Frank Stadler and Kristen Sabiel: ANIMALmagic - A creative exploration of the Macquarie University Biological Sciences Museum
For ANIMALmagic we invited artists to submit proposals of nature inspired art. Main objective and criterion for entry was the direct relationship between the work of art and the specimens and artefacts exhibited in the Biological Sciences Museum at Macquarie University. Participating artists were encouraged to visit the museum for information and inspiration. Successful entries were placed with the actual specimen or artefact to which they related so a dynamic dialogue between the museum specimen, the work, the artist and the visitor developed. The poster presented is a pictorial exploration of the curatorial process, the inspiration and motivation behind ANIMALmagic.

Eugenia Stamatopoulou - University Medical Museums... From Tuition to Treasure.
The structure of Medical Schools has changed so too have Pathology Museums. This poster explores the way in which these museums can be changed with particular emphasis on the metamorphosis of the Museum of Human Disease and the Hall of Health based at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. A pictorial progression of these changes provides an idea of how inviting a "disease" museum can actually become. Medical knowledge and history is being communicated to interested members of the public who encompass groups of all ages. How effective is the project and how can this be evaluated? What advantages does this hold for the institution?

Stamatopoulou, E. et al - The Criminal Museum

The Criminal Museum founded in 1933 by the School of Forensic Medicine at the University of Athens is the only one of its kind in Greece with a collection that represents infamous crimes, such as homicides, suicides, and other criminal violations that took place in Greece during the 20th century. The museum is not open to the general public, but serves to educate medical students and law enforcement officials.

The museum's collection is mixed and consists of an important number of historical guns and arms (used during criminal activity or the Second World War), wet organic human tissue specimens (from malformations, abortions etc.), a rare collection of 12 human heads (not mummified) of infamous criminals from 1925 near Athens, an ensemble of objects connected with psychopathic maladies (schizophrenia, sorcery, etc.) and several other characteristic objects depicting particularities of the human mind.

The Dept. of Conservation of Antiquities & Works of Art, T.E.I. Athens began collaboration with the School of Forensic Medicine in 1999 to help preserve the collection, which until then had not undergone any conservation. The paper presents the conservation approach taken to preserve and improve the display of the collection using a low budget. Both a preventive and interventionist approach was necessary to help preserve the objects that consisted of the following:

1. Studying and improving the environmental conditions of the museum and display cases (microclimate, lighting, internal pollution).
2. Exhibit design retrofitting of the museum and display cases for improved presentation.
3. Inventory and Management of the collection.
4. Treatment and Maintenance of the collection.

A simple approach was taken to improve the facilities, study and treat the collection as the problems of this museum were made part of the course curriculum of the Dept. of Conservation, through dissertations and classes under the supervision of the DepartmentŐs faculty.

Andrew Simpson and Ruth Mawson - Macquarie University's undergraduate degree in Museum Studies

This year, Macquarie University introduced a 4-year program of study leading to a BSc/BA in Natural History, Culture and Museum Studies. The double degree program covers specialty areas of particular interest to most national, state and regional museums and for which Macquarie has a high reputation namely: Australian history, ancient history, archaeology, palaeontology, biology, geology, heritage and indigenous studies. This interdisciplinary degree is designed to: a) provide students with a modern background for the field of Museum Studies, b) allow students to qualify with coherencies (majors) in at least three segments of study, and c) allow students to develop strong generic skills in information management.

Most of the University's museums are involved in the delivery of the degree program. This creates opportunities for students to experience practical museum-based projects. The development of this undergraduate degree program also enables the University to more effectively engage its museums with its academic mission and more effectively encourage its museum staff to strive for appropriate standards of professionalism.

Marta Lourenço - Terminology In University Museums - Some Reflections

Terminology is a crucial aspect of any scientific field. When authors use the same word with different meanings or when the same word conveys two different messages, confusion will arise. A consistent terminological body is also a sign of 'scientific maturity'. In the case of museology, terminological chaos has existed for a long time, despite a few valuable but scarce attempts to bring order to the system.

In university museums the terminological situation is particularly complex because of the strong scientific links with the disciplines represented in the collections. This poster is the result of a preliminary survey of terms directly related to university museums and collections. A list of terms will be presented, followed by a brief discussion of controversial terminological issues.

Miguel Zenker - An Interactive University Musical Instrument Museum: a Proposal
A University Musical Instrument Museum should explain music instruments in the basis of their musical, acoustical, social, psychological, religious, materials, construction, restoration, conservation, use, environment, education, therapy, etc. aspects. In most European museums, a music instrument is exhibited with very little information. In this way, the visitor gets a feeling of distance between him and what he sees. But a music instrument is an object, that bears many aspects, which can not be seen if they are not explained. Those aspects, once explained, open to the public the fascinating world of music instruments.

Isidro C. Abaño, O.P. and Clarissa L. Avendaño - UST Museum: Forefront in the Promotion of Cultural Heritage in the Philippines
The UST Museum started as a 'Gabinete de Fisica' in the 17th century. The collections were used as an alternative source of learning in fulfillment of an old Spanish educational law. In the present century, the concept of the museum has evolved from a mere repository of collections to an active agent of promoting the cultural heritage of humanity. Consequently, this leads to new opportunities for the creation of programs in the following: development of facilities, organizational restructuring, collections assessment and cataloguing, the offering of a formal course on Cultural Heritage Studies in the University Graduate School and a proposed Conservation Center for Cultural Property in the Tropics.

Damon Garcia - ADLiB Information Systems

ADLiB Information Systems is the market leader in the field of collection management, for Libraries, Museums and Archives across the globe, dealing with collections ranging in size from 600 to 6,000,000 records. Recently introduced into the Australian market, ADLiB have already taken the cultural sector by storm, working hand in hand with Macquarie Universities sixteen Museums and Collections; providing Thesaurus functionality for Australia's biggest online thesaurus, the Australian Pictorial Thesaurus (APT), with the State Library of NSW; and even down to the furthest reaches of Tasmania, ADLiB Information Systems have provided software for well over thirty historical and cultural institutions in conjunction with Tasmania's eHeritage Project.

ADLiB has three products for museum catalogues - Basis, Standard, and Plus. The Standard museum catalogue includes fields for identification and production, physical characteristics, iconography, inscriptions and marks, associations, exhibitions, documentation and archive, acquisition and value, location and loans, condition and conservation, integrated imaging and multimedia, numbers and relationships, labels, notes, and management details as well as full thesaurus and naming authorities facilities.

Eduardo Ramirez et al - Museum Conservation in the Digital Age: Creation of Video 3D Still Objects and Proposal for the Sharing of Large Scale Resources in Heritage Documentation

The increased awareness of cultural and natural heritage preservation has increased the role of digital collections. We would like to propose new multimedia procedures aimed to assist museum curators with their inventorying tasks and also to facilitate the public dissemination of the vast amounts of collections stored worldwide.

This technology seeks to combine the strengths of digital-image sets and polygonal models. This combination offers image quality, small file size, and the ability to render arbitrary interpolated views of 3-D models. For example, curators and the public could use 3-D videos to examine several rendered views of museum objects. The viewer can rotate and inspect the object from any angle, replacing two dimensional photographs with a three dimensional viewing experience. Image quality is high, realistic surface properties are portrayed from any angle, and file size is relatively small.

Brian Shepherd - From University Museum to National Children's Centre
Already heavily involved with the wider community the Edith Cowan University Museum of Childhood seeks to evolve into Australia's first comprehensive Children's Centre combining a state of the art children's museum with its nationally recognised collection and presentation of Australian childhood heritage. It will also serve as a forum and focus on contemporary issues affecting children. The strong traditions established over 27 years of tertiary teaching, schools and recreational programs, collection, service to the profession and of developing national touring exhibitions provides a strong foundation for this audacious vision to be realised.