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Article ID: CBB767009964

Present Tense: Locating History in Boston’s Museums of Science (2017)

Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences
Volume: 108
Issue: 2
Pages: 381-389
Publication date: 2017
Language: English

DOI: 10.1086/692692

URI: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/692692

Publication Date: 2017
Edition Details: This article is part of the Focus Section: "Why Science Museums Matter: History of Science in Museums in the Twenty-First Century"

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Stories and artifacts from the history of science are difficult to find in many popular science museums in the United States. This essay makes a case for why such museums should include the history of science in their halls and how they might go about doing so. Using several Boston-area museums as case studies, it explains why the history of science can be so hard to find in contemporary science museums and then offers several examples of instances in which museums have successfully integrated science and history in their halls. Ultimately, the essay suggests, historians of science and popular science museums should cultivate new partnerships; it concludes with a brief sketch of how they might do so.

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Article Ad Maas (2017) Introduction: History of Science Museums between Academics and Audiences. Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 360-365). unapi

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