Challenging Collections: Approaches to the Heritage of Recent Science and Technology

Description

In 2011, Artefacts XVI in Leiden at the Museum Boerhaave addressed questions associated to "Conceptualizing, Collecting and Presenting recent Science and Technology" with a series of conference presentations revolving around the central question of the existence of rationales for museum collecting in the 21st century. Building on the research presented at the meeting, this volume will focus on the question of collecting post-WW2 scientific and technological heritage, and the equally challenging question of how such artefacts can be displayed and interpreted for diverse publics. Some possible approaches are illustrated by case studies from museums. There are also case studies from other professions, in the hope that these will encourage museum and university professionals to look beyond their usual networks for examples of innovative approaches and best practice. However, the ambiguity of the title "Challenging Collections" indicates this volume's other aim to take a step back from institutional case studies or practical considerations, which have arguably inhibited constructive discourse with excessive detail, and to consider and challenge the role of museum collections in the 21st century. We invite historians and curators to reflect on how trends in museological and historiographical practice have affected collecting and display, and open a discussion on whether, given the nature of the postwar material culture of science and technology, detailed rationales for collecting are in fact needed or useful at all. Introduction Alison Boyle, Johannes-Geert Hagmann The Sciences between Technical Demiurgy, Economic Matters of Fact, and Political Regulations Historical Overview, Current Situation, and Normative Principles Dominique Pestre A Tape Measure and a “T” Stop Or, Why Museums of Science and Technology Should Collect More Contemporary Artifacts John Durant History as Intellectual and Organizational Tool in Creating a Collections Rationale The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s Spaceflight Artifacts as Case Study Martin Collins Understanding “Contemporary Collecting” Modern Collecting at the Science Museum Robert Bud Software Archives and Software Libraries Henry Lowood Interpreting the Collection and Display of Contemporary Science in Chinese Museums as a Reflection of Science in Society Dagmar Schäfer, Jia-Ou Song A National Program for Safeguarding Scientific and Technical Heritage Catherine Cuenca, Serge Chambaud Collecting Twentieth-Century Chemistry A Reevaluation of Collecting Philosophy and Goals at the Chemical Heritage Foundation Jennifer Landry, Rosie Cook A Snapshot of Canadian Kitchens Collecting Contemporary Technologies as Historical Evidence for Future Research Anna Ademek Preserving Norway’s Oil Heritage Finn H. Sandberg, Kristin Ø. Gjerde The Balance between Recent Heritage and Ongoing Research The Case of Jodrell Bank Observatory Teresa Anderson, Tim O'Brien Against Method A Story-Based Approach to Acquiring Artifacts from Nobel Laureates Olov Amelin Hands-on Science Centers as Anticollections? The Origins and Implications of the Exploratorium Exhibits Model Karen A. Rader Interview with James Hyslop James Hyslop Interview with Osamu Kamei Osamu Kamei Interview with Roland Wittje Roland Wittje Interview with Thomas Söderqvist Thomas Söderqvist