At 01:06 PM 11/11/96 -0600, "Eugene W. Dillenburg"
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wrote:
>
>Thus (at long last) my question: should museums attempt to explain their
>inner workings to an apparently disinterested public?  Does our audience
>have the "right" to know what goes on behind the scenes?  A "need" to know?
>A desire to know?  Have other museums tackled these issues before?  Has any
>museum attempted this sort of self-explanation in exhibits or programs; and
>if so, what were the results?

Another resource which might interest you is _In the Nick of Time: A
Practical Guide to Teaching About Conservation of Objects_ by Elizabeth
Newbery and Sarah Fecher (ISBN 0-948630-29-9).  This book is aimed at
teachers of science at upper primary level (i.e. to 9, 10, 11 year
olds).  It has three parts.  The first contains background information
about why and how objects deteriorate, care of objects in museums, and
the problems faced by conservators.  The second contains six classroom
projects.  The third contains a selection of resources, from ideas of
how museum visits could be used to support the projects, to case
studies.

--
Pat Reynolds
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