The oldest use of buildings like museums, but not however called such, can be traced to the private collections of princes in the Middle Ages, exactly where the spoils of war were displayed in palaces and royal zoos. Although museums at the turn of the century viewed themselves as institutions of public education, their exhibits were typically not created accessible for young children, who might have struggled with basic style functions like the height of exhibit situations, or the language of interpretive labels. We founded this group hoping to galvanize museums to turn the social justice lens inward,” but the lesson we have internalized over this past year of activism is that the lens ought to refract. By the 1920s, health-related museums had reached their nadir and began to wane in their value as institutes of medical know-how and instruction.

Early museums began as the private collections of wealthy men … Continue reading >>>>