“This book is an excellent contribution to our understanding of the history of the Smithsonian, of the representation of paleontology, of the changing dynamics of departments and disciplines over time, and of the shift in museums from an emphasis on research to public outreach. It is also an important contribution to the genre of museum ethnography.” • Jennifer Shannon, University of Colorado Boulder

Extinct Monsters to Deep Time is an ethnography that documents the growing friction between the research and outreach functions of the museum in the 21st century. Marsh describes participant observation and historical research at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History as it prepared for its largest-ever exhibit renovation, Deep Time.  As a museum ethnography, the book provides a grounded perspective on the inner-workings of the world’s largest natural history museum and the social processes of communicating science to the public.

Series: Volume 11, Museums and Collections

Subject: Museum Studies General Anthropology

Area:

LC: QH70.U62 W276 2019

BL: DRT ELD.DS.383477

BISAC: ART059000 ART/Museum Studies; SOC002000 SOCIAL SCIENCE/Anthropology/General

BIC: GM Museology & heritage studies; JHM Anthropology