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In its nearly 200-year history, the Museum of Science has offered dynamic learning experiences through a variety of methods: exhibits, demonstrations, live and recorded presentations in specialized venues, and academic tools like curriculum products. There has never been a comprehensive review of its many educational goals and methods, however, and this article does not do justice to its complex mission of outreach and access. Instead, this is a brief overview of some of the many ways that the Museum of Science has attempted to bring science learning to its community.
In its nearly 200-year history, the Museum of Science has offered dynamic learning experiences through a variety of methods: exhibits, demonstrations, live and recorded presentations in specialized venues, and academic tools like curriculum products. There has never been a comprehensive review of its many educational goals and methods, however, and this article does not do justice to its complex mission of outreach and access. Instead, this is a brief overview of some of the many ways that the Museum of Science has attempted to bring science learning to its community.
Founded in 1830, the Boston Society of Natural History was initially focused on acquiring and sharing scientific resources amongst its membership, mostly made up of academic figures around New England. Correspondence with other scientists, research institutes, and societies around the world meant the sharing of ideas across borders and oceans. During this era, the first schools of science were being established at Harvard, Yale, and elsewhere as American universities began to attract European scientists to lead their new, well-funded programs. As its peer institutions developed their academic training programs, the Boston Society served as a conduit for these organizations to share publications, artifacts, and ideas. Many leading professors at local schools were also members and leaders of the Boston Society, and brought their students with them. This may have influenced the Society’s interest in developing educational opportunities that were open to the public, not just their limited private membership.
On June 3, 1864, the Society dedicated its new museum in the Back Bay. Called the New England Museum of Natural History, this new building included space for the display and examination of the growing specimen collection, as well as a lecture hall and offices. The next year, the Society discussed offering a series of lectures aimed at public school teachers. Although it was heavily involved in academic scholarship, publishing articles by members and sharing publications from other organizations, the Society felt that partnering with public schools would create a useful access point and could help improve general science education.
Building upon its interest in supporting public educators, the Society established the Teachers’ School of Science in 1872, with courses offered to public and private school teachers on mineralogy, botany, geography, and zoology. These courses used specimens from the Society’s vast collections to allow for direct, hands-on learning in a revolutionary way. Average attendance for each course was about six hundred teachers from all grades. There seem to be direct impacts on local school curriculums and practices, particularly in the areas of zoology and geography. The Teachers’ School of Science continued for many successful years, funded by private donors and then by the Lowell Institute, who expanded and mimicked the School through lectures and courses at other institutions, which continue to this day.
In 1882, the Boston Society partnered with the Woman’s Education Association to create a “sea-side laboratory” in Cape Cod, which would bring the Teachers’ School of Science into a field research setting. There was no requirement of specific degree or training beyond basic exposure to natural history, such as attending the lectures at the Boston Society. This was immediately successful and eventually developed into the Woods Hole Laboratory for Oceanographic Research, which is still an important research institution today.
As the 19th century came to a close, the Society was having its most success with classes being offered to teachers and students, in multiple locations. It was also publishing widely, participating in an exchange of knowledge with academic institutions around the world with its periodicals, and bringing local and national experts in to speak at its members’ meetings. The Museum and specimen collection were struggling with scale and condition, attempting to maintain order among a too-small curatorial staff who were not able to keep up with cataloging or preservation efforts. As it looked towards the next century, it seems that the Society knew it would need to focus on growing membership, attendance, and lectures to continue fulfilling its mission.
In 1918, the Museum began offering classes for Boston schoolchildren on Saturday mornings. The goal of these classes was to use the same approach as the Society’s successful teacher courses: bring real specimens and hands-on demonstrations into the classroom, led by experienced professors. These Saturday morning classes were a success, and would inspire later programs like the Junior Explorers and Museum summer camps.
In 1919, the Society eliminated its admission fee and opened the Museum for public visitors every day of the week. This greatly increased daily attendance in the galleries, but also increased interest in the Society’s lectures and programs. At its 100th anniversary, the Society was a center for research, sharing its immense library and artifact collections with scientists and students from around the world. But in order to continue serving its mission, the Society needed to expand its classroom and exhibit areas, and prioritize space for the public to convene. Even after transferring some collections to other institutions and moving some large events next door to MIT, by 1930 it was apparent that the Society was in need of significant reorganization.
In 1939, Brad Washburn became director of the New England Museum of Natural History, and encouraged the Society to reevaluate its programs and collections. By 1947, the Society had agreed to sell its museum in Back Bay and a large portion of its collection, refocusing itself on education and outreach. Remaining staff and collections were moved into temporary locations while the Society began to develop its new home at Science Park.
During the transition period of the 1940s, the Boston Society sought funding to support traveling programs that would bring its collections and educators out to the community. The Charles Hayden Foundation, along with others, funded traveling programs which brought Museum educators to schools, summer camps, and other locations throughout New England. These mobile programs represent a significant shift in the mindset of Museum educators; no longer dependent on static specimens displayed in glass cases, the educators brought live animals and scientific equipment to the community to allow for direct, hands-on learning. This was a huge leap from the classrooms of the Back Bay Museum, and echoed the innovation of hands-on classes for teachers from the previous century.
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