Fred R. Reenstjerna ([log in to unmask]) wrote: : We have to face the essential fact that museums are perceived _by academic : administrators_ as being as extnct/outdated as the fossils they often display. : This is a function of economics and the academic status game. While a museum : full of exotic materials was the 19th-century mark of arrival in the academic : status game, it is worthless in the status game of late 20th century academics. Reading this post, I couldnt help noticing certain similarities with our nation's space program. As many of us know, the Cold-War Space-Race had more to do with political competition than the firery passion of Humankind to explore; at least when it came to funding. Now that the Cold-War is more-or-less over, NASA is forced to contend with a dwindling budget. We might also note that the same thing happened earlier this century with the NACA and an international Air-Race. The NACA was dying a slow death as industry took on more and more of its function. Then, with the start of the Cold-War, the NACA was promptly resurected and renamed NASA. I'm not sure if there is any strong correlation here, but I can imagine how many people might see the financial decline of NASA as a social statement about the value science (I'm sad to say). This affects the politics of everyone's funding and makes the post-1980s financial hangover more difficult to deal with. Just a few thoughts, Arthur