Translating Extinction: Translation, Exhibitionary Practice and Visitor Engagement in Museum Presentations of Extinction Events and Ecological Crisis

This project explores questions of translation in the visitor understanding of extinction events and ecological crises as presented in museum exhibitions. Museums are important centres not only for education, but also for the presentation of debates around sometimes challenging topics. Extinction events, ecological crises, loss of biodiversity and species, and the effects of human progress on the environment, represent a cluster of closely related topics that pose important questions for museum curators. These include how existing collections can be reinterpreted to highlight extinction, how contrasting modes of interaction such as the mourning of loss and the call to constructive action can be balanced in the museum environment, as well as how visitors can be engaged more actively in the exploration of extinction and in the co-creation of museum exhibits on the subject.