Kew Gardens and the Emergence of the School Museum in Britain, 1880–1930

Between 1880 and 1930, the Kew Museum of Economic Botany significantly influenced educational reform by supplying schools with botanical specimens for object-based learning. This initiative was highly popular, with demand exceeding supply, leading to alternative solutions being developed. The distribution of specimens extended Kew's ethos into classrooms, offering diverse curricular benefits from nature study to geography. The research suggests that these objects held additional meanings and uses beyond their intended educational purposes. The study also highlights the movement of museum expertise and practices across professional and institutional boundaries during this period, proposing new avenues for further exploration.

NEWMAN, L., & DRIVER, F. (2019). KEW GARDENS AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE SCHOOL MUSEUM IN BRITAIN, 1880–1930. The Historical Journal, 63(5), 1204–1230. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0018246x19000487