Leiden Science Communication Seminar by Dirk van Delft (Museum Boerhaave, Director) November 2012 Video: https://vimeo.com/54283075 Video available here:

1. Museum Boerhaave: Fears, Friends, Future
Leiden Science
Communication
Seminars
21 November 2012
Dirk van Delft
Museum Boerhaave
Leiden University

2. Museum Boerhaave:
National Museum for the History of Science and Medicine
Founded in 1928
Present location: 1991
Collection: 100,000 artefacts, books,
paintings (2000 in the permanent exhibition)
Staff: 35 FTE
Mission:
Based on its unique, magnificent collection,
Museum Boerhaave aspires to appeal to a
rich and varied audience, to excite and
educate them, in a way that is fun for them.
In this regard, the museum's constant aim is
to dovetail with current events, never losing
sight of the goal of creating support for science
in society.

3. Museum Boerhaave shows five centuries of Dutch innovation
Huygens pendulum
Big electromagnet
Narcose mask Auzoux model

4. Brill Botany in the Golden Age

6. Technolab

7. Prinsjesdag: € 19.006.512 budget for 2013-16

9. Pieterskerk, fundraising dinner, 15 December 2011

10. Save Boerhaave!
Challenge June 2011: raise 700.000 euro extra own income, this year

11. November 2010: Zijlstra’s Museum Criterions
1. Numbers of visitors
2. Cultural entrepeneurship
3. Education and youngster participation
4. International renowed collection
5. Decentralisation
6. Innovation
Recent acquisition:
Land surveyor; Golden Age

12. Letter of Zijlstra to the Parliament, 10 June 2011
Entry requirement museums for the new cultural infrastructure 2013 t/m 2016:
Own income for 2010 and 2011 should be at least 17,5%!
Failure: only money to take care of the collection and closure tot the public
Letter Januari 2010 from minister Plasterk: in 2012 standard must be met
Oldest heliocentric planetarium

13. Lobby:
- Museum Boerhaave is unique (medicine)
- Expertise in collection management (restoration atelier)
- International reputation
- Programs in promoting science education (shortage)
- Numbers of visitors are shooting up
- Own income on the rise
- Positive visitation report
- No financial argument
Effect: 0 (zero) in spite of broad attention in the media
Reason: political
Consequence: 700.000 euro EXTRA own income, to be raised in six months

14. Lobby at the Parliament

16. We are not pathetic!

17. Active attitude:
invest in innovating projects and go after sponsors
Projects:
- Treasure island Boerhaave
- Water playground
- Renewal permanent exhibition
- Transformation Anatomical Theater
- Collection research
- Technolab hands on education

18. Who are those friends?
Mathematical instruments

19. Lady D.
donation of 100,000 euro!
Ionica Smeets lecturing for Museum Kids University

20. Neighbourhood
Presentaton Boerhaaviaantje

21. Board of Govenors
network
Snellius quadrant

22. Ambassadors
Hans Galjaard Henk van Houten Jeroen van der Veer
Rick van der Ploeg Ewine van Dishoeck Gerard ´t Hooft

23. Leiden Municipality - Leiden University
Kamerlingh Onnes Building

24. Friends and benefactors
Caecilia Foundation: 1,000 new members!
Masterclass painting

25. Adopt an instrument
Helium liquefactor Heike Kamerlingh Onnes

26. Boulitte electrocardiograph

27. Science bodies – NWO, KNCV, LUMC, etc.
Hall of fame Dutch Nobel Prize Winners

28. Cultural funding agencies
Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds
Fonds 1818
SNS Reaal
VSB Fonds
Stichting Doen
Noaber Foundation
AMMODO
Exhibition ‘My skin’

29. Business world
Shell, Philips, DSM, ASML, Leica, Zorg en Zekerheid
Photo exhibit ‘Energy Future’; Leiden

30. Politicians
Auction at the fundraising dinner, 15 December 2011

31. Press
New media:
twitter!

32. Final result: one million euro!

33. Consequences for the Museum Boerhaave organization
- solidarity, all hens on deck!
- compliance, hospitality
- flexibility
- creativity, inventiveness
- less attention for collection management
- resilience
- cooperation, openness
- changes are permanent!
Strip ‘Newton in the Netherlands’

34. Mixed feelings
Zijlstra played a dirty trick on us
Museum Boerhaave has taken
advantage of the situation
Never waste a good crisis!

35. Challenge 2013-16: Renewal of the permanent exhibition
From Chronological presentation of scientific instruments
To Telling thematic stories using, among other things, original artefacts
Themes:
Golden Age Enlightment Body & soul
Space & time Nobel Prize NL Medicine
The engineer Modern life The laboratory

36. Museum Night: Anatomical dissection

38. 20th century medical science

39. Body & soul

40. Museum Boerhaave new style:
• It’s all about the real thing
• Nothing can compete with the historical sensation
• Don’t worship artefacts in isolation, but incorporate them into fascinating
stories
• Don’t concentrate on technical explanations but offer relevant contexts
Other ingredients of these stories: Auzoux collection
- Pictures
- Film clips
- Archive material
- Interactive displays
- Augmented reality
- Models
- Games

41. Focus on education: Treasure Island Boerhaave

43. Museum Boerhaave
CSI workshop:
Who stole
Albert Einstein’s
fountain pen?
THANK YOU!