Education and Marischal Museum: a century of teaching, learning and research

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Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between Marischal Museum in the University of Aberdeen and local schools, including teacher education, from the establishment of the Anthropological Museum to the present day. Beginning with an outline of the history of museums in the University prior to the establishment of the University's Anthropological Museum (now Marischal Museum) in 1907, the history of the schools service in the 20,h century is discussed. This shows a change from school visits being tours of the museum displays to the development of curricula-focused object-handling workshops in the 1980s. The museum's place among other local resource providers and as a community service by the University is discussed. Contact with the School of Education (and its predecessors) also developed in the 1990s, including both educational research in the museum and the use of the museum in teacher education. It is argued that the place of the museum in a university with a school of education offers particular opportunities to integrate higher education with involvement with the local community and that the educational experience of the museum could be used to develop more effective learning in schools.

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