Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Three reconstructed laboratories have always been the mainstay of
the historical section of the chemistry gallery at the Deutsches Museum.
The alchemical laboratory (based largely on Agricola) is linked to the
development of distillation, herbs, and iatrochemistry. The Science Mu-
seum introduced a similar laboratory based on Agricola in 1964, but was
careful to describe it as an assaying laboratory (not alchemical, a distinc-
tion lost on nearly all the visitors) and placed it within the context of
metallurgical analysis by blowpipes and balances. This is followed by a
“laboratory of the eighteenth century” which according to the 1930 guide
contained a range of apparatus from Boyle's period through Priestley and
Cavendish to Lavoisier. It is interesting that no attempt was made to
place this laboratory within the context of German chemistry in this pe-
riod, for instance, by Stahl, Wiegleb, and Gren. All of this leads up to the
central exhibit, Liebig's laboratory. But this is the Liebig of the Munich
period rather than Giessen, which is not surprising given the museum's
location. There never has been a parallel at the Science Museum to Lie-
big's laboratory or to Lavoisier's laboratory in the Conservatoire. The
equivalent period in the 1964 gallery, the first gallery to have recon-
structed laboratories (previously the museum had used small dioramas to
show laboratories), was the Government's Chemist's laboratory which
puts the emphasis on public service and utility rather than greatness. The
space devoted to contemporary chemistry is simply a series of exhibits
relating to the structure of matter, including the periodic table, and mod-
ern chemical apparatus for analysis and synthesis as there were “so many
subsections in modern chemistry, it was impossible to show a typical
modern laboratory in one room” (Deutsches Museum Guidebook 1930,
p. 48). After World War II, this section was described in the guidebook
as a “modern laboratory”, but I suspect this was more a shift of presenta-
tion in the guidebook than any change on the museum floor (Deutsches
Museum Guide, 1957, p. 32). The numerous interactives are embedded
within the display of modern chemistry. They are a striking feature of the
Deutsches Museum's presentation of chemistry and are only possible be-
cause of the chemical industry's financial support. It is difficult to assess
how they affect the visitors' image of chemistry. From personal observa-
tion, some visitors find them interesting but others are alienated by the
technical complexities. My own view is that in trying to make chemistry
