Constructing a theory of the "subsidiary" functions of museums, starting with the "healing" function

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25560141
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cultural assets study and museology
• Research Institution: Lake Biwa Museum
• Principal Investigator: TODA Takashi 滋賀県立琵琶湖博物館, 研究部, 専門学芸員 (90359266)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): ASHIYA Minako 滋賀県立琵琶湖博物館, 研究部, 主任学芸員 (50359270) ; NAKATOU Yoko (小野 容子) 滋賀県立琵琶湖博物館, 研究部, 主任学芸員 (70359272)
• Research Collaborator: KOHARA Chinatsu 滋賀県立琵琶湖博物館, 研究部, 研究補助員
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 博物館機能論 / 「居場所」の機能 / 施設の目的外利用 / 複合施設

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Museum facilities and activities sometimes have "subsidiary" functions that do not necessarily address the original goals. So far there has been little consensus among those involved with museums as to the theoretical positioning of such activities.
Based on a comprehensive overview of such "subsidiary" functions (especially the "healing" function), we recognized three general types: 1) those derived from functions aimed at providing a space in which to share the processes and results of museum research; 2) those derived from functions aimed at introducing the potential inherent in the materials held by museums; 3) those derived from the functions aimed at presenting the results of investigations to the public.
We have organized the available data related to the first of these types. In 2,258 museums in Japan, 484 have facilities suitable for this sort of "subsidiary" function, and 177 have neighboring facilities that can potentially serve the same purpose.

Free Research Field

博物館学・湖沼海洋物理学