Walking in the Wagner Institute is like walking in a time capsule. It illustrates the idea of how museum were like cabinets. Cabinets being define as a collection of artifacts in one single place. The way the cabinets are displayed shows the ideals of Joseph Leidy. Joseph Liedy provided the institute with most of their artifacts besides the founder William Wagner. The left side of the collection starts off with the smallest of creatures, which is insects and it ends with human skeleton. And the right side of the collection is more geological; it has fossils and different types geomorphic structures. The idea of classification is portrayed, with in the classification humans are last and this can be interpret as humans are the “superior” animal compare to all the other creature displayed. At that time and still today humans view themselves as being the superior being.
The Wagner opened up in 1855, which at that time only Caucasian men were the only class that had the opportunities to gain an education. The Wagner institute was the first in its kind to open up science classes available to everyone. They still have classes today that are at night for people to expand their horizons. Today they have more programs for elementary students, Geo Kids being one of them. The Wagner institute has not changed much in the 153 years it has been opened and that is why it is one of a kind museum. Many museums change with cultural patterns and new technologies. It’s known for both its historical and scientific value to the community.
No comments:
Post a Comment