Nick Merriman is the director of the Manchester Museum
YES: Museums illuminate the past, present and future through references to their collections, and good ones do this by engaging audiences in issues that are of relevance to society today. All kinds of museums hold in their collections direct evidence of the impact of unsustainable practices and climate change at different times and in different parts of the world.
As these issues are of such fundamental importance to the future of the planet, all museums, not just those dealing with the natural environment, have a responsibility to address them in their exhibitions.
For example, archaeological displays can illustrate the causes and effects of climate change in the Ice Age or the impact of the overexploitation of soils and other resources on ancient social systems. Exhibitions of social, industrial and military history can chart the story of global exploration and resource exploitation that have contributed to concerns about sustainability today.
Transport displays can show the effects of the motor car and air travel on the ozone layer. Exhibitions of costume, furniture and other decorative arts can show materials which are now rare because of over-exploitation, such as tropical hardwoods or products from rare animals.
Ultimately, climate change and sustainability are concerned with people's relationship with their world, which is also fundamentally the topic of the vast majority of museums. No museum can afford to ignore these issues, and they can play a unique role in stimulating public debate about them.
Angela Houghton is the curator of natural history at Reading Museum Service
NO: As a natural scientist I would be the last person to deny that climate change and sustainability are probably the most important issues of our time.
However, that doesn't mean it would be appropriate for all museums to address them. Small or highly specialised museums may not have the resources or knowledge to do justice to the issues.
Climate change is a complex subject not well served by a glib sentence tacked on the end of an object label, and the term 'sustainability' is already wilfully misunderstood and widely misappropriated by a society in denial. Nor would I want to see environmental issues become another fashionable topic, inescapable this year and forgotten the next.
That said, I don't believe it should be left solely to natural science museums to address these subjects. Any social consequences of climate change will affect us all, and are social changes best addressed by science or social history museums? A holistic approach will prove more engaging, and there are ways to use collections creatively to illustrate environmental themes.
Museums should consider including these themes in any exhibition, and the importance of the environment to change in human societies should not be ignored. But they may not have a place in the exhibition programme of a museum dedicated to the life and work of a local artist.
It would perhaps be more constructive for museums to start with actions - how sustainable are the exhibitions themselves?
YES: Museums illuminate the past, present and future through references to their collections, and good ones do this by engaging audiences in issues that are of relevance to society today. All kinds of museums hold in their collections direct evidence of the impact of unsustainable practices and climate change at different times and in different parts of the world.
As these issues are of such fundamental importance to the future of the planet, all museums, not just those dealing with the natural environment, have a responsibility to address them in their exhibitions.
For example, archaeological displays can illustrate the causes and effects of climate change in the Ice Age or the impact of the overexploitation of soils and other resources on ancient social systems. Exhibitions of social, industrial and military history can chart the story of global exploration and resource exploitation that have contributed to concerns about sustainability today.
Transport displays can show the effects of the motor car and air travel on the ozone layer. Exhibitions of costume, furniture and other decorative arts can show materials which are now rare because of over-exploitation, such as tropical hardwoods or products from rare animals.
Ultimately, climate change and sustainability are concerned with people's relationship with their world, which is also fundamentally the topic of the vast majority of museums. No museum can afford to ignore these issues, and they can play a unique role in stimulating public debate about them.
Angela Houghton is the curator of natural history at Reading Museum Service
NO: As a natural scientist I would be the last person to deny that climate change and sustainability are probably the most important issues of our time.
However, that doesn't mean it would be appropriate for all museums to address them. Small or highly specialised museums may not have the resources or knowledge to do justice to the issues.
Climate change is a complex subject not well served by a glib sentence tacked on the end of an object label, and the term 'sustainability' is already wilfully misunderstood and widely misappropriated by a society in denial. Nor would I want to see environmental issues become another fashionable topic, inescapable this year and forgotten the next.
That said, I don't believe it should be left solely to natural science museums to address these subjects. Any social consequences of climate change will affect us all, and are social changes best addressed by science or social history museums? A holistic approach will prove more engaging, and there are ways to use collections creatively to illustrate environmental themes.
Museums should consider including these themes in any exhibition, and the importance of the environment to change in human societies should not be ignored. But they may not have a place in the exhibition programme of a museum dedicated to the life and work of a local artist.
It would perhaps be more constructive for museums to start with actions - how sustainable are the exhibitions themselves?
