----------
In the recent discussion about Science Centers, a respondent said:
 
>>And we [museums] are a key forum, like it or not, for attitudes and ideas.
 
I kinda doubt it. People who work in museums have a disproportionate sense of
the importance of these institutions. My own feeling is that beyond being a
rat's nest of artifacts, museums are a sort of epiphemonenon, currently
struggling to assert themselves as having a key role to play in the world of
ideas. Isn't there enough important stuff already happening without adding to
it? I guess we do have to puff ourselves up a bit to convince the funders, but
if there is no real interest in hanging on to some bits of history, why bother?
 
jim swanson / whyte museum of the canadian rockies / banff, alberta