Abstract
Dioramas are an established form of exhibit in museums. From the early 1900s, with the passage of time and changes in cultural norms in societies, natural history dioramas evolved in response to the changes in entertainment, expectations and expressed needs of museum visitors. The challenge has always been to provide meaningful, relevant experiences to visitors, and this is still the aim today. Dioramas are also increasingly valued as learning tools. In this learning process, dioramas not only contribute to scientific understanding and cultural awareness, but also reconnect wide audiences to the natural world. This chapter is the introduction to an edited book presenting the history of natural history dioramas in museums, their building and science learning aspects, as well as current developments and their place in the visitor experience.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alexander, R. (2008). Towards dialogic teaching: Rethinking classroom talk (4th ed.). Dialogos: York.
Anderson, D. (2016). Innovations in science education. Research in practice. Key note talk given at EASE 2016 Tokyo, Strengthening International Collaboration. Tokyo, August 2016.
Andrew, C. K. (2018). Chapter 3: Developing a modern diorama: Changing habitats in Scotland since the end of the Last Ice Age. In: A. Scheersoi, & S. D. Tunnicliffe (Eds.), Natural history dioramas – Traditional exhibits for current educational themes (Science Educational Aspects). Cham: Springer.
Braund, M., & Reiss, M. J. (2004). Learning science outside the classroom. London: Routledge.
Crutzen, P. J. (2002). The geology of mankind. Nature, 415, 23.
Gall, A., & Trischler, H. (Eds.). (2016). Szenerien und Illusion: Geschichte, Varianten und Potenziale von Museumsdioramen. Göttingen: Wallstein.
Garthe, C. J. (2018). The natural futures museum: Interactivity and participation as key instruments for engaging audiences. In E. Dorfman (Ed.), The future of natural history museums, ICOM advances in museum research series (pp. 140–154). London/New York: Routledge.
Howie, G. (2015). Dioramas as constructs of reality: Art, photography, and the discursive Space. In S. D. Tunnicliffe & A. Scheersoi (Eds.), Natural history dioramas, construction and education anal role (pp. 39–65). Dordrecht: Springer.
Insley, J. (2007). Setting the scene. Museums Journal, 107(2), 33–35.
Joynes, A. (2016). Tracking the Major. Sketches from the Powell-Cotton Museum. Canterbury: Mickle Print Ltd.
Munsch, M., Schmiese, H., Angelov, A., Riedel, G., & Köhler, J. (2015). Conservative restoration and reconstruction of historical natural history dioramas. In S. D. Tunnicliffe & A. Scheersoi (Eds.), Natural history dioramas. History, construction and educational role (pp. 115–130). Dordrecht: Springer.
Quinn, S. C. (2006). Windows in nature: The great habitat dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History. New York: Abrams.
Radar, K. A., & Cain, V. E. M. (2014). Life on display. Revolutionizing U.S. Museums of Science and Natural History in the twentieth century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Reiss, M., & Tunnicliffe, S. D. (2011). Dioramas as depictions of Reality and opportunities for learning biology. Curator, 54, 447–459.
Scheersoi, A. (2015). Catching the visitor’s interest. In S. D. Tunnicliffe & A. Scheersoi (Eds.), Natural history dioramas. History, construction and educational role (pp. 145–160). Dordrecht: Springer.
Sharp, R. (2016). Action points. How museums are addressing social and political isssues. Museums Journal, 11(2016), 29–33.
Tal, T. (2016). Global perspectives on trends in informal science education research. Symposium talk given at NARST 2016 conference, 15th April, Baltimore, USA.
Tunnicliffe, S. D., & Scheersoi, A. (2010). Dusty relics or essential tools for communicating biology? In A. Filippoupoliti (Ed.), Science exhibitions: Communication and evaluation (pp. 186–216). Edinburgh: MuseumsEtc.
Tunnicliffe, S. D., & Scheersoi, A. (2015). Natural history dioramas. History, construction and educational role. Dordrecht: Springer.
Vygotsky, L. (1986). Thought and language. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Wonders, K. (2016). The habitat diorama phenomenon. In A. Gall & H. Trischler (Eds.), Szenerien und Illusion. Geschichte, Varianten und Potenzial von Museumsdioramen (pp. 286–318). Göttingen: Wallstein.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Scheersoi, A., Tunnicliffe, S.D. (2019). Introduction: Natural History Dioramas and Science Educational Aspects. In: Scheersoi, A., Tunnicliffe, S. (eds) Natural History Dioramas – Traditional Exhibits for Current Educational Themes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00175-9_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00175-9_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-00174-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00175-9
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)