Institutional Museums and Archives for Disseminating India’s Technological History: An Example from CSIR-Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute

Abstract

Museums constitute an important tool in modern science communication. Archives on the other hand provide the key content on which institutional museums are usually built. Taken together, archive and museums play a seminal role in preserving heritage and disseminating an institution’s niche to the wider audience. The Atma Ram Memorial Museum & Archives at the CSIR-Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata not only traces the evolution of CSIR-CGCRI but also intertwines it with that of CSIR; and contextualizes it against the technological history of India. Aimed for the students, public and researchers a like, the initiative is one of its kind within the CSIR.