Reimagining museums beyond the walls for tomorrow

Amid growing biodiversity loss, climate challenges, and resource scarcity, experts from the global natural history museum community emphasized the urgent need for museums to evolve beyond traditional roles at a recent forum in Beijing.

At the Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development of Natural Science Museums held on June 5 and 6, Meng Qingjin, chief scientist at Natural History Museum of China, outlined the evolution and future trends of museum exhibitions, including breaking down physical boundaries, integrating services and enhancing participation.

As a regular activity of the 2025 Zhongguancun Forum, the event is hosted by the Beijing Academy of Science and Technology and the Chinese Association of Natural Science Museums, and organized by the Natural History Museum of China. It gathered museum experts from home and abroad to discuss how the institution, its related theories, functions and management evolve with time.

"Museums must build bridges between nature and culture, between the local and global, propagating the ecological civilization concept of respecting, adapting to, and protecting nature," Meng says, adding that humans' role and responsibility in the biodiversity crisis should be highlighted.