Introduction: Climate Change, Museum Futures

Abstract

The Anthropocene has emerged as a popular term used by scientists and the media to partition the current phase of Earth’s history. The concept suggests that the scale of human impact on the planet has become so great that the collective action of the species will be found in the geological record. Currently there is an Anthropocene working group of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy who are preparing a proposal to the International Commission on Stratigraphy to have the period formalized. Institutions are becoming aware of the Anthropocene as a potential museum topic with recent efforts evident in either public programming, such as the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, or in symposia and workshops, such as those held at the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural History. However, the Deutsches Museum is conceptualizing the first large-scale special exhibition solely dedicated to the Anthropocene, covering 1,450 square meters (ca. 15,600 square feet). The exhibition is a joint project with the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. The Carson Center is an international research center supported by the German Ministry for Education and Research that is dedicated to furthering research and discussion in the field of environmental studies with the aim to strengthen the role of the humanities in the current political and scientific debates about the environment.

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