Re: DINO Commercialization

[Bettyc <Bettyc@flyinggoat.com>]

> > From:          jamolnar@juno.com
> > Why is the nuance of a museum using this exhibit for bait to get folks
> > inside so they can get the straight poop escaping you?

dunn1@IDT.NET wrote:
> It's must be escaping me because it's not what's happening.  People
> are getting a glossy ad for the movie.  No straight poop on the
> movie inaccuracies to be seen.

I know what it is to the modern attention-span-impaired museum-goer to
pass through an exhibit-from the TREASURES of TUTANHKAMEN to THE ART OF
STAR WARS:THE FIRST 20 YEARS.  Yes-the information in most exhibits is
incomplete.  Has to be-not enough floorspace in ANY museum to hold all
knowledge on a subject-don't be silly.   Even Paleontologists have to
globe-trot to collect info on the tiniest of parts of dinos. The
information you wanted to see in this particular exhibit was structured
to be answered by the docents with the fossil cart.  

You think museums don't care?  The paleontologists at the SF Academy of
Sciences is an invertebrate shell guy-hasn't kept up with dinosaurs
since he was in school-not his field, but he did what he could to gather
as much information as he could to force-feed all the docents being
prepped for the JP exhibit.  He was very exited about it-not that many
chances to work on a major exhibit like this come his way.  Would it
have been better information if prepped by Kevin Padian across the Bay
in Berkeley?  Yeah, but he doesn't work for that museum.  Not his job. 
Heck-John H could have done a better job, but it wasn't his place,
either.  So the docents get some older info and go out to help where
they can-prepped by a real paleontologist to do the job.  

Did I see the info updated by the docents that WERE more keen on
dinosaurs?  You bet-we had somebody make a little display of plants
collected over at the Botanical Gardens of plants known to have been
around during the time of the dinosaurs-all taped to some illustration
board.  The Monky-puzzle tree branch was especially popular. 

Did we have one docent bring in his OWN PERSONAL collection of fossil
bits collected while on a University-sponsored dig? Yup-the kids
reaction to the coprolite was a scream.

I was a volunteer docent for JP as well as Judy.  
Did YOU got to the fossil cart at this exhibit and see the cart's info? 
Did you see what casts they were showing people?  Did you see what other
fossils the MUSEUM supplied to be handled by children?  Did you hear the
docents passing on the crib-sheet information put together by the
Dinosaur Society/and/or the museum to inform docents about the exhibit
and for them to pass on?

IF YOU THINK THE INFO IS WRONG, BE THERE TO GIVE OUT BETTER INFO
That's what I did-that's what Judy did, I know others did it too.
I know ANY exhibit is incomplete to teach people who don't have training
to observe things.  Most 'normal' people don't.
Did you talk to any of the docents or did you assume you knew more than
they did?

> Becoming a huge billboard for exhibits whose *substance* amounts to
> Hollywood product is the only solution?  They have no option but to
> offer us this and this only, and if we gag on it the museum
> extinction is our fault?

If you can spend an hour of your time countering what you refer to as
misinformation, then would you do it? 
I've done it.  

Larry, I disagree with you about the efforts for education that went
into this exhibit.
I disagree with you about the support given by the museum to this.
I disagree with you.
Let's drop the whole thing while we can go back to acting like little
ladies and gentlemen again, ok?
Can we just agree to disagree?
-- 
           Betty Cunningham  
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