SCIENCE AND SOCIETY INTERACTION IN NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUMS IN USA

Abstract

Currently, modern museums activity has not only common trends but features connected with national, social and state development. Using the example of the two oldest museums in Texas and Colorado (Museum of Natural Sciences in Houston, Texas, Museum of Natural History of the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado), the authors analyze the characteristic features of USA natural science museums formation as cultural and educational centers. The development of the American museum concept as a multifaceted processes of interaction integrator between scientific organizations with the widest segments of the population is also analyzed. The results of the museums work are summarized, features of their activity and emergence are emphasized. It allows Russian museum workers to adapt and apply the foreign experience under domestic conditions.