ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the useful ideas on the future of natural history museums (NHMs). L. Krishtalka and P. S. Humphrey argue that there are four main challenges facing NHMs: deploying information to face the looming biodiversity crises, using collections and science education to tackle complex topics, actively engaging visitors in conservation action, and fostering an evolving management culture. The chapter addresses research and teaching within the field of museum studies, and the often-neglected place of NHMs within it and the museum sector, where professional practice is often overlooked in the academic literature. NHMs have a crucial broader role: "to promote the informed engagement and stewardship of our biological and cultural heritage through research, collaboration, institutional programming, and on-the-ground collaborations". However, the chapter discusses the future, and shows a more critical and historicized analysis of museum history and the history of science.
