科學博物館的功能探討

The Research of Science Museum's Functions

郭義復

《科技博物》 4卷5期 (2000/09) Pp. 6-18

並列摘要

Someone have been asked, if there were no museums, would someone invent one? This is a question which arises in connection with the functions of a museum, and it demonstrates the importance of functions to the museum. But can we use it to determine just how large a part the museum plays in the lives of the people? Are people aware of what the functions of the science museum are? Do they really think that they need the science museum?
With the spread of democratic values, the demand for science museum has increased dramatically, and the standards they must meet have risen as well. At this point are science museum fulfilling the public's expectations? Are they in keeping with the daily lives of the people? Can they be of use to the public, and can they satisfy the demands of the people? Questions like these must be answered in order to ensure the continued development of the museum. Functions are a part of the foundations for the existence of a museum, and they represent the value of the museum's existence. The contents, intensity and threshold values of the museum and the proximity or relevance between the museum and its audience are all receiving a great deal of attention these days.
The International Council of Museums (ICOM) and many other museum-related organizations have included the functions of a museum as a key element in defining just precisely what a museum is. In other words, if you want to know what trends are going on in museum functions, you can look at how the definition of a museum by these organizations is changing. The functions of the science museum are changing in response to trends of the times and the social environment, and ICOM has revised its definition of the museum repeatedly as the functions of the science museum have changed. Now, although the definition of a museum has undergone numerous revisions, the functions of the science museum remain a key element in the definition of a museum, and the process of defining a museum still depends in good part on tendencies in the functions of the science museum-all of which goes to show the importance of functions in the science museum.
There are many different opinions on what the functions of a museum really are. Joseph Veach Noble, Director of the New York Municipal Museum, says that a museum has five essential functions: to collect, preserve, research, interpretation and exhibit. Peter Van Mensch, an expert of Museology in Dutch, simplifies the functions of a museum to only three: preservation, research and communication. I personally believe that the functions of a museum are five: collection, research, exhibit, education and entertainment. This article explores these five functions in depth, laying our the features of each function and how they are changing. It uses the National Toothtick Museum as an example to show why, even though it may meet the requirements of all of these functions, it is still difficult to classify as the science museum. The article also shows how the functions of the science museum can be coopted or twisted. This article is aimed at improving the correcting the public's awareness of what the science museum really is.