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

Interesting discussion but I wonder how these distinctions affect what we do
and how we do it?  Some of this is determined by what we perceive our
audience wants, our training and which "group" we want to be associated with
eg certification by eg ASTC, or AAM or . . .? I suspect visitors are
affected by name as "museum" may have positive or negative connotations
based upon experience. I wonder if anyone has polled the public about what
"museum", "science center"  etc means to them. Surely somebody must have as
most thiks under the Sun have been probed.

Martin

On Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 7:29 PM, Rita Mukherjee Hoffstadt <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
>
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Erich,
> Agreed, children's museums have not always been consistent with having
> collections. The use of the word seems to fall in and out of favor.
>
> Bringing the discussion back to science centers/ science museum- at the end
> of the day, I'm not sure if visitors notice the distinctions/difference
> between them. And for us to equate those with museum in their name as less
> visitor focused seems unnecessary as well.
>
> Just my two cents,
> Rita
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Mar 30, 2011, at 5:44 PM, "Erich Rose" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> > Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
> >
> *****************************************************************************
> >
> > I agree that one can make a broad generalization about science museums
> with or without collections but it does not exactly fit for Children's
> Museums.  By example the Brooklyn CM has a collection.  And yes, but most
> CMs do not.  Children's Museums certainly grapple with what they are all the
> time.  Many years back when I first went from strictly design to working at
> a Children's Museum a good friend who was educated in England and had a very
> traditional museum image in his head was surprised when I described what the
> Staten Island CM was like.  He had imagined I worked in a place that was
> full of dioramas about how children's lives had changed over time with
> displays of their clothing and toys.
> >
> > Erich Rose
> >
> > Erich Rose Design
> > 807 The Living End
> > Austin, TX 78746
> > 512-626-9930; [log in to unmask]
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mar 30, 2011, at 12:46 PM, Rita Mukherjee Hoffstadt wrote:
> >
> >> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
> Centers
> >> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
> >>
> *****************************************************************************
> >>
> >> Hi Andrea (and Everyone),
> >>
> >> The traditional definition of science centers vs. museums has been the
> possession of a collection. Thus, older informal science institutions have
> been "museums" while younger institutions are called "centers." This applies
> to children's museums as well. For an excellent quick overview of the
> evolution of science museums/centers, I recommend Alan Freidman's 1996
> article in The Informal Science Review. The full citation is listed below:
> >>
> >>
> >> Friedman, A. 1996. " The Evolution of Science and Technology Museums"
> The Informal Science Review (pp.1, 14-17) (March/April 1996)
> >>
> >> Hope this helps,
> >> Rita
> >>
> >> --
> >> Rita Mukherjee Hoffstadt
> >> Assistant Director of Traveling Exhibits and Special Projects
> >> Franklin Institute
> >> 222 North 20th Street
> >> Philadelphia, PA 19103
> >> Phone: 215 448 1309
> >> Fax: 215 448 1188
> >>
> >
> > ***********************************************************************
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> the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
> >
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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
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-- 
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Martin Weiss, PhD
Science Interpretation, Consultant
New York Hall of Science
mweiss at nyscience.org
347-460-1858

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