I'm working on a paper for a History of Science class
> regarding the
> social and political climate surrounding the emergence of
> science
> centers and I would love to get some perspective from the
> field. What
> are your criteria for a "science center" (as opposed to a
> museum,
> though there is certainly crossover) and which institutions
> do you
> consider to be the firsts in the field, that is, the people
> and places
> who founded our industry. How, if at all, do you make the
> distinction
> between a science center and a museum? When was the science
> center
> born and how do I know one when I see it? I'm sure there is
> no clear
> answer, but I would love to hear some opinions. Once I know
> the "what"
> and "when" I can start looking at the "how" and "why." I
> know of work
> on the history of the Exploratorium, but what other
> institutional
> histories are worthy of exploration?
> 
> -- 
> Andrea Motto
> Graduate Research Assistant
> Virginia Tech
> Blacksburg, VA
> [log in to unmask]
> 
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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

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