Challenges and Possibilities of Working in a Museum
What does it really take to work in a science museum? Behind every exhibition and every object on display is a web of people, skills, and decisions that visitors rarely see. In this session, our speakers will open the doors to that hidden world, from the historian's role in connecting research with the public to the many professions a curator relies on every day.
A little appetizer before we meet
Below you'll find the abstracts of the talks. We also invite you to read David Pantalony's paper Relational Objects (Nuncius, 2026), which follows an unusual grey box from a cosmic ray observatory in Inuvik, in the Canadian Arctic, to a museum collection. "What could Inuvik bring to cosmic ray research?" is the question David Pantalony asks to guide us through the surprising connections between a 1960s scientific instrument and beadwork. Can you guess where the paths cross? You'll have to read it to find out!
Navigating Science and History: Historical Research, Public Communication, and Practice in Brazilian Museums
Moema de Rezende Vergara, Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins, Brazil
In science museums, the historian plays a unique dual role: bridging rigorous academic research with public engagement. Drawing on experience with the history of astronomy in Brazil, this presentation explores how historical inquiry informs museum practice—from building exhibitions and interpreting heritage to engaging the public with the history of science.
While science communication often focuses primarily on scientific concepts, incorporating history allows audiences to understand science as a human, cultural, and political endeavor embedded in specific local contexts. This talk highlights the ongoing necessity for historical research within Brazilian science museums, demonstrating how rigorous history of science not only enriches science popularization but also preserves national scientific memory and fosters critical public thinking.
Beyond the History of Science: How Much of My Work as a Curator Falls Outside of Our Discipline
David Pantalony, Ingenium – Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation
As a curator of science at a national museum, my collecting and research depends heavily on scholarship and teaching in our field. At the same time, I am amazed how much of my daily work has little to do with the history of science as a profession, and how the primary resources we preserve and use depend on many professions and relations that fall outside our discipline. My work is informed and shaped by people trained in conservation science, information management and cataloguing, material culture studies, education, fundraising, museology, science and technical trades, diverse employees in archives, universities, government labs and industry, and always encounters with the public that challenge my deepest assumptions. In this talk, I will discuss these interdisciplinary aspects of curatorial practice, its impact on teaching and research, as well as career opportunities for young scholars in our field.
Time to change: refreshing galleries and stories at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
Louise Devoy - Royal Observatory Greenwich, England
Last year the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, celebrated its 350th anniversary. This incredible milestone also marked the beginning of the First Light project in which we will transform the site over the next two years with new facilities, infrastructure and displays. In this presentation I will outline our plans and discuss how this exciting period of change offers both opportunities and challenges for curation in the history of science.
David Pantalony (Ingenium): David Pantalony is curator of Science and Medicine at Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation in Ottawa. His work centers on the material culture of science in Canada, with a particular focus on the history of scientific instruments. His current research projects include: Precision Instrument Culture in Canada - A project to develop a national inventory of precision makers, collections and artifacts; and The Things They Carried, Unveiling the Place of Objects in the Global Circulation of Knowledge - A pedagogical exhibit and database developed for the international conference, “Circulating Knowledge: 20 Years On,” King’s College, Halifax, August 2024.
Moema Vergara (MAST): Moema Vergara is a full time researcher at the Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (MAST). She is also a professor at the Federal University of Bahia and the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Her research focuses on the history of science, science communication, gender, and the nineteenth-century history of Brazil and its territory.
Louise Devoy (Royal Observatory Greenwich) is Senior Curator of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, specialising in the history of astronomy. She holds a doctorate in the history of science from Imperial College London and has worked at the Smithsonian, the Science Museum and the British Museum. Since joining Royal Museums Greenwich in 2013, she has curated several Observatory galleries, including Observatory Life. She has recently published the book Royal Observatory Greenwich: A History in Objects, (Royal Observatory Greenwich, 2025).
