What's in the Box - 45 years on

Museum in a Box was developed 45 years ago and is the corner stone of the Australian Museum outreach program.

Collections of educational material are sent across New South Wales to provide groups access to museum quality material.

Traditionally boxes of specimens and objects were used to highlight the Australian Museum’s collection, but over 45 years may things have changed. The use of technology has altered the way we deliver educational resources. Slides and overhead transparencies have been replaced by digital images and flickr. CD’s and links to iTunes have replaced cassette tape. Film has been replaced by video which in turn has been replaced by DVD’s; it is a constant evolution and can be difficult to keep up.

We now are looking towards the future at ways of enhancing existing learning experiences by linking up with museum staff through video conferences. These link ups vary from art workshops to science presentation to information and question sessions.

Even with the changes in technology the one thing that has remained the same over the past 45 years is the use of real specimens and objects, the question is how we integrate these object with the changing technology.

Let me know what you think and what you want to see in the box!