PhD Student in History of Art and Architecture
As we began researching Botany Hall and its role in the museum in earnest, I learned that the Field Museum in Chicago is making a new diorama, their first new one in 60 years! It will house 19th century taxidermy hyenas. On their website you can hear from the artists about their art-science process to make the diorama represent a specific moment in time. It is very interesting to watch the museum jump into this historic style of display and think about how it works for modern audiences. For example, it will be accompanied by an interactive screen.
The Field Museum's Youtube channel, The Brain Scoop, also has a bunch of great videos about the history of their dioramas and famed taxidermist Carl Akeley.