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Planetarium of the Future

admin — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:34:01 +0000

By Ed Lantz

Abstract Over the last decade, hundreds of planetariums worldwide have adopted digital “fulldome” projection as their primary projection and presentation medium. This trend has far-reaching potential for science centers. Digital planetarium capabilities extend educational and cultural programming far beyond night-sky astronomy. These “digital domes” are, in essence, immersive visualization environments capable of supporting art and live performances and reproducing archeological sites, as well as journeying audiences through the local cluster of galaxies. Their real-time and rapid-update capabilities set them apart from giant screen cinemas. Studies suggest that well-designed immersive mediums communicate concepts better, create a greater interest in learning, and are more effective than a movie screen or television at conveying scientific concepts. This article introduces digital domes as a new medium, then discusses ways in which the potential of these environments might be tapped in the future to meet scientific and cultural needs in museums of all types.

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Ed Lantz (ed.lantz@vorteximmersion.com) is president and founding director of IMERSA.

DOI: 10.1111/j.2151-6952.2011.00093.x

Museums in a Troubled World: Renewal, Irrelevance or Collapse?

admin — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:54:16 +0000

Review of the book by Robert R. Janes

By Stuart Davies.

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Stuart Davies (stuartwdavies@btinternet.com), visiting professor of Museum Studies, Institute of Archaeology, University of London.

OI: 10.1111/j.2151-6952.2011.00085.x

“Ferry Me O’er”: Musing on the Future of Museum Culture

Nancy — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:11:31 +0000

by Neal Stimler

Abstract

Museum professionals face unprecedented challenges in the digital world of the twenty-first century. How will we meet those challenges and who will lead us to the new shore of our future? We need museum professionals who act as ferrymen, guiding the museum community and its constituents through the troubled waters of our age to cultural reform that leads us to the essential purpose of art: love.

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Neal Stimler (neal.stimler@gmail.com) is the associate coordinator of images in the Image Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)

10.1111/j.2151-6952.2010.00035.x About DOI

The Anticipated Utility of Zoos for Developing Moral Concern in Children

Nancy — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:06:04 +0000

by JOHN FRASER

This study asked why parents value zoo experiences for themselves and their children.

It proposes a new theory regarding the psychological value of such experiences for the development of identity. The study used a constructivist grounded theory approach to explore parenting perspectives on the value of zoo visits undertaken by eight families from three adjacent inner-city neighborhoods in a major American city.

The results suggest that parents use zoo visits as tools for promoting family values. These parents felt that experiences with live animals were necessary to encourage holistic empathy, to extend children’s sense of justice to include natural systems, and to model the importance of family relationships.

The author concludes that parents find zoos useful as a tool for helping their children to develop skills with altruism, to transfer environmental values, to elevate children’s self-esteem, and to inculcate social norms that they believe will aid in their children’s social success in the future.

Photograph by Julie Larsen Maher, staff photographer of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, NY, courtesy of the WCS.