Natural History Museum: Museum Analysis

The use of technology during the late twentieth and early twentieth-first centuries, has ushered in the Digital Age in our history. Nowadays, most of the world has access to computers, phones, the internet and other types of electronics which allows us share all forms information and knowledge between each other at an alarming rate. Using technology is essential for living in an industrialized society and I believe that there is no doubt that museums are using many different types of technology in their museum exhibits. During my museum visit at the Natural History Museum, I remember how several of the museum exhibits use video projectors, iPads or other touch devices and other forms of equipment as a way to create a new interactive experience …show more content…
However, reading this week’s articles has made me realize that the role technology has in museum is similar to a double edge sword because technology may or may not help the museum achieve their main goals and objectives. The Isaac article, examines the pros and cons of using digital technology for an exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. (Isaac 2010:289). A key idea that the author conveys throughout the article, is that does the concept of an “object” change in the museum due to the implantation of digital technology? An example of this concept is when the author classifies LCD’s, televisions, and video projectors from an exhibit as material culture the same way that the artifacts displayed at the exhibit (Isaac …show more content…
The author is stating to the reader that digital technology such as the televisions and projectors, have become the museum object or “artifact” for giving value and importance to Native American culture (Isaac 2010:289). In other words, the exhibit’s electronic equipment serves as the “new “catalysts for promoting the value and importance of Native American culture by displaying images of the artifacts of the exhibit. From my perspective, the author is showing a constraint of using technology in museums because using technology will remove or change the actual value and importance of the physical artifact that is displayed at the exhibit. I believe that this constraint, will cause a problem of determining if the image of the artifact or the physical artifact has more importance than the latter. Another problem that the author addresses in the article is the use of images of artifacts for individual’s own interests (Isaac