The Museum of Time will be an internationally renowned cultural institution aimed at promoting scientific knowledge. It will be a place for citizens,

Transcription

1 The Museum of Time will be an internationally renowned cultural institution aimed at promoting scientific knowledge. It will be a place for citizens, members of the scientific community and teachers and students to meet in an atmosphere of recreation. The Museum will become an essential reference for visitors in Uruguay.

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2

3 1. TOTAL MUSEOLOGY, THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE MUSEUM OF TIME. The concept of the Museum of Time is set within the museological framework of what is called Total Museology, considered a modern trend in scientific museology. This concept was developed by the Catalan physicist and museographer Jorge Wagensberg, Scientific Director of the La Caixa Foundation and creator of the museum Cosmocaixa in Barcelona. For the preparation of the museographical contents of the Museum of Time, the project has had Jorge Wagensberg as a consultant, who worked closely with the local academic community. Jorge Wagensberg Lubinski is a Catalan professor, researcher and author born in Barcelona on Dec. 2 nd, He obtained a Bachelor s degree (1971) and a Ph.D. (1976) in Physics from the University of Barcelona, where he has been teaching the Theory of Irreversible Processes at the Faculty of Physics since 1981 and leads a research group in biophysics. Scientist and communicator Wagensberg is one of the most prominent Spanish scientific communicators as an editor, lecturer, writer and museologist. Between 1991 and 2005 he created and ran the Science museum of the Foundation La Caixa in Barcelona, also overseeing its complete renovation which culminated in the CosmoCaixa with branches in Barcelona and Madrid, setting the pattern for scientific museums worldwide. In 2006, CosmoCaixa Barcelona was awarded the European Museum of the Year Award as the best museum of Europe, sponsored by the Council of Europe. Currently, Wagensberg is the scientific director of the La Caixa foundation. As a scientist, Wagensberg has made contributions to the production of scientific thought in various fields such as: non-equilibrium thermodynamics, thermodynamics of microbiological cultures, the Monte Carlo simulation, theoretical biology, entomology, taphonomy, philosophy of science and scientific museology in scientific journals such as Journal of Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics, Physica A, American Journal of Physics, The Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, Proceeedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Entomologica Scandinavica, Beitrage zur Entomologie, Biology and Philosophy, Biological Theory, Computer Applications in Biosciences (CABIOS), Museum Practice or ECSITE News Letters. Wagensberg was Chairman of ECSITE (European Collaborative for Science & Technology) between 1993 and 1995 and is founding member of de EMA (European Museum Academy) since Currently he is also collaborating in various radio programs such as Julia en la Onda on Onda Cero and Manel Fuentes on Catalunya Radio. The role of the science museum. According to Wagensberg, a science museum is a space dedicated to providing everyone with stimuli in favour of scientific knowledge, the scientific method and scientific opinion. This is achieved primarily by using reality (real objects and phenomena) interacting with itself and with the visitors. In his book Hacia una Museología Total, Wagensberg explores key aspects of this definition. A physically and psychologically useful and bearable visit to a museum should not be longer than 4 hours. A museum cannot compete in learning and teaching with a school or a university faculty and with their programmes of sixty or seventy hours. Neither teaching nor learning is forbidden at the museum, but if it is made a priority, you end up with a bad school or a bad university. Internet is the widest source of information, and it is superfluous to offer at the museum what the visitor has or will have at home. Forming is a continuing process and there is no doubt that is best done by the family or by life itself 3

4 The priority of a modern museum according to Wagensberg is therefore what he calls the starting point for every cognitive process: stimulate visitors to want to know. Teaching, research, training, information, heritage protection and popularization are also tasks of a science museum, but not its priority. In this sense, a good science museum should generate curiosity in the visitors who will have more questions after the visit than before. A few basic principles of Total Museology. Architecture project The principal element of a museum exhibition is Reality, the real object and the real phenomenon. A good exhibition can never be replaced by a book, a film or a conference, what it does is create curiosity for these things. Everything can be seen from a scientific perspective, but unlike other forms of knowledge transmission (like a book), a scientific exhibition does not necessarily need to cover a topic in an intensive or extensive way. A museum does not need to cover everything. The reality available in each case is what should govern the content of the museum. There are topics that can be covered in a museum and others that are better addressed by other means. In a scientific exhibition there is museological rigour and scientific rigour. Museological rigour exists between curators and designers, and scientific rigour between curators and scientists specialized in different subjects. In a science museum the visitor is treated like an adult in every way, with the right to rebuild his own truth. Nothing should be secured or shielded by tradition nor scientific authority. In a democratically organized society the role of a science museum should be one of a common and credible ground between four sectors: 1. society itself understood as the citizen who suffers and benefits from science; 2. the scientific community where scientific knowledge is created; 3. the manufacturing and service sectors where science is used, 4. administration where science is managed. 4

5 2. OBJECTIVES OF THE MUSEUM OF TIME. Architecture project General Aim The general aim of the Museum of Time is to provide stimuli in favour of scientific knowledge, scientific methodology and scientific opinion about the natural and cultural reality of Uruguay in a environment of entertainment and recreation. Specific Objectives 1. Promoting dialogue, reflection and public participation in science, technology and innovation with special emphasis around the processes of teaching and learning in formal education. 2. Communication of scientific and technological activity, especially that which is developed in Uruguay, with different audiences. 3. Maintenance and preservation of scientific and technological heritage. 4. Development and support of scientific research and technological developments. 5. Development of strategies in relation to the general aim, which have a national scope and stimulate other national institutions from the scientific and cultural fields Frame of Work Aligned with the above objectives, we will seek to develop all aspects injecting the following orientation and guiding concepts: - Promoting equal opportunities and social inclusion. - Support of formal and informal education. - Importance of entertainment and recreation - Systemic view of the promotion of scientific culture, seeking complementarity and support through exchange with sister institutions - Constant renewal - Continuous assessment - Personal training Other aspects of the Museum of Time: 5

6 It will become an educational and entertaining space where information with different levels of depth can be chosen by each visitor. This will prevent information overload or museum fatigue and make each visit unique. It will emphasize the social context of scientific and technological activity and the nature of knowledge and scientific methodology, from social studies of science, technology and industrialization. It will promote knowledge of the history of science, technology and culture in Uruguay and Latin America. It will provide access for people with disabilities and will be designed considering people with special needs. There will be regular activities for the communication of science and technology, using methods that encourage participation and dialogue with the public: science cafes, theater and science fairs, public participation initiatives, among others. The museum will establish agreements with local institutions and of other countries, which collaborate in the exchange of information and exhibits. It will become a venue of reference reference for scientific events, technology and innovation in the public and private sector. Longer term impacts It will seek to contribute to the development of the country and the city in different ways. Its purpose is to facilitate activities which have a positive impact in the following dimensions: - Contribute to an image of Uruguay as a country of knowledge - Improve indicators of public perception of science and scientific culture - Add value to the touristic circuits of the city of Montevideo and the whole country - Improve the public perception of museums and improve visiting habits - Create opportunities for international cooperation in education and scientific culture - Contribute to urban development Target audience While a very broad participation of the Uruguayan society in activities held in the Museum of Time is seeked, the following specific target groups have been identified: - Teachers and students of all levels, from Uruguay and the region - Uruguayan families (children, adults, youth) - Regional, international tourists and researchers - Cultural management professionals NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM. The project involves creating new settings for this museum, the most ancient scientific institution in the country, sharing the premises with the Museum of Time. Both institutions are to work together, complementing each other in the tasks of research, care of our heritage, communication, education and the development of exhibitions. 6

7 3. MUSEOGRAPHIC CONTENTS Architecture project The contents of the Museum of Time will be set around the narrative axis of time itself, a topic which can be approached from any scientific discipline. The aim is not to address the topic extensively, in this sense Time is considered the excuse to provide a perspective or a thread for discussion of different scientific topics that are covered by the permanent exhibition. The leit motif of the museum will be the timelines in the form of four murals, each with a different chronological scale, where the milestones of the respective timelines are to be shown. The four timelines represent the Evolution of Life, Human Evolution, The Population of the Americas and Recent History. The museological programme suggests six areas where different interdisciplinary topics are covered. The museographical script for the permanent exhibition has been created by Jorge Wagensberg with active involvement of the local academic community. The contents have been developed after a process of dialogue and consultation of over one and a half years. 7

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14 5. PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM ANDREA VIGNOLO DIRECTOR Ministerio de Educación y Cultura Reconquista avignolo@mec.gub.uy ANA VASQUEZ PROJECT MANAGER ALBERTO MAJÓ ADVISOR Ministerio de Educación y Cultura Reconquista majoa@mec.gub.uy anavasquez@mec.gub.uy EXTENDED NATIONAL TEAM University of Uruguay Mariana Pereyra Javier Gorga Local Government in Montevideo Ana Knobel Alvaro Echaider ANEP Silvia Umpiérrez MIEM Sylvia Cheble 14