Utrechtse universitaire historische collecties in onderwijs en onderzoek. Een pilot van gebruik van collecties in de praktijk

Abstract

The historical collections of Utrecht University in teaching and research. A pilot of practical usage Utrecht University Museum started as a safe haven for teaching and research objects that had otherwise become redundant. Originally, conservation and safeguarding were the museum's main tasks. In recent years however, especially since the museum moved to its current location in 1996, bringing the collection to the attention of the general public has become a priority. The museum has proved to be successful in this endeavour. The next aim of the museum is to become more visible to academics. Its unique, university-wide collection provides plenty of opportunities for both educational and research purposes. Over the last few years, use of the museum collection has been incorporated in some university courses. Plans have been made to make this more systematic and structural over the next few years, and to gradually increase the number of courses that make use of the collection. Indeed, with both history of science and material culture regaining their positions in academic research, this could be the right moment to make academics more aware of the treasures of academic history in the museum and to try to attract researchers to use them as additional resources.