Dr Neil Chalmers, the internationally renowned Director of the Natural
History Museum, London, will be presenting two seminars at the
Australian Museum on 5 and 6 June, 2:15pm in the Australian Museum
Theatrette.
The first is on Thursday, 5 June, and is entitled 'Taking Museums Into
the 21st Century' (an abstract follows).
The second is on Friday, 6 June, and is entitled 'The Challenge of
Biodiversity for Museums' (an abstract follows).
Bookings are *not* required. For further information call Tim Sullivan,
Executive Officer, Australian Museum, (02) 9320 6272.
ABSTRACT
'Taking Museums into the 21st Century'
The great museums of the world are diverse in origin, function and
method of operation. many of them, certainly in the United Kingdom,
have a long and venerable history and yet at the same time are having
to consider how best to fulfil their role at the close of the
millennium.
Many of the issues facing museums today arouse passionate
disagreements. Supporters of different points of view argue over
whether museums are in danger of becoming theme parks; whether they
are being diverted from their true function by ephemeral management
techniques, by admissions charges and by market forces; and whether
collections and scholarship associated with them are being
irretrievably undermined.
Dr Chalmers will argue that these arguments, which often catch the
public attention, are peripheral, and that the fundamental issue is
the relationship that a museum perceives between itself and the world
in which it is located. Dr Chalmers will then explore this
relationship and argue that museums must not only be confident in what
they have to offer, but also outward-looking and responsive to their
audiences, if they are to flourish in the 21st century. museums have
more to fear from old attitudes that die hard than they do from the
rigours of the modern world.
ABSTRACT
'The Challenge of Biodiversity for Museums'
Many museums today are faced with the major challenge of reconciling
their traditional strengths and functions with the demands of
contemporary life. This is perhaps nowhere more apparent than in the
field of natural history, where global concern for our natural
environment, and the consequences flowing from the Convention on
Biological Diversity provide natural history museums with an
opportunity and a formidable challenge. If they wish, natural history
museums can make significant contributions to the understanding of
biodiversity in a way that is fundamental to its conservation and
sustainable use.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Neil Chalmers became Director of The Natural History Museum in 1988.
The Museum is one of the largest and most influential in the world.
Dr Chalmers obtained his PhD at Cambridge University in 1967 for
studies on primate behaviour and was then lecturer in Zoology at
Makarere University College, Kampala, Uganda and then Scientific
Director, National Primate Research Centre, Nairobi, Kenya. He joined
the Open University in Britain in 1970 shortly after its foundation as
Lecturer and was later promoted to Senior Lecturer, Reader in Biology
and ultimately Dean of Science. There he was heavily involved in the
problem of making science accessible to lay-people, using a wide
variety of media and education techniques. As Dean he was heavily
involved in management issues.
Dr Chalmers is dedicated to increasing the accessibility of the Museum
to the general public, so increasing their understanding of our
natural world. He is also committed to increasing the quality and
impact of the Museum's science programmes.
In Sydney Dr Chalmers will give another seminar in the Australian
Museum Theatrette on Friday, 6 June, 2:15pm on The Challenge of
Biodiversity for Museums.
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