This thesis will explore the engagement modes of museums on Instagram by looking at the content of 1230 posts published by forty museums in Sweden and New Zealand over a three month time period. The analysis will focus specifically on the museums intention behind each post, with the use of an analytical grid developed by Lotina and Lepik. The museums’ invitations for engagement and participation with their audience will be the main focus of the study, drawing on concepts of civic engagement and the role of public institutions as democratic forums where collaboration is championed. The results indicate a trend of a low number of invitations for the public to collaborate and engage with the museum, while marketing is instead the most common engagement mode, in particular among art museums. The concluding discussion reflects on these results, as well as the initial assumption that museums should be places for democratic collaboration.

This thesis will explore the concept of cultural citizenship by researching visitor’s responses to five exhibitions across two museums in the Lower Hutt region of New Zealand. The thesis will also examine museum management and staff’s perspectives on these exhibits, and compare these to visitor’s. The aim of the thesis is to understand how museum visitors reflect upon and use museum exhibits as tools in relation to their cultural heritage and cultural citizenship. This approach provides a focus for reflection regarding the cultural importance of museum exhibitions. Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model will serve as an overall framework for the study, and the theoretical concepts of memory, rhetoric, meaning making and cultural citizenship will further inform the analysis. The results indicate that museum visitors reflect upon exhibits as tools for reminding, and also indicate that exhibits are seen important for learning and representation. Furthermore, the study finds that visitors do not find exhibits particularly challenging or personal. Museum staff provide other perspectives on the importance of museum exhibits, such as their art historical, representational and community-museum relationship building potential, but the study finds that these themes are seldom explicitly recognised by visitors. The concluding discussion reflects on these results, and suggests avenues for future research.

Esta pesquisa visa analisar a utilização do tema \"Tempo Geológico\" nas narrativas de museus de História Natural através da análise de exposições em museus em quatro países: Alemanha, o Museum für Naturkunde de Berlim; Inglaterra, o Natural History Museum, em Londres; França, o Muséum National d\'Histoire Naturelle de Paris; Brasil, o Museu de Ciências Naturais e Museu de Ciência e Tecnologia, ambos em Porto Alegre. Foram analisadas três exposições no museu em Berlim: \"Mundo dos Dinossauros\" (Saurierwelt), \"Cosmos e o Sistema Solar\" (Kosmos und Sonnesystem) e \"Evolução em Ação\" (Evoluion in Aktion). No museu de Londres, foi estudada uma exposição na zona vermelha, \"Desde o Início\" (From the beginning). No museu francês, duas galerias foram estudadas, a Grande Galerie d\'Evolution and a Galerie d\'Anatomie comparée et Paléontologie. A primeira Galeria, a exposição \"Evolução da vida\" (L\'evolução de la vie) foi estudada, enquanto na Galeria de Paleontologia, foram analisadas as exposições \"Os Vertebrados\" (Les Vertèbres) e \"Os Invertebrados\" (Les Invertébrès). No Museu de Ciências Naturais em Porto Alegre, a exposição permanente foi explorada, em que a evolução da vida na Terra é o foco. Quanto ao Museu de Ciência e Tecnologia, foram analisadas as exposições \"Planeta Terra\" e \"Milhões de Anos\". É proposta uma análise qualitativa utilizando os dados da documentação literatura e disponíveis, bem como registos das exposições. Museus de História Natural tem um papel importante como instituições de extensão, apresentando os processos naturais da Terra. O Tempo Geológico é uma ferramenta chave para esse entendimento. O objetivo da presente pesquisa é comparar diferentes exposições (sua forma, organização e narrativas) para avaliar a abordagem de Tempo Geológico e também o seu potencial de integração normalmente tratados como áreas separadas em instituições de História Natural: Ciências da Terra e ciências da vida. / This research seeks to examine how the theme \"Geological Time\" is addressed in the narratives of Natural History Museums through the analysis of exhibits in museums in four countries: Germany, the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin; England, the Natural History Museum in London; France, the Muséum National d\'Histoire naturelle in Paris; Brazil, the Museu de Ciências Naturais and the Museu de Ciência e Tecnologia, both in Porto Alegre. The authors analysed three exhibits in the museum in Berlin: Saurierwelt (World of Dinosaurs), Kosmos und Sonnesystem (Cosmos and the Solar System) and Evolution in Aktion (Evolution in Action). In the museum in London, the authors studied one exhibit in the red zone, From the beginning. In the French museum, two galleries were studied, the Grand Galerie d\'Evolution and the Galerie d\'Anatomie comparée et Paléontologie. From the first Gallery, the exhibit L\'evolution de la vie (Evolution of life) was studied, while in the Paleontology Gallery the exhibits Les vertébrès (The vertebrates) and Les invertébrès (The invertebrates) were analysed. In the Museu de Ciencias Naturais in Porto Alegre, the permanent exhibit was explored, in which the evolution of life on Earth is the focus. As for the Museu de Ciência e Tecnologia, the Paleontology exhibit was analysed. We propose a qualitative analysis using data from the literature and available documentation as well as records of the exhibitions. Natural History Museums have an important role as outreach institutions presenting the natural processes on Earth. The Geological Time is a key tool for this understanding. The goal of the present research is to compare the exhibits (its form, organization and narratives) in three of the most traditional European Natural History Museums with two Brazilian ones. We aim to evaluate the approach of geological time and also its potential for integrating usually treated as separate areas in natural history institutions: Earth sciences and life sciences.

Esta investigação propõe caracterizar a incorporação da informação paleontológica nas narrativas expositivas em museus de história natural por meio da utilização de imagens. A iconografia paleontológica, vulgarmente referenciada como \"paleoarte\", é contextualizada na esfera do objeto museal. Objetiva-se aqui a caracterização do estado-de-arte das técnicas e modalidades iconográficas aplicadas às narrativas expositivas. Para tanto, três casos distintos são analisados: o do Museu Americano de História Natural (Estados Unidos), o do Museu da Evolução da Academia Polonesa de Ciências (Polônia) e o do Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (Brasil). Além de aspectos ligados à materialidade, técnicas artísticas, precisão e escala, foram investigadas a proporção de sua inserção na composições das expografias, bem como as expectativas curatoriais em relação a sua contribuição comunicacional para as narrativas expositivas. Apesar de notáveis diferenças entre todas as instituições investigadas, evidenciamos a convergência da iconografia paleontológica - especialmente a paleontografia, uma abordagem sofisticada que combina técnica artística e epistemologia científica - como um recurso estratégico adotado pelos museus na comunicação de conceitos paleontológicos complexos para o grande público. Esta pesquisa também evidenciou que para além das decisões conceituais, a concepção, formulação e aplicação da iconografia paleontológica em exposições de história natural são diretamente influenciadas pelas políticas de comunicação institucional, enfrentam desafios práticos e são suscetíveis a restrições financeiras. Esta análise, que oferece possibilidades a desdobramentos futuros de pesquisa, busca oferecer subsidio para o planejamento de exposições em museus de história natural, de modo a contribuir à consolidação dessas instituições como espaços privilegiados para o diálogo e a prática da educação para a ciência, para a preservação do patrimônio e para a sustentabilidade. / This research proposes to characterize the incorporation of paleontological information in natural history museums exhibition narratives through the use of images. The paleontological iconography, commonly referred to as \"paleoart\", is contextualized in the realm of the museum object. The goal is featuring the techniques and iconographic modalities state-of-art applied in exhibition narratives. Three different cases are being analyzed: the American Museum of Natural History (United States), the Museum of Evolution of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland) and the Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo (Brazil). Besides aspects of iconography\'s materiality, artistic techniques, accuracy and scale, it was investigated the proportion of its insertion in expography compositions, as well as the curatorial goals regarding its communication contribution to exhibition narratives. Despite notable distinctions between all the institutions investigated, we evidenced the convergence of the paleontological iconography - especially the paleontography, a sophisticated approach that combines artistic technique and scientific epistemology - as a strategic resource of museum exhibitions to assist the communication of high complex paleontological concepts to broader audiences. This research also evidenced that in addition to conceptual decisions, the design, making and implementation of paleontological iconography in natural history exhibitions are direct influenced by institutional communication policies, face practical challenges and are susceptible to financial constraints. This analysis, which offers possibilities for future research developments, intends to provide subsidies for exhibitions planning at natural history museums, to contribute to their consolidation as privileged spaces for dialogue and the practice of education for science, for heritage preservation and sustainability.

Esta investigação propõe caracterizar a incorporação da informação paleontológica nas narrativas expositivas em museus de história natural por meio da utilização de imagens. A iconografia paleontológica, vulgarmente referenciada como \"paleoarte\", é contextualizada na esfera do objeto museal. Objetiva-se aqui a caracterização do estado-de-arte das técnicas e modalidades iconográficas aplicadas às narrativas expositivas. Para tanto, três casos distintos são analisados: o do Museu Americano de História Natural (Estados Unidos), o do Museu da Evolução da Academia Polonesa de Ciências (Polônia) e o do Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (Brasil). Além de aspectos ligados à materialidade, técnicas artísticas, precisão e escala, foram investigadas a proporção de sua inserção na composições das expografias, bem como as expectativas curatoriais em relação a sua contribuição comunicacional para as narrativas expositivas. Apesar de notáveis diferenças entre todas as instituições investigadas, evidenciamos a convergência da iconografia paleontológica - especialmente a paleontografia, uma abordagem sofisticada que combina técnica artística e epistemologia científica - como um recurso estratégico adotado pelos museus na comunicação de conceitos paleontológicos complexos para o grande público. Esta pesquisa também evidenciou que para além das decisões conceituais, a concepção, formulação e aplicação da iconografia paleontológica em exposições de história natural são diretamente influenciadas pelas políticas de comunicação institucional, enfrentam desafios práticos e são suscetíveis a restrições financeiras. Esta análise, que oferece possibilidades a desdobramentos futuros de pesquisa, busca oferecer subsidio para o planejamento de exposições em museus de história natural, de modo a contribuir à consolidação dessas instituições como espaços privilegiados para o diálogo e a prática da educação para a ciência, para a preservação do patrimônio e para a sustentabilidade. / This research proposes to characterize the incorporation of paleontological information in natural history museums exhibition narratives through the use of images. The paleontological iconography, commonly referred to as \"paleoart\", is contextualized in the realm of the museum object. The goal is featuring the techniques and iconographic modalities state-of-art applied in exhibition narratives. Three different cases are being analyzed: the American Museum of Natural History (United States), the Museum of Evolution of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland) and the Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo (Brazil). Besides aspects of iconography\'s materiality, artistic techniques, accuracy and scale, it was investigated the proportion of its insertion in expography compositions, as well as the curatorial goals regarding its communication contribution to exhibition narratives. Despite notable distinctions between all the institutions investigated, we evidenced the convergence of the paleontological iconography - especially the paleontography, a sophisticated approach that combines artistic technique and scientific epistemology - as a strategic resource of museum exhibitions to assist the communication of high complex paleontological concepts to broader audiences. This research also evidenced that in addition to conceptual decisions, the design, making and implementation of paleontological iconography in natural history exhibitions are direct influenced by institutional communication policies, face practical challenges and are susceptible to financial constraints. This analysis, which offers possibilities for future research developments, intends to provide subsidies for exhibitions planning at natural history museums, to contribute to their consolidation as privileged spaces for dialogue and the practice of education for science, for heritage preservation and sustainability.

Esta pesquisa visa analisar a utilização do tema \"Tempo Geológico\" nas narrativas de museus de História Natural através da análise de exposições em museus em quatro países: Alemanha, o Museum für Naturkunde de Berlim; Inglaterra, o Natural History Museum, em Londres; França, o Muséum National d\'Histoire Naturelle de Paris; Brasil, o Museu de Ciências Naturais e Museu de Ciência e Tecnologia, ambos em Porto Alegre. Foram analisadas três exposições no museu em Berlim: \"Mundo dos Dinossauros\" (Saurierwelt), \"Cosmos e o Sistema Solar\" (Kosmos und Sonnesystem) e \"Evolução em Ação\" (Evoluion in Aktion). No museu de Londres, foi estudada uma exposição na zona vermelha, \"Desde o Início\" (From the beginning). No museu francês, duas galerias foram estudadas, a Grande Galerie d\'Evolution and a Galerie d\'Anatomie comparée et Paléontologie. A primeira Galeria, a exposição \"Evolução da vida\" (L\'evolução de la vie) foi estudada, enquanto na Galeria de Paleontologia, foram analisadas as exposições \"Os Vertebrados\" (Les Vertèbres) e \"Os Invertebrados\" (Les Invertébrès). No Museu de Ciências Naturais em Porto Alegre, a exposição permanente foi explorada, em que a evolução da vida na Terra é o foco. Quanto ao Museu de Ciência e Tecnologia, foram analisadas as exposições \"Planeta Terra\" e \"Milhões de Anos\". É proposta uma análise qualitativa utilizando os dados da documentação literatura e disponíveis, bem como registos das exposições. Museus de História Natural tem um papel importante como instituições de extensão, apresentando os processos naturais da Terra. O Tempo Geológico é uma ferramenta chave para esse entendimento. O objetivo da presente pesquisa é comparar diferentes exposições (sua forma, organização e narrativas) para avaliar a abordagem de Tempo Geológico e também o seu potencial de integração normalmente tratados como áreas separadas em instituições de História Natural: Ciências da Terra e ciências da vida. / This research seeks to examine how the theme \"Geological Time\" is addressed in the narratives of Natural History Museums through the analysis of exhibits in museums in four countries: Germany, the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin; England, the Natural History Museum in London; France, the Muséum National d\'Histoire naturelle in Paris; Brazil, the Museu de Ciências Naturais and the Museu de Ciência e Tecnologia, both in Porto Alegre. The authors analysed three exhibits in the museum in Berlin: Saurierwelt (World of Dinosaurs), Kosmos und Sonnesystem (Cosmos and the Solar System) and Evolution in Aktion (Evolution in Action). In the museum in London, the authors studied one exhibit in the red zone, From the beginning. In the French museum, two galleries were studied, the Grand Galerie d\'Evolution and the Galerie d\'Anatomie comparée et Paléontologie. From the first Gallery, the exhibit L\'evolution de la vie (Evolution of life) was studied, while in the Paleontology Gallery the exhibits Les vertébrès (The vertebrates) and Les invertébrès (The invertebrates) were analysed. In the Museu de Ciencias Naturais in Porto Alegre, the permanent exhibit was explored, in which the evolution of life on Earth is the focus. As for the Museu de Ciência e Tecnologia, the Paleontology exhibit was analysed. We propose a qualitative analysis using data from the literature and available documentation as well as records of the exhibitions. Natural History Museums have an important role as outreach institutions presenting the natural processes on Earth. The Geological Time is a key tool for this understanding. The goal of the present research is to compare the exhibits (its form, organization and narratives) in three of the most traditional European Natural History Museums with two Brazilian ones. We aim to evaluate the approach of geological time and also its potential for integrating usually treated as separate areas in natural history institutions: Earth sciences and life sciences.

'Museum Communication: Learning, Interaction and Experience' is a study of how museums have evolved and handled their communication approaches at both theoretical and practical levels. It discusses questions like; how has museum communication developed? What influences do these developments have on museology and its related disciplines? How will museum communication develop in the future? These are questions closely connected with essential concepts of learning, interaction, participation and experience, which will be discussed throughout the thesis. Learning and exhibition theories will be considered alongside discussions of epistemological and philosophical approaches, interpretation, and social development of museological research. The research forms a discourse analysis of museums' own views and opinions of these issues through replies of a questionnaire. It also focuses on specific case studies and examples in order to combine theoretical definitions and empirical approaches with museological developments. To form a deeper understanding of how museological communication is developing, the research includes interviews with professionals of philosophy and storytelling as well. Finally, the approaches are summarised in a new museum model developed from future studies. This model, called 'The Transformative Museum', identifies essential points in which museums have developed their communication practices and theories, and discusses how these may develop in the future. As the responsibilities of museum curators develop, museums have to embrace the concepts of transformation and flexibility too. Inquiries, research, learning and participation have to be transformed into all kinds of experiences in order to respond to changing needs and flexible structures of communities and societies. The transformative museum will have to acknowledge past traditions, current trends and future opportunities simultaneously in order to become a museum of both present and future relevance for all kinds of visitors and users.

Representation of heritage via digital and online tools gains more attention from culture professionals and the general public. Mobile applications allow museums to reach wider audiences, make heritage more accessible for people with special needs and provide content in various forms. Catholic cathedrals, being the sites with great tourism potential and rich historical and cultural legacy, also create their mobile applications in several languages. This research aims to answer the question of how mobile applications contribute to the representation of the heritage of religious sites. The case studies are the mobile applications of Notre-Dame, Milan, Florence and Cologne cathedrals. The visual and textual content and the design of the applications are analyzed to explore how heritage meets religious and secular needs. As a result, it was possible to identify patterns used by the cathedrals' management and application developers when generating religious heritage content in this technologic framework. Besides, practical suggestions on improvement of the technical layout and narrative practices are made. Keywords: religious heritage, heritage representation, mobile applications, digital museum, tourism, museum communication, UNESCO 2

The objective of this thesis was to analyze a tourism supply and demand in České Budějovice. This work focuses closely to museums in the city. On the base of made situational analysis, the output of the questionnaires and SWOT analysis products were drawn that expand the supply in chosen area of cultural tourism. Simultaneously the possibilities of communication and cooperation of chosen cultural facilities and the tourism sector were suggested.