The Academy of Natural Science

Our museum visit this week was to the Academy of Natural Science. The Academy of Natural Science first opened it's doors in 1928. The Museum has many exhibits that teach and help explain the progression of scientific life on earth. This museum provides a contemporary museum experience. The Academy of Natural Science provides visitors with a unique learning experience that is not only engaging but yet interactive with the public.

As we recently learned dioramas were a new phenomenon that helped Victorian museums because more lively and interesting to an audience. The Academy of Natural Sciences uses a large area of dioramas as a way to explore animals in different habitats in a natural setting. These dioramas are used because they are easily accessable to the public. It was a way to engage with all people not just the elite. Dioramas are very life like they provide a realistic close up view of the animals they display. I learned while at the Academy that the dioramas that they use are often made from a mold and later covered with real animal skin and horns in order to give them a authentic appearance. This is important to the feeling a visit will have about a diorama, the more realistic the better because people will be excited and interested in the realistic appearance. When in the hall with all the dioramas it almost felt like being in a zoo. Many people seemed genuinely interested in staring into the animals in the diorama although they were not alive people still found them very intriguing and that is why many museums still choose to use them today.

The Academy of Natural Science does a important job. It provides a interactive space where people can learn about science in a fun way. For example in the dinosaur exhibit area there were areas where you could see someone behind the wall supposedly being hunted by a dinosaur. In addition there was a treadmill you could get on that simulated the walk of a dinosaur. I thought those elements are not only fun but a interesting way to learn about science. I felt the museum had a lot of things for kids, the was a area called the fossil dig where children could learn how to clean and learn and preserve fossils. I also liked that they had a special children's museum located on the top floor. I think that museums have a important job in helping to educate and provide safe spaces for children in the community. This aspect reminded me of the Wagner Free Museum which also had a lot of things they did devoted to the education of children.

Overall I enjoyed my museum visit. I think the Academy of Natural Science has a lot to offer. I would recommend the museum to those not only interested in science but those with children. I feel the museum does a good job of teaching and educating people within the natural science realm in a interesting way.