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Notes on The New Museum Idea and Industrial History Museums

Historical Context

  • The Progressive Era (1890-1920)
    • A belief in progress
    • Democracy: more of it in public life and institutions
    • Professionalism: reliance on trained experts
    • The scientific method as a guiding approach
    • Reformers, not radicals, driving change

The New Museum Idea at the Smithsonian

  • Third Secretary: Samuel Pierpont Langley (1887-1906)
  • The Children’s Room established in 1901
  • Langley’s remark (1900):
    • "We never had a fair chance. Most of the things we can see and would like to know about have Latin words on them which we cannot understand."
  • Visual/contextual references in slides: Astrophysical Observatory; Langley’s aircraft crash near the Potomac (1896)

Langley, Language, and Public Access to Knowledge

  • Langley’s quote underscores a push for accessible knowledge beyond specialized jargon
  • The Children’s Room as a symbol of making science and learning approachable for children and general visitors

Breaking with Tradition: Labeling and Presentation

  • Breaking with Tradition section (illustrative labels of species):
    • KINGFISHER. Alcedo ispida (LINN.).
    • The Fair-plumed Halcyon, Azure Halcyon, Loveliest Halcyon, The Blue Halcyon, The Peaceful Halcyon, The Soft Halcyon, The Timid Halcyon, The Sky Kingfisher, The Sad Kingfisher, etc.
  • Poetry and descriptive language appear alongside or in place of traditional long Latin-only labels
  • The note: Traditional labels would stop after the Latin name; the slide suggests moving beyond strict Latin labels to richer, descriptive or poetic cues

Knowledge and the Children’s Room (Glimpses from the Era)

  • Page 7 content appears garbled in the transcript; a filled-in label shows: KNOWLEDGE, CHILDRENS, R004, WODER (likely transcription error)
  • Despite garbled text, the emphasis in this era is on knowledge accessible to children and the public

Early Examples of Children's Museums (Timeline Highlights)

  • 1899: Brooklyn Children’s Museum (early example of the movement)
  • 1913/1917: Boston Children’s Museum manifestations (an early major center)
  • 1925: Indianapolis Children’s Museum

Exhibit Themes and Public Engagement

  • 1899-1925 era features interactive, thematic exhibits intended for public engagement, not just static displays
  • Example: "FEEDING THE 'TREE TOADS'" as a daily afternoon attraction (BCM)
  • Parlor model (approx. 1750) in a New England home illustrating social routines (afternoon call from the minister, tea and cake) in the History Room (BCM)

The American Association of Museums

  • The New Museum Idea is connected to the formation of the American Association of Museums in 1906
  • First meeting of the AAMC/AAM (as implied by the slide): collaboration and professional standards across museums

The New Museum Idea: Benjamin Ives Gilman (1852-1933)

  • Secretary of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (1893-1925)
  • The Scientific Monthly (1916) contributor
  • Introduced the concept of "Museum Fatigue" as part of thinking about how visitors experience museums

The Scientific Monthly Pedagogy (Illustrations and Object Observation)

  • Page 14 shows a sequence of didactic figures and questions:
    • FIG. 1: Egyptian panel in a floor case; question about material; answer: Wood
    • FIG. 2: Chinese bronze mirrors; pattern description with central knob and other details
  • Page 15: (content unclear in transcript)
  • Page 16: VI. Looking up. FIG. 23-24: Questions guiding observation from higher vantage points and textile patterns (e.g., pattern on upper vs lower border; reversed patterns)
  • Overall: Emphasis on guided inquiry, observation, and active interpretation of objects

John Cotton Dana and The New Museum (Newark)

  • Newark Museum Association established in 1909
  • The New Museum Idea (1917): a manifesto for a new kind of museum practice
  • Core tenet: it is difficult to describe in traditional terms; it is not about erecting grand façades, top-light architectures, or a “museum atmosphere” that numb visitors
  • Critique of conventional museums: not focused on material acquisitions to fill vast cases, nor on creating a single-field museum with isolated specialties
  • The aim: a more democratic, accessible museum experience connected to the life of the city

The New Museum Idea: Industrial History Museums

  • The era argues that the United States, as a leading industrial power, should tell the story of what made it (the industrial story)
  • Industrial History Museums as a vehicle to educate the public about the nation’s industrial achievements and innovations
  • Reference: Charles Richards, The Industrial Museum (1925)

The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (MSI)

  • Julius Rosenberg (1862-1932): part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck & Co.; philanthropist
  • 1911: Rosenberg toured the Deutsches Museum (a major German industrial history museum)
  • 1920: Rosenwald Fundraising for an Industrial History Museum in Chicago, IL

The MSI Opening and Early Exhibits (1933)

  • The 1933 opening emphasized a hands-on approach to science education
  • Early flagship exhibit: Transfer of Momentum (demonstrating laws of physics)
  • Sectioned emphasis on physics and practical demonstrations

Early Exhibit Highlights and Technologies

  • Geology and mining sections; music is made theme (interactive experiences)
  • Electrostatic machine exhibit: demonstration of lightning discharges and how lightning rods mitigate damage in electrical storms
  • MSI Coal Mine exhibit: immersive experience with authentic equipment, a headframe and hoists from a real Illinois mine; demonstrates coal mining as a driver of industrial progress

Signage and Multilingual Cues

  • Visual cues like EINGANGI (Entrance) reflect international or multilingual signage common in large urban museums

Garbled/Unavailable Content (Page 7 and Page 22)

  • Page 7 content appears garbled in the transcript; note the presence of unclear entries (e.g., "KNOWLEDGE CHILDRENS R004 WODER")
  • Page 22 is blank in the provided transcript

Cross-cutting Themes and Implications

  • The New Museum movement sought to democratize access to knowledge, bridging education with everyday life and work
  • Pedagogical shift toward interactive, inquiry-based learning (questions, guided observation, hands-on exhibits)
  • Emphasis on connecting museums to industry, technology, and urban life (industrial history focus)
  • Ethical/practical implications: balancing accessibility with accuracy, avoiding elitist museum aesthetics, ensuring expertise informs public understanding
  • Real-world relevance: museums as engines of civic education, workforce preparation, and national identity formation