Dr Neil Charmers will also be making appearances in Canberra, Adelaide
and Melbourne. For his Melbourne visit the Museum of Victoria will be
hosting the same lectures, Taking Museums into the 21st Century and The
Challenge of Biodiversity for Museums, both of which are scheduled for
the same day 10 June.

Details for Melbourne are:

10 June
Lecture 1       Taking Museums into the 21st Century
Time            2:30pm:         registration and refreshments
                3:00pm:         start
Venue           Village Roadshow Thearette, State Library of Victoria
                La Trobe Street, Melbourne

Lecture 2       The Challenge of Biodiversity for Museums
Time            6:30pm:         registration and refreshemnts
                7:00pm:         start
Veune           As per the previous lecture

Please make a booking by telephoning (03) 9669 9864
For information contact Bronwyn Thompson (03) 9669 9962 or email
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> ----------
> From:         LyndaK[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent:         Thursday, 22 May 1997 12:37 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Neil Chalmers, Director NHM London in Sydney
>
>      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.
>