Boros István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 5. (Budapest 1954)

Boros, I.: The new exhibitions of the Hungarian National Museum - Museum of Natural History

The New Exhibitions of the Hungarian National Museum — Museum of Natural History By I. Boros, Budapest The fact that the cultural uplifting oftherrasses presents, both from oeconomical and cultural points of view, a task not to be delayed, and being also an unremittable condition of social elevation •— it caused significant changes in museological aims and endeavours. Our museums called on their forces to serve high and far-reaching sociological functions ; they are to day not only scientific institutions but belong to the most important corporations of the intellectual and art-conscious education as well as the moral refining of the people. If they have not attained this state yet — they must: this is the fundamental, principle of our museological politics, the same in the case of the general museums as in the cases of the smaller, territorial ones. We work out our tasks : many-sided and difficult, in proportion with the emphatically important role of the Hungarian National Museum — Museum of Natural History, planned in accordance with the endeavours to realization by the investment of substantial amounts. Besides the organization and exhibition of new and constant natural history displays of several museums in the country (The Natural Conditions of Spa Keszthely ; Tihany = the Life of the Balaton ; Győr = The Life of the Hanság ; The Steppe of Kecskemét), we have planned in 1953 in our Museum the first part of the big Botanical Exhibition of the Botanical Department ; the Petrographical Exhibition of the Mineralogical Department ; and three travelling exhibitions as well : Fishes and Fisheries ; The Insect Pests of our Agriculture ; Our Industrial Plants. With the exception of the Kecskemét Exhibition, which will onlv be finished in 1954, all were completed and given to public attendance in 1953. The Botanical Exhibition set us indubitably the greatest problems. Not only concerning thematics but with regard to methodical solutions and technical execution, too. Accordingly, it will not be without interest, — as the organizing of botanical exhibitions, and more especially the organization of botanical displays built on modern museological principles is still problematical in even the largest museums — if J outline how the Hungarian National Museum — Museum of Natural History solved its problem. I know it well that even authorities are of the opinion that the representation in museums of botanical material, interesting also to the layman, is superfluous from technical causes already,and further that it can barely be made spectacular enough, and that the Botanical Gardens are much more predestined to substitute the museums in this respect, so that it is not even worth the time and labour to occupy oneself with such experiments. — My summary review, however, refutes this belief, showing how the question looks like in reality. Aside of the short summary in this regard, I make detour to such valuable experiences only as were gathered during the work on our travelling exhibitions. The Botanical Exhibition The former, pre-war exhibition of the Botanical Department of the Hungarian National Museum, could hardly be called as such. As in most big museums of the world, the storing and preserving of plants collected at home and in every part of the world was the main assignment in our case, too; and strict professionnal standpoints prevailed in the selection of collections to complete the herbaria