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Technical Museums

by Rudolf Stec kmiler and Stefan Budkoyić

iS. Narodni Technicke Museum v Praze. U bom m e mesitre le mondt; cctte exposition Internationale dc rUnesco ouvertc i la fin de 1957 au Musće national de la technique a rcncontrć un vif interet aupres des adultes comme auprćs des jcunes. Ellc ćtait completóe par des instruments dc mcsurc de fabrication tchćcoslovaquc. Tous lcs appareils prćscntćs en fonctionnemcnt pcr-mettaicnt aux visiteurs de comprendrc com-mcnt se mesurent lcs distances infiniment pctites ct lcs distances infiniment grandes. Toute la journćc, des groupes dc visiteurs sc formaient aupres des guides automatiques qui leur four-nissaient, par des moyens mecaniques, des explications dćtaillćes de l’exposition. Des films dc court metrage projetes sans interrup-tion donnaient la clć de bien des problemes scientifiques.

iS. Mart Measurcs tbc Unirerse, Unesco’s International exhibition. Prcscntcd at the end of 1957 at the National Technical Muscum, this cxhibi-tion arouscd great interest among old and young alikc. The cxhibition was supplcmentcd by displays of mcasuring instruments madę in Czechoslovakia. Ali the instruments werc shown in operation, giving visitors a elear picture of how infinitely smali and infinitcly great distances arc measured. Throughout the day, groups of visitors crowded round the automatic guides providing detailed erplana-tions of the exhibition. In addition there were continuous showings of short films on various scientific problems.

Czechoslovakia has two technological museums, the National Technical Museum in Prague and the Technical Muscum in Kośice. Both establishments cover the history of technology, and their collections include many valuable and unique items illustrating technical progress not only from the Czech and Slovak but also from the universal standpoint. The Prague Museum, in particular, is outstanding for its abundance of rare materiał showing the advancement of science throughout the world during the past few centuries.

So far, neither Czechoslovak nor foreign specialists are fully acquainted with the vast wealth of materiał in the Prague Museum’s collections, as they are housed in temporary quarters. Their rangę (over 20,000 machines, appliances and components, 300,000 plans and sketches, over 500,000 books and 3,000 cases of records and rare documents) makes them among the largest and most yaluable in Europę.

The Prague collections arc divided into scven departments (Basic technical Sciences, Mining and metallurgy, Engineering and power production, Chemical technology, Building and construction work, Transport, Printing and light industry), with another three sections (Cultural and educational, Research and documentation, and Library service) working in conjunction with them. A considerable part of the collections is housed in a modern concrete building (fig. ij) in the 7th district (main museum building), in storerooms in the ioth district (the old Invalidcs building), in the 4th district (Research and documentation section), and in the ist district (Library). The remainder is dispersed in various places including Sazava Castle, Cerhonicc, etc. The museum has three branches—in Brno (Engineering industry, turbines, etc.), in Jablonec on Nisa (Glassware, ceramics and textiles) and Pribram (Geology, mining).

In the main building of the Museum which is only partly used for museological purposes at the moment, the foliowing major exhibitions are open to the public.

Photography and cinematography collections tracę the historical development of these two branches up to the present time.

The exhibits include such unusual objects as miniaturę cameras, detective cameras and aerial photographic apparatus. The cinematographic collection is one of the most complete in Europę, especially on the historical side. Opcrational principles arc explained in considerable detail: starting with stroboscopic dises and the zoćtrope, the visitor comes to the scientific fixation of movement (Muybridge, Marey and Anschiitz). Original specimens are presented of Reynaud’s praxinoscope, Edison’s amateur projector for 22 mm-film, one of Lumiere’s original cameras and the apparatus produced by the pioneers of the Czechoslovak cincma and especially by the architcct J. Krizeneck^, the founder of the Czechosiovak film industry, followed by exhibits showing the further technical development of the cinema right up to the present time. Part of the exhibition is devoted to animated cartoons and Czcchoslovak puppet films, which for a number of years have been in the forefront at international film festivals.

Transport collections are housed in the main hall and cover all forms of transport, from primitive road vehicles to aireraft. In the presentation of the collections, the main emphasis has been placed on the history of the Czechoslovak transport industry, with exhibits representing important stages in the development of land, sea and air transport. The collections are accompanied by a wealth of illustrative and document-ary materiał, and all of the machines exhibited bear detailed labels.

The well of the hall contains horse-drawn vehicles, succeeded by the first motor vehicles and then a large collection of cars and models of various types of vehicles in common use. Nearly half the well of the hall is rcserved for raił or track vehicles: locomotives, hand-cars, railway wagons, tram chassis, model trains and other objects, and much besides. Aviation is represented by a number of aireraft (15 in all), most of them suspended from the roof of the structure. The place of honour is occupied by the first Czech aeroplane, constructed by the engineer Jan Kaspar.

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