Agricultural Museums: A New Frontier for the Social Sciences

Abstract

MUSEUMS, for the most part, are show places for revered artifacts and symbols of the past. They serve as depositories, research centers, and educational institutions which enable the public to interpret the past through sight, touch, and inquiry. Agricultural museums, in particular, which display farm tools and implements and collections of agrarian documents give the visitor a better understanding of some aspect of life than he had before his visit. In the western world agricultural museums or agricultural sections in more general museums have become especially popular in urban areas. General interest in our agricultural past is increasing perhaps for reasons of curiosity or nostalgia or because of recent concerns about crop failures and food shortages.' Generally, agricultural exhibits are limited to a single aspect of production, such as viticulture, tobacco culture, or horticulture, and to a specific time span. Few museums illustrate completely one branch of agriculture from its origin to the present; the better centers special-

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