[Between object and society: 25 years of museums of science and technology in the Netherlands]

At present 28% of the Dutch museums belongs to the group of museums of science and technology. During the second half of the twentieth century this group has developed from a small number of rather general museums into a large number of small and highly specialized museums with an emphasis on transport and crafts. Most of the new museums are collection rather than community oriented. They are about technological progress, while only a few discuss social and environmental issues. Considering the huge number of science museums it is remarkable that science centres never became popular. The two most important science centres (Evoluon at Eindhoven and newMetropolis/Nemo at Amsterdam) can hardly be described in terms of resounding success. Nevertheless, the (international) science centre movement did have its impact on the development of Dutch science museums. Whereas the young specialized museums remain quite traditional, the old general museums have eagerly adopted new methods of communication and are in the process of profiling themselves as real centres of science education.