"The Global Challenge of Climate Change: Reflections from Australian and Nordic Museums"

Robin, Libby. “The Global Challenge of Climate Change: Reflections from Australian and Nordic Museums.” reCollections 6, no. 2 (October 2011). 

https://recollections.nma.gov.au/issues/vol_6_no_2/commentary/global_challenge_of_climate_change.

In this short review essay I compare two major museum exhibitions on climate change that rely heavily on the IPCC models: Uppdrag Klimat (Mission: Climate Earth), at the Royal Natural History Museum in Stockholm (Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet), Sweden; and EcoLogic, at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. The first is a natural history museum and the second a social history museum; the exhibitions in each place build on their strengths. I then consider two other museum initiatives: Northern Worlds, at the National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet), Copenhagen, running from 2009 to 2013; and Isens arkeologi — funn fra fonner i fjellet (The Archaeology of Ice — Finds from a Frozen Past), opening at the Cultural History Museum of the University of Oslo (Kulturhistorisk Museum) on 8 September 2011, as part of the museum’s 200-year jubilee celebrations. Both of these display local research in archaeology and the history of human societies, thus reframing some of the global change questions. (Excerpt from the article)

© Libby Robin 2011. Click here to view the article.

reCollections is an independent, peer-reviewed journal from the National Museum of Australia. It focuses on two main areas: museology and museum practice; and the history and interpretation of objects and the social and environmental history of material culture. It welcomes contributions relating to the role of museums in society, museum practice, and the history, collection, interpretation and display of museum collections. Articles should relate specifically to Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, or confront issues that are broadly relevant to museums or material history.