Interview between Elaine Gold and Mark Turin

This interview between the Director of the Canadian Language Museum, Elaine Gold, and Board Member Mark Turin explores the history and goals of a small museum that achieves national reach through travelling exhibits dedicated to an intangible subject matter – language.

Genetic barcoding of museum eggshell improves data integrity of avian biological collections

Natural history collections are often plagued by missing or inaccurate metadata for collection items, particularly for specimens that are difficult to verify or rare. Avian eggshell in particular can be challenging to identify due to extensive morphological ambiguity among taxa. Species identifications can be improved using DNA extracted from museum eggshell; however, the suitability of current methods for use on small museum eggshell specimens has not been rigorously tested, hindering uptake. In this study, we compare three sampling methodologies to genetically identify 45 data-poor eggshell specimens, including a putatively extinct bird’s egg. Using an optimised drilling technique to retrieve eggshell powder, we demonstrate that sufficient DNA for molecular identification can be obtained from even the tiniest eggshells without significant alteration to the specimen’s appearance or integrity. This method proved superior to swabbing the external surface or sampling the interior; however, we also show that these methods can be viable alternatives. We then applied our drilling method to confirm that a purported clutch of Paradise Parrot eggs collected 40 years after the species’ accepted extinction date were falsely identified, laying to rest a 53-year-old ornithological controversy. Thus, even the smallest museum eggshells can offer new insights into old questions.

LEARNING THROUGH SERIOUS GAMES: A DIGITAL DESIGN MUSEUM FOR EDUCATION

This project aims to demonstrate the communicative and educational possibilities offered by ICT in the promotion and enhancement of museum heritage. To this end, the researchers have outlined a workflow that includes both a technical-engineering component and a psychological component for the development of a serious game, designed to educate users in a pleasant way and applied to a small museum institution located in an ancient building in the city of Milan: the Studio Museo Achille Castiglioni, which hosts a collection of design objects created by one of the most important designers of the 20th century. Virtual Reality was considered the most effective means to make it possible to remotely enjoy the 3D space, thanks to its ability to fully immerse the user in the game space and to physically and emotionally involve him or her through interactive elements, allowing to learn by acting, to live a first-person experience as the protagonist of the visit and not just as a spectator.

(Green) Planets in a Room

<p>Planets in a room (PIAR) is a DIY kit to build a small, lowcost spherical planet simulator and planetarium projector. Teachers, science communicators that run a small museum or planetarium, planetary scientists, geologists and other individuals can easily build it and use it on their own, to show and teach the Earth and other planets and to develop and share material with a growing online community. (http://www.planetsinaroom.net/)</p><p>The project is being developed by the italian non-profit association Speak Science, with the collaboration of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and the Roma Tre University, Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica. <br>It was funded by the Europlanet Outreach Funding Scheme  and  was presented to the scientific community at EPSC (European Planetary Science Congress) in 2017 and 2018. Today it is being distributed to an increasing number of schools, science museum and research institutions from all over Europe. PIAR is also one of the projects selected by the new-born Europlanet Society for education and public outreach of planetary science.</p><p>At EGU2020, we will present an improved, new version of the project. Having started with 3d-printed technology,  PIAR is today going green,  with a new wooden, plastic-free version of the kit that will be presented for the first time. <br>To help you engage a larger audience, we will also present a selection of educational material and projects that have been developed for PIAR by scientists, teachers and communicators  and that are focused on Earth and on planetary habitability inside and outside the Solar System.</p>

Jędrzej Śniadecki i jego dziedzictwo. Sesja Nadzwyczajna podczas 61. Zjazdu Naukowego Polskiego Towarzystwa Chemicznego

Jędrzej Śniadecki and his legacy. Extraordinary Session at the 61st Scientific Meeting of the Polish Chemical Society The year 2018 marked the 250th birthday anniversary of Jędrzej Śniadecki (30 Nov 1768–11 May 1838), a renowned Polish chemist, doctor and columnist. Jędrzej, the younger brother of Jan Śniadecki, a Polish mathematician and astronomer, was born in Radlewo near Żnin in Greater Poland. His family and professional life was associated with Vilnius. From 1803, he was a professor of chemistry and medicine at the Principal School of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which then became the Imperial University of Vilnius. He was the author of the first chemistry textbook in Polish (1800) and an innovative work entitled Teoria jestestw organicznych (Theory of Organic Beings) (1804). The birthday of Jędrzej Śniadecki was celebrated in the three countries to which his fate was tied: Belarus, Lithuania and Poland. Celebrations in Poland: The year-long celebrations in Poland started on 28 January 2018 with a concert at the Main University Auditorium of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. It was organized by the PoznańSociety of Jędrzej Śniadecki, Karol Olszewski and Zygmunt Wróblewski. In March 2018, celebrations were inaugurated by the town of Żnin, with the event being attended by descendants of the Śniadecki family: Prof. Antonina Magdalena Śniadecki-‑Kotarska, Senator Piotr Łukasz Juliusz Andrzejewski and Krzysztof Śniadecki-Lempke. A lecture on Jędrzej Śniadecki and the Society of Rascals was delivered by Emilia Maria Iwaszkiewicz, PhD, from Vilnius University. The University of Science and Technology in Bydgoszcz (UTP) also commemorated the scholars it has chosen as its namesakes, that is Jan Śniadecki and Jędrzej Śniadecki. A report on the event and an article by Emilia M. Iwaszkiewicz, PhD, are available in Magazyn UTP Format 2.0 No. 3 from July 2018. In Kraków, during the 61st Scientific Meeting of the Polish Chemical Society, a session was organized entitled “Jędrzej Śniadecki and his legacy”. During the session, five papers were delivered which presented Jędrzej Śniadecki, his academic and journalistic output and memorabilia related to him. Celebrations in Lithuania: On 10 September 2018, Vilnius City Hall held a conference attended by Urszula Doroszewska, the Polish ambassador to Lithuania, and Edyta Tamošiūnaitė, the Deputy Mayor of Vilnius, as well as Polish and Lithuanian scholars. On 11–13 October 2018, at the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences was held the 4th Oxygenalia International Conference. Belarus: The memory of Jędrzej Śniadecki is also cherished in Belarus, especially in Gorodniki where he is buried and at the nearby school in Kolchuny, which houses a small museum commemorating him and other scholars with ties to this region.

VR and AR technologies in the modern cultural space and their role in environmental education

Nowadays, in the era of digitalization, it is becoming more and more important to use digital content wisely. This also applies to the cultural heritage of any country. In the context of globalization, reasonable measures should be taken to use content to ensure the sustainability of national identity. In recent decades, new technologies have been developed and used for digital preservation in the form of three-dimensional computer models of various sizes, ranging from very small museum exhibits to the largest cathedrals and castles. The advantages of computer models are undeniable. Through prototyping and reverse engineering, important exhibits are created that make it possible not only to see, but also to hold in one place, thereby allowing a better understanding of historical events and their significance. Three-dimensional visualization provides virtual tours to different places and at different times. Unfortunately, the development of such content is very expensive. Moreover, the technologies for a successful level of immersion are under development. This applies to the criteria for content quality and accessibility and interaction functionality. It is also important to understand what elements to virtualize and how this relates to ensuring cultural identity. Rapidly developing ICT technologies have become a tool for accelerating the creation of information societies around the world. Thanks to this, many traditional services have found a new digital space for functioning and, thus, have reached a global dimension. One example is virtual museums, which provide access to their resources for every interested person who has an Internet connection.

Through Achille Castiglioni's Eyes

The experimentations described here concern the virtualization of the Studio Museo Achille Castiglioni, a small museum that hosts important artefacts designed by one of the most famous architects and designers of the 20th century, winner of 7 “Compasso d'oro” awards. The digitization process creates two virtual experiences to enjoy the place and the design objects to give visibility to the small context far from the big museum. The first (less complex and immersive) experimentation deals with the semantic implementation of 360° panoramic photographs, giving rise to a virtual tour of the museum available on the web with no interaction: it is the description of the state of the art of this place. The second one (a real VR simulation) derives from a more complex workflow based on digital surveying, digital modelling, and developing of virtual environments and interactions. The two proposed case studies demonstrate how new technologies can represent indispensable instruments for the safeguard, enhancement, and communication of Cultural Heritage.