There is a debate in museum and science centre circles at the moment about the value of the ‘real thing’.
There is a debate in museum and science centre circles at the moment about the value of the ‘real thing’.
Museums have always placed great importance on collecting, studying, archiving and displaying ‘real’ natural and cultural history objects.
Then the upstart science centres came along and said that real things aren’t important – what is important is the take-home message.
Science centres therefore developed their interface with the public around interactive displays that have no intrinsic value but are designed to convey a strong message.
The strength of this message is enhanced by the fact that the public engage – physically, mentally and emotionally – with the interactive displays.
Visitors to science centres, therefore, learn by doing rather than just by observing an object or reading a label.
Learning through active engagement with a display has been shown by the Agastya Foundation in India to be significantly more efficient than learning by looking.
There is no doubt that the ‘real thing’ has enormous emotional appeal.
Touching George Stephenson’s original ‘Rocket’ steam engine in the Science Museum in London or the Wright brothers’ Flyer in the Smithsonian in Washington DC, is an unforgettable experience.
But the ‘real thing’ is not always the most popular attraction. During the height of his fame Charlie Chaplin once travelled secretly from Hollywood to England.
While in London he heard about a Charlie Chaplin look-alike competition, so he decided to enter.
Guess what? He came third!
In China they have built, as a film set, a full-scale replica of the Forbidden City, the largest palace complex in the world.
Over 11 million people visited the fake complex in 2013 and the Chinese authorities predict that by 2015 there will be more visitors to the replica than the real thing.
But now museums and science centres have found the ideal solution – let’s combine the best of our two worlds! Artifact-based museums are introducing interactive displays into their repertoire and science centres are displaying examples of the ‘real thing’.
The Bahrain Science Centre is fortunate in that it has both interactive displays as well as real objects.
The real objects include a magnificent collection of skeletons of Arabian animals, including camels, horses, oryx, dolphins, dugongs, saluki dogs, mountain goats, gazelles, hares, turtles, snakes, ostrich, pelicans, ibises, flamingoes and eagles as well as the superb skeleton of a Bryde’s whale on display on the archway in front of the building.
It’s a win-win situation.
