| Description |
xvii, 286 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Series |
Leicester museum studies |
|
Leicester museum studies series.
|
| Contents |
1. Origins of the conservation movement -- 2. The rise of environmentalism -- 3. Increasing environmental awareness - a mission for museums? -- 4. Putting across the message -- 5. From interpretive centre to ecomuseum - museums beyond the walls -- 6. Biodiversity - issues and opportunities -- 7. Museums, biodiversity and systematics -- 8. Museums and environmental recording I - history and framework --9. Museums and environmental recording II - roles and outcomes -- 10. Live issues I - zoological gardens and aquaria -- 11. Live issues II - botanical gardens --12. The environmentally friendly museum |
| Summary |
The rise of environmentalism in the 1960s, described here, generated new partners for museums; museums themselves becoming part of a wider environmental network. The author traces the impact of environmentalism on museums and the impact that it has had - and continues to have - on exhibitions, scientific research and educational programmes. Reference is made to the related topics of ecomuseums, zoos, aquaria and botanic gardens. Museum buildings and museum activities are subjected to an 'environmental audit' and policies are suggested which would make them more environmentally friendly |
|
The 'cabinets of curiosity' formed by early collectors were dominated by objects from the natural world, and this emphasis continued as museums evolved in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Today, museums still store these collections of birds, mammals, fossils and shells - collections seen by many (even in the museum profession) to be outmoded and irrelevant. Yet at a time when the loss of biodiversity is seen as a major environmental issue, these collections, and the activities of curators of natural history material, have gained a new significance. Natural history museums worldwide have embraced a new philosophy with the conservation ethic at its heart |
| Analysis |
Museums Collections Natural history |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Subject |
Biodiversity conservation.
|
|
Environmentalism.
|
|
Natural history museums.
|
| LC no. |
95041536 |
| ISBN |
071851548X |
|
