The renewed Utrecht University Museum wants to know what science is

Science then and now

The new Utrecht University Museum has grown by a third and now displays around 3,500 objects. It has been decided to display more complete collections than before. For example, rather than the topic, the story is central. Based on leading academics then and now, it shows what science takes: curiosity, innovation, and perseverance. This should make it clear that research is not about the outcome, but about the process as well.

Visitors can conduct this search themselves. When they enter, they are the first to see The mysterious boxA blurred box with unknown contents. They can see, lift, and touch this box, but they can’t open it. By investigating for themselves, in part through the techniques they learn in the various galleries, visitors can draw their own conclusions. Thus, the target group between the ages of eight and fourteen can learn what science is now.

In addition to interaction, the museum has more clear tasks. For example, the focus within the group is on the natural sciences, but the aim was also to give balanced attention to other areas of research. There are now exhibitions on social, physical, medical, human and biological topics. This led to the satisfaction of the university president, who considers the museum an extension of the university’s image.

Materials science

However, it remains difficult to show the humanities in a museum. A reasonable part of the collection consists of medical and biological stuff. Also, humanities research often relies less on resources and more on intellect. Finally, Utrecht is home to the famous Catharijneconvent, a museum housing a wealth of manuscripts and art objects. This reduces the already small set of discoveries.

^{The newsletter is available exclusively to employees of our partners.}

The solution is found to correctly represent the alpha and gamma sciences in the reaction. Since the humanities relate to people, this exhibition depicts human activity in different forms. In this way, visitors themselves can try to steer the crowds in the city center of Utrecht in the right direction in an interactive model. You can also pass by a sensor that will record your movement and use it to learn more about people’s flows.

While these examples may have more to do with human geography, the next room provides space for all the thought experiments of humanities scholars. This space for Citizen science, where non-scientists can also contribute to the research. In this way, the museum aims to narrow the gap between the public and the academy. An example of this projectCheck where you areIt is not scholars but children who point out how best to design public outdoor spaces for young people. In any case, the museum’s outdoor space, the “Old Hortus”, has also been restored.

Open answers

The interior space in front of the museum is arranged according to this principle Show, don’t tell. The choice was made not to put detailed signs with explanations all over. On the other hand, the focus is on the visitors themselves checking things out. For example, exhibitions ignore the function that many pieces played in education in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Without the tools of the day, the human and animal body was the key to learning. The ethical aspect of research and collection building is also avoided. This choice partially turns the exhibition into objects of art rather than points for discussion.

However, there is enough museum experience to motivate visitors to search. After all this searching, listening and feeling, at the end of their visit they can guess about the contents of the box. However, visitors do not get to hear the correct answer, because science simply generates new questions rather than ready-made answers. And in the University Museum, people are still thinking about the feeling it will leave the visitor.