Understanding Use: Objects in Museums of Science and Technology (Artefacts 13)

Understanding Use proposes a way of thinking and of developing practice around four varieties of use of objects in science and technology museums: first, the ways that machines, instruments, and equipment were used in their pre-museum “lives” (which provides the most frequent reason for their acquisition); second, the ways in which research can re-create usage history of obsolete objects; third, the ways that museum staff have employed objects in their “museum lives” as members of collections; and last, the possibility of reconceptualizing museum visitors as users of collections and displays. Thinking of museum objects in these ways—that is, in terms of use—could constitute a coherent approach to museum work that enriches the wider purpose of science and technology museums.