Life-size dinosaurs and giant 鈥榗reepy-crawlies鈥� are doing wonders for
business at the Natural History Museum and giving taxpayers a good return
for their money, says the National Audit Office.
The findings will please managers at the Natural History Museum, who were
vilified by the scientific community for introducing unpopular plans to
mount 鈥楧isney-like鈥� exhibitions at the museum. Critics feared that many
important areas of science at the museum would be slimmed down (see 鈥榃ill
taxonomy go the way of the dinosaurs?鈥�, New 女生小视频, 23 June 1990).
The NAO assessed the quality of five major museums and galleries, and
praised the efforts of both the Natural History Museum and the Science
Museum in trying to attract new visitors. 鈥楾he (NAO鈥檚) visitor survey
indicated that the more up-to-date exhibits had the greater appeal,鈥� says
the report. 鈥楾hose that had been carefully researched before introduction,
such as 鈥楧inosaurs鈥� and 鈥楥reepy-Crawlies鈥� at the Natural History Museum,
were particularly well received.鈥�
Advertisement
The NAO was also impressed by the marketing activities of the Natural
History Museum and the Science Museum, which both took steps to make
exhibits more attractive after introducing entrance charges in the late
1980s. 鈥極nly the Science and Natural History museums carried out regular
surveys to build a demo-graphic profile of visitors and to assess their
attitudes and levels of satisfaction,鈥� says the report.
They were the only two museums to gauge the effectiveness of their
advertising campaigns in bringing in visitors. The Natural History Museum,
for example, found that 23 per cent of its visitors to the dinosaur
exhibition came after seeing adverts and publicity.
But critics of the changes at the museum are still worried that scientific
excellence is taking a back seat to entertainment. 鈥業鈥檓 delighted that the
auditors find that the museum is attracting the public, says Brian Goodwin,
professor of biology at the Open University. 鈥楳y only concern is whether
what I see as the major role 鈥� research 鈥� is being sustained.鈥�
Goodwin says that the museum鈥檚 role is to educate its visitors as well as to
entertain them. 鈥業f you could turn the appeal of the dinosaurs into
awareness of biodiversity, and current issues of importance as well as
entertaining ones from the past, I think they would be doing a much better
箩辞产.鈥�
Neil Chalmers, director of the museum and the architect of the changes,
defends his strategy. 鈥業鈥檓 very happy with the balance between exhibitions
and research. It鈥檚 important that the two go side by side,鈥� he says.
鈥楽cience gives authority to the exhibitions, and they provide a shop window
for the science.鈥�
He insists that despite the 鈥榦vertly popular鈥� nature of some of the
exhibitions, they do contain good science as well. 鈥楾here鈥檚 nothing
incompatible about good science and good presentation,鈥� he says.
Chalmers also defends the museum鈥檚 scientific achievements, claiming that it
now employs 355 scientists compared with 309 in 1990. 鈥楳ost of the growth
has been in short-term appointments, which have risen from 19 in 1989/90 to
85 today,鈥� he says.
But one member of the museum鈥檚 staff does not believe that this as an
achievement: 鈥楾he main problem now is the number of people on short-term
contracts. This means there鈥檚 not the continuity required to look after the
collections properly.鈥�
