The Contemporary Use of Museums: Alexander Fleming Laboratory - Case Study Example

Name: Tutor: Title: The contemporary use of museums. Case Study: Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum Institution: Date: The Contemporary Use of Museums A museum is a warehouse used for storing, securing and exhibition of end products of human art and other historic works of science, art and historical. The emergence of museums begun in the past where wealthy individuals would collect works of art and other objects and displayed in rooms called cabinet of curiosity. However, most museums begun in the 18th century i.e. Enlightenment age in which most of them were historical. In this event most of them were owned by the state, the first public museums being the Louvre, Paris. Access to such sites was unauthorized unless at defined fee usually submitted before entry though some museums have now subsidized their entry fee. This comes with objective of increasing the number of visitors and promoting the museums. Nowadays museums are used for educational purposes. London for instance has over 240 museums, majority of them owned by the government. The museums are partitioned into government institutes, private premises and nonprofit museums. Government owned museums however, stopped charging of fees before entry this inflated the number of attendants (Andrew, 1999). Case Study: Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum in London Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum is located in Paddington, London and was established in the 18th century (1845). It is sited from where the lab of Alexander was located. At that time to date it was mainly run by imperial College Healthcare Trust. The trust also runs various hospitals within the country. The museum mainly features scientific works of Alexander Fleming who is highly credited for the discovery of penicillin in 1928 and other associated works of science. It also shows how the discovery has so made wonders in the world of science hence revolutionizing the medical field. Penicillin has in this way been used to treat bacterial infections. It is hence the landmark of the medical field. The museum thus promotes research activities especially for the medical practitioners. Alexander Fleming museum opens from Monday to Thursday (10am to 1pm) for the public unless on appointment. The museum consists of exhibitions, Fleming’s work area and video narration of the event (Kevin, 2004). Attraction techniques and heritage The museum uses various ways in order to attract its clients who come from various parts of the world apart from the country, England. London is the back born of microbiologists which is universally recognized. In the past one could die from only a simple scratch, which was before the introduction of antibiotics. Thus a visit to the museum back dates your mind to the early 19th century. This phenomenon naturally attracts people from both walks of life especially the medical students. Their major intention being appreciation of Flemings work and through this it encourages them to make more impact on his discovery. The museum trust which managers various hospitals offers the students who are associated with it the chance to explore such works. The museum distributes brochures and oxford journal such as journal of Antimicrobial chemotherapy to this areas and the neighborhood to promote it. The brochure contains various views of the museum, its charges and what services it offers (Chemother, 2006). Apart from brochures and promotion through medical institutes the museum also attracts its clients through online articles and web pages. These are meant to sensitize various people of what the museum offers. The web pages contain graphic images mainly 2D while some 3D to show what it entails using state of the art graphic software. The online articles give the viewer a clue of what he is to expect within the premises. Web pages also promotes various hotels within the area of their affordable of their prices i.e. accommodation and catering. Stunning holiday apartments go at 35€ a night. They are spacious, high tech and lowly charged. These are very handy when it comes to travelling visitors who come from far and wide. Thus the hotels offer on-line booking services which make it easy for the clients. Therefore with the click of a button one is able to make booking both in accommodation and museum. The most popular accommodation services are the cottages at sites such as “BookCottages.com” (Chemother, 2006). With vast technological facilities in London it attracts many due to its infrastructure. Therefore for only 25€ one can buy a family Railcard and save about 60% of the normal charges. Besides this there are great catering services which are offered while heading towards the museum. This is majorly facilitated through the on-line booking services. Tour guides available at strategic places will ensure one is not lost (Chemother, 2006). There modern phenomenon that currently are referred to be negative this is a thing that has to change with time. The heritage architecture may at time be valuable in future, as a heritage. Increased heritage tourism has further increased calls for the demarcation of honey pot sites as well apply the visitors management technique, at most time the museum prefer to purchase traditional souvenirs from other countries rather than making them locally. In case the local crafts are used little modification is done to suit tourists needs (Sethi, 2005). Heritage tourism is activity that has long history measured in centuries or even beyond, it can also be relatively recent activities invention. Heritage tourism industry in the United Kingdom was seen to have developed, heritage can be taken to mean loose term that has a broad or narrow motivating factor to the consumers. It might be tangible or intangible. Here are part of elements deemed refer to heritage; historic buildings and monuments, sites containing important past events like battles, or even the traditional landscapes or even indigenous wildlife (Sethi, 2005). The museum and what it offers The museum is the central neuron for the discovery of penicillin which is widely used today in the medical field. The discovery hence changed the course of history. With the revolution that has shaped medicine it is vital to know what led to it. Hence the museum just does exactly this, through its works. Housed in Clarence wing of St. Mary’s Hospital which was initially a hostel used by ‘midder’ students from neighboring maternity ward. The museum is categorized among the well known science/ medical museums in London reason being it revolves around scientific discoveries, Penicillin. The museum was made a Historic Chemical Landmark by the royal society of chemistry. Thus it has seen been seen to have made great changes in the world (Shipton, 1993). The museum also offers on-line video which can be watched. The videos contain scenes of Alexander Fleming and his discoveries. The documented film which last for about an hour shows how the scientist through several tests and errors made come to the conception of penicillin. Apart from the amazing discovery there are also other scientific features which are significant mostly in the medical field. The evolution of graphics has made it able to also see the tools that he also used in the lab and the processes involved (Sigh, 2007). Objectives and how they are met The museum main aim is to achieve educational goals. It thus coveys knowledge through the things learned from the scientific discoveries that were made in Enlightenment age. This makes it easy for the student in this case to tackle the complex goals education requires. With this in mind the museum offers serves various functions: exhibition, conservation and service delivery. The functions of this museum have developed since it was first established to date. Introduction of computing has in this way made work easier through bookings, surveillance and management of various departments associated with the museum (Sigh, 2007). Marketing Since many countries have developed tourism as part of their revenue generating activities. Marketing remains equally important as this comes with rewards. Museums being part of the industry is not left out. In the past year advertisement or marketing has been compromised. Well it is logical that through advertisement we can make sales, any compromise made means the output is in endangered which indeed is not the right action for the museum and the particular country. When marketing the museum a clear massage specifying location, some of the heritage products should be in a language that catches a very potential customer’s attention. Their concerns on techniques designed to market museums. The main focus on the applied techniques involves shaping massages about the product or service on sale (Timothy, 2007). Management and tourist management The museum is owned by the government but is managed by a trust. The body has a committee that oversees the smooth running of the facility. The museum has thus seen an increase in number of tourists in the recent past. This was due to the subsiding of the entry fee. Apart from that the management through media has promoted the museum. London which consists of iconic scenes attracts visitors which in turn also lead to visitor turn out in the birth place of penicillin. It is well known that Britain has the best museums in the world. This adds value to the museum as it creates more curiosity (Chemother, 2006). In the year 1999 the museum declared the historical chemical landmark. It highly caught tourist eyes us their number increased since then. Management of the institute is executed by the board and control by adoption of its annual plan and strategies. This is usually through the appointment of a director who governs the whole affairs affecting the museum. The director is hence the accounting officer who is liaises with the government to run the institute. Governance policies and its ethics guide the board proceedings for a goal oriented future. The policies are continually updated which run in line with the new legislation and development practices (Alister, 2007). Furthermore seminars organized by the stakeholders promote the better management of the museum. Seminars launched usually encompass interactive exercises, practical lessons, case studies, presentations and social events meant to foster the trade of ideas. Issues dealt with in such seminars include: performance evaluation, communication, crisis management, accountability, and the essentials of finance and building of bridges. This will build management knowledge and many other skills affiliated to the field (Alister, 2007). Funding The museum is owned by the government and is a non-departmental government body. It is mainly funded by the Department for culture, sports and media. This has taken a three year funding of the project. The main aim being promotion of education and ensure the safety, exhibition and preservation of the vital discoveries the institution holds. It is mainly governed by a number of trustees. It is in adherence of the museum Act of 1963 and galleries Act in 1992. The appointment of the trustees is officiated on a framework based on the public appointment by the commissioner of public appointments (Charleston, 2007). Though most museums are not profitable they play a very significant role in our lives. They provide excellent learning venues for upcoming learners. Creation of museums was as a result of promoting the spirit of enlightenment which generated equal learning opportunities. Museums consist of relics of history and long gone events. Apart from being a learning institution they are also tourist attraction sites which are a source of state revenue. Alexander Fleming museum is thus a scientific museum which has to date enhance education of science and strengthened the medical field. Students who pursue medicine are thus encouraged to emulate the objectives of the scholar Alexander Fleming. Thus museums are a pride of the nation and the elite. Bibliography Alister Mathieson, G. W. (2007). Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social impacts. New York: Longman. Andrew, M. (1999). invention of the Lourve: Art, Politics and the Origins of the Modern Museums. California : University of California press . Charleston, T. (2007). Current Issues and Best Practises in Musem Management. American Association of Museums . Chemother, A. (2006). Museum review:Alexander Flemming Laboratory Museum. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy , 233-234. Kevin, B. (2004). Penicillin man: Alexander Fleming and the Antibiotic Revolution. Sutton: Stroud. Sethi, P. (2005). Heritage Tourism. New Delhi: Anmol Publications. Sethi, P. (2005). Heritage Tourism. New Delhi: Anmol Publications. Shipton, R. C. (1993). A Bibliography of Sir Alexander Fleming. Singh, R. (2007). Dynamics of Historical, Cultural and Heritage Tourism. Hyderabad : Kanishka Publishers. Timothy, D. (2007). Managing Heritage and Culture Tourism Resources. Vatican: Ashgate Read More