Towards the Museum of the Future reviews the major current concerns in European museums through a series of specially-commissioned, authoritative essays. Written against a background of unprecedented change in museums and society, the essays explore how museums are variously attempting to maintain their role in a culturally and politically unstable world. The essays present a wide range of sometimes contradictory views on museums, exhibitions and museum education. They embrace case studies, general reviews and theoretical analyses, and are written from a variety of museums and the people who visit them; museums and the media; museums and exhibition design; the educational significance of museums in formal and informal settings. This is the first book to approach current problems from such a wide perspective. Its authors, from seven countries, provide comprehensive coverage ranging not just geographically across Europe, but over most type of exhibitions and audiences in science, history and art museums.