We should not change what >museums are to conform to society's current value system, but perhaps >elevate that value system to create a better society. Unless I'm mistaken, we have changed (quite dramatically in some cases) what museums are from what they *were* when they began, and those changes have come about in part from changing social and cultural values. Of course, those changes have also come about from advances in knowledge and understanding of the material culture we collect and preserve. Just as one example: a natural history museum no longer simply collects and classifies all the individual items (human, vegetable, animal and mineral alike) of the natural world. Rather we have a complex mission involving the understanding, interpretation, protection and preservation (I'm surely missing some) of the natural world and its cultures. And we're not so big on curiosity cabinets anymore, either. Robin Wagner Projects Coordinator The Field Museum Chicago, IL 60605-2496 Ph: 312-922-9410 x245