Natural history museums, veritable Proust madeleines for many adults, continue to fascinate younger generations. They offer a captivating dive into the world of life, fauna and flora, from stuffed animals to exhibitions on geology.
What interests young and old in the aisles of natural history museums is “the living, quite simply”, declares Ludovic Maggioni, director of the Natural History Museum of Neuchâtel, in the 12:30 p.m. of December 12. The diversity of living animals is a real fascination for young people and natural history museums allow children to approach the complexity of the natural world.
If the image of animal collections stuffed may seem outdated, these institutions are today in the process of changing, adopting new approaches to tell the story of life and raise public awareness of contemporary environmental issues. Like the Natural History Museum of Neuchâtel which has equipped itself with dioramas to bring its windows to life.
>> A lire : At the Natural History Museum of Neuchâtel, the windows come to life thanks to the podcast
>> Listen to the interview with Ludovic Maggioni in the 12:30 p.m.:
“Today in the world of museums, we talk a lot about narration, about history, about the way in which we are going to transmit knowledge in a way that is absolutely not pedagogical or educational, but rather with narrations, big and small stories which allow us to try to understand the complexity (…) of ecosystems and our place within these large groups,” underlines Ludovic Maggioni.
Approaching the living
Natural history museums are no longer limited to natural sciences alone. They now bring together the arts and other fields to enrich the visitor experience. In Neuchâtel, an exhibition entitled “KSSSS, KSSSS, KSSSS – Utopian Bestiary” presents giant arthropods made by artists from recycled musical instruments. This original approach thus offers a “new look” at these specimens and uses the change of scale to facilitate the understanding of the diversity of arthropods, often considered “not very sexy”, as Ludovic Maggioni recalls.
>> See the 7:30 p.m. topic on the “Utopian Bestiary” exhibition:
Natural history museums are reinventing themselves, but certain things do not change: taxidermy in particular retains an important place within these institutions. “It may seem outdated, but it is very contemporary. There are still many museums in Switzerland which have taxidermists. There are a lot of missions behind it,” explains Ludovic Maggioni. Taxidermists’ missions range from studying specimens to preparing skins for scientific collections or exhibitions. Taxidermy sometimes offers the only opportunity to get up close and personal with “legendary” animals like the wolf.
In addition to being a popular family outing, natural history museums play a crucial role in disseminating scientific knowledge and raising awareness of current environmental challenges. To renew themselves, these institutions offer interactive activities, practical experiences and nature awareness programs, particularly for young people, in order to encourage experimentation and fun learning.
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