The Newseum in Washington DC. This exhibit features the broadcast tower of the World Trade Center that was recovered from Ground Zero. It is displayed against a background of the front pages of world newspapers covering the terrible events of 11 September 2001.
Image: Patrick Greene
Source: Museum Victoria
Museum Victoria CEO, Dr J. Patrick Greene, returned in late May from a trip to the US, Canada and UK. During his travels he collected an award, presented the work of Museum Victoria to meetings in several North American cities, and visited a number of prominent museums.
His trip began at the American Association of Museums annual meeting in Philadelphia. With 'The Museum Experiment' as its theme, the meeting invited cultural institutions from around the world to discuss the ever-changing role of museums and how to respond to the changing needs and interests of their visitors. Dr Greene was also present to receive the 2009 Silver MUSE Award in Interpretive Interactive Installations on behalf of Melbourne Museum’s Dynamic Map.
From Philadephia, Dr Greene travelled to Washington DC where he visited The Newseum, the National Museum of Natural History, and the National Museum of the American Indian. His lecture at the latter, entitled 'Museums and the Just Society,' described the work of Museum Victoria with communities via Bunjilaka and the Immigration Museum. Dr Greene spoke about the power of museums for social equality since they make knowledge and inspiration freely available to everyone.
Museum Victoria’s response to local and global environmental issues, such as bushfire, drought and climate change, was the topic of Dr Greene’s presentations in New York, Boston, Toronto and Manchester. He spoke about the museum’s operational shift to greater sustainability and the exhibitions, interactives and information services such as Raincheck 3000, the Water Smart Home and the Pests and Diseases Image Library (PaDIL). These reach over a million visitors annually, whether visiting in person or searching the website.
Dr Greene is proud to be an ambassador for Museum Victoria, and for Victoria generally. "This is a remarkable part of the world but little-known overseas," he says. "However, there's great interest in knowing more, and there is no doubt the museum's reputation is growing quickly. Many people are keen to know more about what we are doing especially as Museum Victoria is engaged in many ground-breaking activities in research, collection care, exhibitions, multimedia and more."