5134939241

In rcccnt ycars bricf missions have bccn carricd out by the scicntific Staff in various parts of thc world (Sardinia, United States of America, thc Red Sea, Romania) in connexion with parti-cular projects or for the purpose of collccting new materiał.

This account of scicntific work would not be complctc without mention of thc many scientists from institutes in Italy or abroad who comc to thc museum for periods of varying length to study the coUcctions. This is one aspcct of a close and continuous collaboration which also takes thc form of frcąucnt loans and cxchangcs of spccimens.

But the function of the Gcnoa museum is not purely scientific. Likc all similar institutions it is a centrę for thc popularization of natural history. It therefore has a disseminating function. The importance of this was not rccogniz-ed until recent times when it was dcclared that muscums were not only therc to serve rcscarch workers but should bring to an evcr Iargcr and morc hctcrogencous public many, if not all, aspeets of thc animal, plant and minerał kingdoms. Cascs should not display a mono-tonous and unattractivc scries of speciracns but draw attention to phenomena, aspeets and structures by means of carefully sclected mat-erials. It has rightly becn said that the existcnce of a museum is not justified by thc wealth of its collections. Abovc all, a elear distinction must be drawn betwecn collections for rcscarch purposes and collections for public display. The criteria for their arrangement are quitc different. All these principles are observed, too, in the Gcnoa museum, which plans radical changcs. Reform must take hecd of modern rcquiremcnts and a start has already becn madę along these lines.

One hundred ycars after its foundation, thc museum has proved that it is wcll on the way to becoming morę functional. In accordance with the present programmc, display cases must contain a limited number of spccimens, clcarly labclled, with explanations, photo-graphs, maps showing their distribution and diagrams showing structural details (fig. 29). Evcn thc display cascs, which are now being changcd, arc lighted inside to permit maximum visibility.

The display of birds has bccn radically chang-ed: the now discreditcd rows of hundreds of specimcns have vanished to give way to a fcw* selectcd reprcsentative species from each group, arranged to form a harmonious ensemble. The mammal cxhibit.s havc also bcen largely renovated along thc same lines (fig. }o). Today public attention is attracted by a hugc display case divided into threc sections and devoted to the sea. The first section gives a generał idea of marinc life in various environ-ments; in thc sccond a fcw groups of marinę animals arc displayed (fig. the third con-tains fish, shclls, coral and sponges of practical usc, thus illustrating thc rcsourccs offered by the sea to man.

In accordance with current programmes, the museum rooms are to havc a fcw display cases of a generał charactcr, that is, designed to aid understanding of thc fundamcntal charactcr-istics—structural and biological—of a few large groups of animals. Othcr showcascs wili be set aside for temporary exhibitions dealing with particular aspeets of natural history. It is very important to hołd new cxhibitions fre-qucntly so that yisitors arc encouragcd to return to the museum from timc to time. For scvcral ycars now, various types of cxhibitions havc bccn organized in thc museum: one was devotcd to marinę plants, another to books on science for thc generał public, etc. For 1969 a smali historical cxhibition was prepared in conncxion with thc muscum’s ccntcnary. Inter-esting documcnts, photographs, manuscripts and rarc spccimens wcrc madc known thereby.

The impetus givcn by thc museum to cultural activity is not due solcly to thc materiał it puts on display. Frec lectures held in its amphitheatre once a wcck are wdl attended. Slides and films illustrating thc various aspeets of naturę are screened. Sometimes the lecturers make use of the museum spccimens to givc real lessons.

This then is a good way of hclping tcachcrs in their work. The museum is visited by many pcople connccted w^rith schools. It lends smali collections to the latter and its laboratory is availablc to students who wish to cxtcnd their knowledgc or preparc for examinations in thc natural Sciences.

Notwithstanding inevitable difficulties, Gen-oa's museum, has the firm intention of re-maining a valuable centre of cultural life, of usc both to research workers and to the generał public.    Enrico Tortonese

29. Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Gia-como Doria, Gcnoa. Panel showing the cvo-Iution of the horsc.

29. Panneau montrant Pćvo]ution du cheval.

Li farregfca ocflti Eqj*Oj ebbe origne nelTAsia NE. ma la sua woki/tone si compf sopratutło nol Mord America durante fora Tec2łyia In lale ccntircrte ii succc-drttero drwrsi gwn che urdussero ałattuate feuŁ uw) "pprawtsstio (CavaSo. Asto. Zebra, ecc J Oueslo processo ewMiwo duro er ca 50 milom rt anm Nel corso di esso a verificar<rn w graduale eimenlo 6 slalira alcirn? modfrf* nel crano (chwsua postorior* (Wcrbtfa) e iru progress<va ndrwne rwmero cfctte i*a fquus pf>5s*de un s*) dło corriipondcrte ai 3* ooe al medantr le duc dła WeraŁ (^e 4*) sono fdotte a formare i? cosidelle ‘ossa slHiformi..    ;

Atbinjorule b prnrfiw foresle per le aperte punure. Qt> Equri> dnenrero Sempra megln atti Ala corsa. Dal Nord America es«l u diffusero anche r«gl. contirenti b realia i kro albero gswalogko t assai piu compiesso di quanlo mcfchi    serrplice sequenza.

236