The first interactive science museum in Peru: the origin and creation of TECNO-ITINTEC, 1975-1979

This paper examines the development of the TECNO-ITINTEC museum, the first interactive science museum in Peru, which opened in 1979. The museum functioned under the Institute of Industrial Technology Research and Technical Standards (ITINTEC), a public institution established during the government of Velazco Alvarado. In 1975, Jorge Heraud became the president of ITINTEC's Board of Directors and proposed a science museum to inspire future generations of scientists. José Castro Mendívil joined as the exhibition's director and designer. Their motivation to open a museum coincided with the government's ideals for modernization and nationalization. This article analyzes various sources including newspapers, laws that regulated the institute, reports, and interviews with people involved in the museum to understand how science and politics intersected in TECNO-ITINTEC.

Adapting the bioblitz to meet conservation needs

When conservation strategies require new, field-based information, practitioners must find the best ways to rapidly deliver high-quality survey data. To address this challenge, several rapid-assessment approaches have been developed since the early 1990s. These typically involve large areas, take many months to complete, and are not appropriate when conservation-relevant survey data are urgently needed for a specific locale. In contrast, bioblitzes are designed for quick collection of site-specific survey data. Although bioblitzes are commonly used to achieve educational or public-engagement goals, conservation practitioners are increasingly using a modified bioblitz approach to generate conservation-relevant data while simultaneously enhancing research capacity and building working partnerships focused on conservation concerns. We term these modified events expert bioblitzes. Several expert bioblitzes have taken place on lands of conservation concern in Southern California and have involved collaborative efforts of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, botanic gardens, museums, and universities. The results of expert bioblitzes directly informed on-the-ground conservation and decision-making; increased capacity for rapid deployment of expert bioblitzes in the future; and fostered collaboration and communication among taxonomically and institutionally diverse experts. As research and conservation funding becomes increasingly scarce, expert bioblitzes can play an increasingly important role in biodiversity conservation.