THE REPRESENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL STATES, SOCIETIES, AND CULTURES IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY SPACE-THEMED EXHIBITS: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL INQUIRY INTO MUSEUMS IN CALIFORNIA, OREGON, WASHINGTON, AND BRITISH COLUMBIA ____________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, Chico ____________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Anthropology Museum Studies Option ____________ by © William Robert Townsend 2017 Fall 2017 THE REPRESENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL STATES, SOCIETIES, AND CULTURES IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY SPACE-THEMED EXHIBITS: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL INQUIRY INTO MUSEUMS IN CALIFORNIA, OREGON, WASHINGTON, AND BRITISH COLUMBIA A Thesis by William Robert Townsend Fall 2017 APPROVED BY THE INTERIM DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES: Sharon Barrios, Ph.D. APPROVED BY THE GRADUATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Georgia Fox, Ph.D. Georgia Fox, Ph.D., Chair Graduate Coordinator David Eaton, Ph.D. PUBLICATION RIGHTS No portion of this thesis may be reprinted or reproduced in any manner unacceptable to the usual copyright restrictions without the written permission of the author. iii DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis in memory of my grandmother, Elizabeth Ann Gerisch, for having taken me to Italy and, in doing so, inspiring my interest in cultural history. Grazie, nonna. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Foremost, I would like to thank my wonderful wife, Yaneli Torres Townsend, who has been by my side through the excitement, stress, and countless sleepless study- nights of both undergraduate and graduate school. Forever and always. I would also like to thank my amazing mom, Mary Ann Townsend, for always believing in me and for encouraging me to aim a little higher. As for my dad, Edward Townsend, thank you for taking me adventuring under the stars during our camping trips when I was young—our walks and philosophical conversations inspired my awe of the cosmos, and this thesis is undoubtedly an extension of that wonderment. I would also like to express gratitude to my thesis committee chair, Dr. Georgia Fox. These past few years have been quite a journey and Dr. Fox has played a substantial role in my development as an anthropologist. Thank you, Dr. Fox, for bettering my archaeological skills during the 2013 excavation of the Betty’s Hope rum distillery in Antigua, for instructing me on basic curatorial techniques in Museum Collections Management (ANTH 461), for being my mentor throughout the development of two separate exhibitions at the Valene L. Smith Museum of Anthropology, and for your patience and support during the development of this thesis. Further thanks to Dr. Eaton for agreeing to be a member of my thesis committee and for being a source of encouragement throughout my graduate work. It was a pleasure having the opportunity to work with Dr. Eaton, and I am indebted for his v willingness to give me some hands-on teaching experience in his class on Human Cultural Diversity (ANTH 113). Our occasional intellectual discussions were some of the highlights of my time at California State University, Chico, and the undertaking of this thesis topic was largely inspired by his Core Seminar in Anthropology (ANTH 600). Also, a big thank you to the Chabot Space and Science Center exhibit team for taking me under their wing for a summer. Special thanks to staff astronomer Ben Burress for giving me the full tour of the facility, tirelessly answering my whirlwind of questions, and for being kind enough to show me the ropes of planetarium operation. I would also like to recognize Dr. Schaefer, who provided me with thoughtful advice while I was first conceptualizing this thesis, and Dr. Valerie Olson of the University of California, Irvine, who shared her wisdom on the difficulties of pursuing space science as a topic of anthropological study. The enduring impact of Dr. Olson’s insights proved invaluable during my pursuit of a topic atypical to anthropology. Finally, I would like to thank the many other friends, family, peers, and mentors who have helped me along the way. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Publication Rights ....................................................... iii Dedication ....................................................... iv Acknowledgments ....................................................... v List of Tables ....................................................... ix List of Figures ....................................................... x Abstract ....................................................... xi CHAPTER I. Introduction to the Study ....................................................... 1 Chapter Overview ....................................................... 3 Background to the Study ....................................................... 7 Contributions to Anthropology and Museum Studies ................... 10 II. The Relevance of Anthropology to Studying Space-Themed Museum Exhibits ....................................................... 13 III. Literature Review ....................................................... 18 Introduction ....................................................... 18 A Brief History of Museums before the Twentieth Century ......... 19 Development of the Space Museum ............................................. 29 Twenty-First Century Space Museums ......................................... 44 Cultural Cosmologies before Spaceflight ..................................... 48 Germany and the Development of Modern Rocketry ................... 56 The Soviet Union and the Birth of Spaceflight ............................. 71 Operation Paperclip: German Origins of the US Space Program . 82 The European Space Agency ....................................................... 86 China and Japan’s Relationship with the Cosmos before the Twentieth Century ....................................................... 92 vii The Japanese Space Industry ........................................................ 95 The China National Space Administration ................................... 101 The Canadian Space Agency ....................................................... 103 Modern Developments of Other Space Programs ........................ 107 IV. Theoretical Framework ....................................................... 114 Introduction ....................................................... 114 New Museum Theory ....................................................... 116 Material Culture and Semiotics .................................................... 118 Applied Linguistics ....................................................... 124 V. Methodology ....................................................... 127 Internship at the Chabot Space and Science Center ...................... 127 Field Research Methods ....................................................... 131 Survey Methods ....................................................... 135 Statistical Analysis ....................................................... 141 VI. Results and Discussion ....................................................... 147 Introduction ....................................................... 147 Space Museum Exhibition Types .................................................. 148 Case Study: The Chabot Space and Science Center ..................... 158 Case Study: The Chabot's Beyond Blastoff Exhibition ................. 161 Case Study: The Chabot's One Giant Leap Exhibition ................. 175 Case Study: The Chabot's Tales of the Maya Skies Exhibition ..... 184 Case Study: The Chabot's Cosmos 360 Planetarium Shows ......... 186 Case Study: Data Mining of the Chabot’s Panels and Labels ....... 191 Field Research Results ....................................................... 194 Survey Results ....................................................... 207 VII. Conclusion ....................................................... 220 Conclusions ....................................................... 220 Contributions ....................................................... 221 Future Research ....................................................... 223 viii References ......................................................... 227 Appendices A. Text Codification Categories and Sample Documents ............................... 262 B. Request to Discuss Institution ....................................................... 264 C. Human Subjects Clearance ....................................................... 266 D. Informed Consent ....................................................... 269 E . Survey Results ....................................................... 271 F . Quantified Individual Surveys ....................................................... 295 ix LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Summary of semiotic properties of material objects used in museum exhibitions .............................................................................................. 123 2. List of the 19 space museums included for field research in this study. ...... 133 x LIST OF FIGURES FIGURES PAGE 1. Ole Worm’s collection on display in his museum, one of the first in the world ...................................................................................................... 21 2. Drawing of an exhibition “saloon” at Barnum's American Museum in 1860, with exhibit cases visible in the background ............................... 27 3. Xylograph of the Hopkins Observatory in 1838-1839 ................................ 31 4. Dome of the Crossley Reflector telescope at the Lick Observatory, circa late nineteenth-century ..........................................................................