Life on display
Subtitle: revolutionizing U.S. museums of science and natural history in the twentieth century
By: Karen A. Rader, Victoria E. M. Cain
Contributors: Cain, Victoria E. M., 1974- author
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 467
ISBN-13: 9780226079660
Subjects: Museum techniques; Exhibitions; Natural history museums; Science museums; History; Displays in education; Museum exhibits
Description: Rich with archival detail and compelling characters, this book uses the history of biological exhibitions to analyze museums' shifting roles in twentieth-century American science and society. Karen A. Rader and Victoria E.M. Cain chronicle profound changes in these exhibitions - and the institutions that housed them - between 1910 and 1990, ultimately offering new perspectives on the history of museums, science, and science education.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 409-447)and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: The mission of display; title: "A vision of the future" : the new museum idea and display reform, 1890-1915; title: The drama of the diorama, 1910-1935; title: Displays in motion : experimentation and stagnation in exhibition, 1925-1940; title: Diversifying displays, diverging museums : postwar life science education, 1941-1956; title: "An investment in the future of America" : competing pedagogies in post-sputnik museums, 1957-1969; title: The exploratorium effect : redefining relevance and interactive display, 1969- 1980; title: From diversity to standardization : endutainment and engagement in museums at the end of the century, 1976-2005.