There are three main phases of museum ideology.
Before 1850:
There was an
emphasis on the
entertainment value of an
object - the strangeness or
rarity that gave the viewer a
thrill. A concentration of
curiosities,
relics,rarities, and '
collectors' items'. The purpose of these mostly private collections was to collect and
exhibit unique and wonderful objects to create an emotional response in the viewer. Here's an example of something pretty weird:
Peter the Great (1672-1725), Emperor of Russia, was a great collector. One of the things he used to collect was
human teeth. And the way he collected them was to just select somebody, and
extract their teeth himself! He then labelled the teeth, and kept them all individually in small
boxes.
1850 to 1970's:
This was the start of the
educational museum, where there was a systematic treatment of
art, and a strong interest in
Natural science, including
anthropology, science and
technology. Many museums were devoted to
research.
Collections were of important
objects deemed useful for their educational and/or
aesthetic value. Exhibits within museums were object oriented. Think of those old museums where neatly labelled rows of objects (such as
dead beetles,
pottery shards and old scientific
instruments) were displayed in glass and wood
cabinets.
1970's onward:
Exhibits are
idea oriented. Objects are used to tell a
story, either about the development and use of a range of objects, or about some aspect of
history. Interpretations of the objects are imposed on the viewer, especially with
interactive exhibits. (unique and wonderful technology used to create an emotional response in the viewer). Many museums still carry out research, but this aspect of their
role is not at the forefront. With
funding worldwide being harder to gain, this new public
interface of museums is becoming vital to their continued
existence.