UNDERSTANDING MUSEUM IN A NEW SOCIETY: THE CHALLENGES OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS.

BEING A PAPER PRESENTED BY OGAYI CORNELIUS (SENIOR ETHNOGRAPHER) ON THE OCCASION OF 2012 INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM DAY CELEBRATION INTRODUCTION At first, the museum was conceived as elitist institution that looks after cultural and religious properties. In Africa, it was conceived as a sacred temple of antiquities. Overtime, particularly in late 20th century, the museum began to assume the role of a cultural resort center, a medium of public interaction; a specialized school of some sort; an entertainment industry per-excellence and leitmotiv of cultures. As the society is developing, new ideas driven by technological innovation are evolving, with new opportunities and the attendant challenges too. The museum and museum management began to align itself with the contemporary realities. The implication of these innovations is the changing role of museum, a paradigm shift towards people and society and all that is associated with promotion of our socio-cultural values, as well as meeting up with the social, economic and technological needs and aspirations of the people. Museum is adapting to these challenges, particularly the Information Communication Technology (ICT). As it is expected of us yearly when observing this day, papers are to be presented based on the theme of each years celebration. This paper as one of such, focuses on the evolutionary schema of museum in Nigeria. Emphasis will be placed upon the changing roles of museum in the present era engendered by modern technology. This will help us in appreciating the museum and its services for a better patronage.

MEANING OF MUSEUM Various scholars have attempted presenting a precise definition of museum albeit with marginal success. Etymologically, the word museum is derived from the Greek word Museion. It meant seat of the muses and designated a philosophical institution or a place of contemplation. According to Abun (1987:1) the muses were believed to be nine virginal daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne who were charged with the responsibility to protect and encourage art and science, poetry, music, dance and history of Greeks. The daughters of Zeus were also reported to be good dancers and singers. In this way, they helped men to forget their sorrow and anxiety. Thus, museion became associated with a place where mens mind found rest and aloofness for everyday affairs as well as a sense of inspiration (Okita, 1985:64). Use of the Latin derivation, museum, appears to have been restricted in Roman times mainly to places of philosophical discussion. In 15th century, the word museum was revived in Europe to describe the collection of Lorenzo de Medici in Florence conveying the meaning of comprehensiveness rather than describing a building. By the 17th century, museum was being used in Europe to describe collections of curiosities (Ole Worms Museum in Copenhagen was so called). At present, the museum has been defined in varying ways. Encdyclopeida Britannica (1975) saw it thus: Museums as institutions serve the three main functions of collecting, preservation and presentation of objects. Such objects may be specimens of nature, related to geology, astronomy or biology, they, may illustrate the creation of man in history, art or science. In its contemporary sense, the museum is an institution developed by modern society to stave off for as long as possible the deterioration and loss of objects treasured for three cultural values (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1975:649).

In a more comprehensive manner, the International Council of Museum (ICOM) in 1974 defined it as a non profit making, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, and open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education and enjoyment, material evidence of man and his environment (Hudson 1977:1). This definition is compendious. Museum practitioners since then, subscribe to this definition because: 1) 2) It conceives it as a public institution It brought out salient functions of museum which includes collecting, preserving, studying, interpreting and exhibiting objects of cultural and educational values. As enthused by Okpoko (2006:3) museums preserve the tangible evidence of mans history, creativity and the physical aspects of the world he inhabits. They also give information about the past environment of the materials displayed; such materials then attract, entertain and arouse curiosity amongst the people. Indeed museums give people the opportunities to rediscover themselves and to identify their place in the past and the role they can play in the contemporary world. ORIGIN OF MUSEUMS Ptolemy 1 established the worlds first museum in Alex Andria, Egypt around 290 BC. (Archibong 2010:10). The museum as it was then called was established as a centre of learning dedicated to the muses. Ptolemys house of the muses consisted of a lecture hall, a mess hall, a court, a cloister, a garden, an astronomical observatory, living quarters, the library and collections of biological and cultural objects ( Archibong, 2010:9). The museum as was conceived by Ptolemy was a repository of cultural artifacts and natural specimens. It was a research centre, liberal arts college and advanced institute. Ptolemys death in 283BC marked the beginning of museum revolution as people after him strove to improve on it.

Before modern museums developed, different societies had different ways of preserving objects important to them. Modern museums developed in Europe in the 17th century and the term museum was used in English in 1682. It was used to describe the collection of strange, rare and exotic things that the gentleman Elias Ashmole gave to the University of Oxford. Form the private collections of courtiers and gentlemen, museums became the public educational institutions we know today (Ambrose and Paine 1993:6). MUSEUMS IN NIGERIA The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) as it is now known has its root in Nigerias Antiquities service, which was established on 28 July, 1943. Historically, the origin of museum is traceable to pre-Arab and European times. During these periods, various cultural materials of ritual, religious and political importance were fashioned, conserved and preserved in temples or traditional shrines and in the palaces of kings and chiefs (Okpoko, 2006:8). Apart from housing cultural materials like ivory bronze and carved wooden objects, these institutions (temples, shrines and palaces) were preserved as monuments in their own right. Head of each household, priests of various shrines (Eze mmuo), and some of the kings or chiefs acted like curators. Their role was to preserve and conserve these objects which ranges from iron or bronze amulets, wooden statue (Ikenga) or images of deities; ritual objects like ivory trumpet, iron gongs, drums, flute, etc. In this era, objects were preserved because of their utilitarian or symbolic value. The uses were more of religious, spiritual, political and cultural. However, the development of modern museums was a handiwork of Kenneth Murray, an art teacher in the British colonial service. In 1927, while performing the role of adviser to government on the effects of the colonial education system

on local art (Nzewunwa 1984:101), Murray made personal collection of several Nigerian art forms. He recommended the establishment of museums and the promulgation of relevant laws to protect Nigerian cultural artifacts (Murray 1996: 33). This recommendation was however postponed till 1953. A clear-cut legislation to prevent the indiscriminate acquisition and exportation of Nigerian cultural materials were not instituted until 1953 when the Antiquities ordinance No. 17 was passed. The bill made way for the creation of National Department of Antiquities and charged it with the responsibility of exploration, care and presentation of antiquities or works of art, and provides also for the control of exportation of works of art, from Nigeria (Nzewunwa, 1984:102). In 1979, Decree No. 77 dissolved the Department of Antiquities and established the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCM & M). This became a corporate body entrusted with management of museums and monuments in Nigeria. Today, the NCMM administers about 36 museums, located in almost each states of the federation. Though, some states have two. Our own museum of colonial history, Aba came into existence in 1985 while. The ten colonial administrative building (consulate office) was sited initially at Akwaete and was carried to Aba in 1902 on foot by our local men on the instance of then colonial masters. The gallery is a pictorial one with 8 bays chronicling events from slavery and slave trade era to the 1960 independence. The museum was officially commissioned in 1985 for public usage. Many other museums were established between 80s and late 90s.

THE MUSEUM IN MODERN WORLD: CHALLENGES AND INSPIRATIONS

Modern society is a product of modern technology. The place of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in modern business nay museum is preponderant. For instance, the use of internet has increasingly eased communication, and transfer of data to a large and heterogeneous audience. Today, in the museum sector, we have e-museum, e-library, open air museum, eco-tourism, etc. These museums serve to reach out to large number of audience, despite their various locations. Through the internet, one can afford to sit in the comfort of his home and access museums and its their collections. The interest of such an audience can be stimulated so as to visit the real museum. As the world population is steadily on increase, visitorship of museum and museum public equally increases and continually makes fresh demands on the museum. The demand for better services, demands for leisure, information, education, entertainment and the likes. The implication of these demands is a movement towards a paradigm shift from the traditional roles of museum of collecting, conserving, studying, interpreting and exhibiting objects for cultural and educational values. Museums in Nigeria, for instance, now provide cultural activities like traditional dances, music or film shows and drama for public enlightenment and relaxation. Also, most Nigerian museums have kitchens, which serve traditional dishes and locally brewed wine, among other things. Some of these museums also have carefully planned activities for childrens entertainment, growth and development. Aba museum is renowned in these areas. The 21st century museum is no more satisfied with permanent exhibitions and restricted to a place. There is a growing trend of innovations engendered by Information Technology (I.T) revolution. We now hear of E-museums, Ecomuseums, eco-tourism museums, open air museums, etc. These museums as their names imply are museums that are not necessarily located at a given location, but ones which allows access through the internet. They serve to arouse interest and curiosity from intending visitors, to museums permanent exhibitions.

To sustain and increase visitorship, to museums, museum in Nigeria is trying to take care of the physically challenged in the society. These are people who are visually impaired, the lame, the deaf and dump, etc. these set of people, though have interest in museum, but are physically limited by the way museums are built. Modern museums like Calabar, Owerri, Port-Harcourt are electronically powered and have elevations that enables access to museum collections. Beyond the realm of imaginations of museum founders, todays museum is the vanguard of public education. As the modern society is facing climatic, environmental and socio-economic maladies, the museum is fast responding to the demand for public enlightenment and education. Today, we hear of Ozone layer depletion, hurricanes, typhoon, earthquake, landslides, eclipse among others. The museum through its education outreach programme has been reaching out to the public to enlighten them of these climatic and environmental challenges. For instance, in March 2006 when eclipse was experienced in Nigeria, the museum embarked on serious public enlightenment campaign. Schools, traditional institutions, villages and communities especially at rural areas were visited. The essence of this was to create awareness on what causes it and how people should react in the event of such occurrence. This yielded fruitful result as people saw this event as a normal occurrence unlike what it were when it previously occurred in 1946 (see the Bottled Leopard, by Chukwuemeka Ike). Todays museum is creating avenue for inter-cultural dialogue, interaction and mutual co-existence. As noted by Afigbo (1985:52) what we have in our museums are artistic expressions of the spirits of the different ethnic groups which make up Nigeria. Many people do not have the opportunity and resources of traveling to other parts of the country other than theirs. But through exhibitions of cultural properties in museums, people of different ethnic groups have the opportunity to see and study cultures beyond their own vicinity. Therefore by

spending its resources in preserving and exhibiting cultural objects from the different parts of the country in one museum and on enlightenment programmes, the museum will help in broadening the knowledge of people of the different ethnic groups thus making them to have respect for the technological ingenuities of one another and better members of their immediate communities. This will make different ethnic groups to be in a better position to tolerate one another. It must be emphasized here that whatever a group of people has achieved in any area of human endeavour including that of artistic expression, is the result of a mutually enriching dialogue with its members (Afigbo 1985:57). Ethnographic, historical and archeological studies have show that the NOK and Ife terra cottas, the igbo-ukwu bronzes, the Ife and Benin brasses, the city walls in the northern parts of Nigeria, etc. are the results of the geniuses of the groups that produces them as well as contacts with their various neighbours (Okpoko, 2006:15). Museum education is widening its scope of influence in the threshold of new technologies. The kind of education services provided by the museum is unique. Swift (1999a:55) extensively wrote:
The opportunity for people to learn from objects is what distinguishes museum education from other forms of learning. Objects are powerful educational resource they can attract and hold peoples attention, motivate, inspire, amuse and amaze. They can stimulate curiosity and imaginative thinking, encourage us to emphasize with the people who made used and owned them objects can inspire drama and creative writing. Objects provide endless opportunities for art and design-related work, and can also be used as a stimulus for dance and movement activities

To ensure that museum education impacts meaningfully and practically to learners, objects are used in both permanent and temporary exhibitions. Keeping faith with the new mandate, museums have become more visitor-oriented and are therefore making their collections in ways which support and increase learning

opportunities for all users, such as the families, pre-school, school children, students, clubs and societies, adults, community groups, etc. Supportive teaching aids like computer, micro-clips devices and ICT driven gadgets are used. These help in stirring knowledge. At present, emphasis on museum education is put on learning (now e-learning too) and since learning is also about consolidating or re-orientating previous experiences, what is learnt during a museum visit will depend on the individual and on his objective for the visit. Museums provide good environment for learning which is more diverse, informal and culturally richer than formal education. Museum collections, as already pointed out constitute real evidence which can inspire, motivate and stimulate curiosity as well as inform and: i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) Provide a physical and social context for learning; Offer social experiences that can stimulate and support learning; Provide activities that are memorable and appeal to all senses; (Provide) non-threatening surroundings where public people can learn through exploration and discovery. Provide visitors with personal choice and rewards at a variety of levels, and opportunities for problem-solving and decision making and; Combine learning with enjoyment and entertainment (Swift, 1999a:48).

Museum all over the world is aligning itself with the modern society driven by the ICT World. The traditional roles of museums are currently being revisited in such a way to mainstream technological innovations engendered by the ICT. As such, the era is unbundling great opportunities with the attendant challenges and inspirations. Opportunities arousing curiosities, opportunity of reaching out to the people the more through the ICT facilities, opportunities to provide better services as dictated by contemporary realities, opportunities unlimited by distance and location, but yet increases and sustains museum visitorship and audience. Today,

we now hear of eco-tourism museum, open air museums, e-museums and all of such kind. These are products of technological ingenuities of our time. Simply put, museum services are fastly aligning itself with the NEED of the people. They are opening up avenues for more public participation, more public enlightenment using ICT, more responsible to public necessities other than the old posture. But for the museum to guide and shape its work, identify its priorities which are useful in contemporary museum practice, some provisions are imperative. SUGGESTIONS FOR A BETTER MUSEUM Making museum practice more proactive in a vision shared by museums all over the world. Particularly in Nigeria, certain measures are considered apt: 1) Museum should be made market-oriented: This includes being responsive to the visiting public; providing enhanced services and products; increasing prices for access to museum collections (prices must be reasonable) and enhancing the professionalism of curators and museum workers. 2) Increased Funding: Since museum rely on governments grants and subventions for its sustenance, more funds should be made available. A lot of museums are dire needs of infrastructures, ICT gadgets, computers among others. Besides, some dont even have galleries where objects are kept and exhibited to the public. I wonder what museum is without a functional gallery. 3) There is need for periodic training and re-training of staff of museum. The challenge of I.T, encompasses update of technical skills and knowledge. This challenge is crucial.

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4) Broadening ethnographic and archeological researches are again other vital areas of importance. Since museums collections are products of research, it therefore means that constant but efficient researches are important to update museum collections in tandem with contemporary realities. These are just some of the highlights. CONCLUSION The present realities as dictated by modern technology put museum in a motion. Museum services and practices are responding to this trend by imbibing the culture of innovations in its core practices Research, collection, conservation, exhibition and education. Though, Nigerian museums have not been fully ICT powered, but there is steady progress towards this direction. Some new museums like Owerri and Calabar museum have a touch of modern technology. It may not be far before we start having e-museum in Nigeria. Be that as it may, we observed in this paper that museum services are embodying the concept of people. They are innovating their services to meet the existential realities ostensibly informed by modern technology. New or modern society is such that is dynamic and ICT driven. Museums here are being responsive to this albeit, with certain challenges which undoubtedly engenders new inspirations. I need admonish us here, to visit a museum near you, for your history and culture are religiously kept in the museum. Thank you. REFERENCES Abun, M.S (1987) The Role of Museums in Tourism Development in Nigeria. Nigerian Tourism VOL.1(2).
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Afigbo, A. E. (1985) The Museum and Nation Building in Afigbo. A. E and Okita, S. I (eds). The Museum and Nation Building. Owerri: New African Publishing Company. Ambrose,T. and Paine, C.(1993) Museum Basics. London.Routledge 11,New Fetter Lane. Archibong. M (2010) Museums in Nigeria and Other Lands. Nigeria. Blast Forward Enterprises Hudson, K. (1977) Conservation in Museums for the 1980s: A Survey of World Trends. Paris: UNESCO. Nzewunwa, N. (1984) Nigeria; Approaches to the Archeological Heritage

Management (ed) H. Cleere. Cambridge University Press.

Okpoko, A. I. (2006) Fundamentals of Museum Practices Nsukka: Afro-orbis Publishing Coy., Ltd. Swift, F. (1999a) Museum and Education: Museum Practice. Part 1. Issue 10. Vol. 4. No. 1.

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