Dragons: between science and fiction

With its 180-odd artistic, ethnographic, and historic objects, the exhibition invites you to discover this mythical animal through links between imagination and reality. The exhibition is laid out sequentially and is divided into three sections.

Dragons Through Time, Dragons Around the World
The first section highlights the astonishing diversity of dragon myths over time and around the globe.

The Charade of the Dragon
The second section is in the form of a game focusing on the hybrid nature of the dragon. Visitors define, one by one, the characteristics of the beast: a reptile; an amalgam of air, fire, earth, and water; and a peculiar assemblage.

The Missions of the Dragon
The third section draws attention to the often ambivalent roles that humans have attributed to dragons. It is divided into eight interconnected themes that move from culture to culture through space and time, portraying the dragon in turn as creator of the world, maker of heroes, creature of evil, marker of seasons, incarnation of power, source of protection and fear, creature of fantasy, and guardian of treasure.

Dragons: between science and fiction,
is a production of Muséum national d’Histoire
naturelle de France and the Département de la
Moselle, adapted by Musée de la civilisation.
The exhibition was first created at Château de
Malbrouck, then adapted for presentation at
France’s Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle.
The exhibition opens at Musée de la civilisation
on May 9, 2007, and will be available to tour
in the summer of 2008.

Content

• Decor
• Furnishings (display cases, podiums, and dividers)
• Texts and graphic design in electronic format
• Audiovisual and computer equipment
• Eleven soundscapes based on European and North American legends and stories
• Three interactive games: “Find the Dragon Constellation,” “Blame it on Dragons,” and “To Each His Dragon”
• Film clips from «Les reptiles», (The reptiles), «Pourquoi les dragons n’existent plus?» (Why dragons no longer exit?) and “Reign of Fire”
• A corpus of some 180 objects.

Objects
Objects were selected from various North American collections and represent a diverse cross-section from the world of natural sciences and the world of art: on the one hand are naturalized specimens, bones, and old works; on the other, paintings, sculptures, ritual and everyday objects, decorative artwork, dishes, and Chinese furniture, along with contemporary depictions of dragons from the world of fantasy.

Host museums must sign loan agreements with the lenders based on the list of exhibition objects on tour.

Conservation requirements:

• Temperature: spring and summer, 22°C; fall and winter 21°C
• Relative humidity: 42%, ± 2%
• Lighting: maximum of 150 lux for all objects except papers and textiles, for which the maximum is 50 lux.

Design
The uncluttered, contemporary design is
intended to put exhibition objects front and
center. Large, modulated swaths of fabric
separate the main sections of the exhibition.
Round shapes dominate the installation, creating
a feeling of transparency. The soundtrack helps
create an atmosphere steeped in mystery.

Space Requirement
App. 800 m2; ceiling height of 3.5 meters

Target Audience
The exhibition is designed for families.

Languages
All texts, audiovisual and computer materials are available in English and French.

Assembly and Disassembly
A resource person from Musée de la civilisation
is available to host museums.

Host Museum Requirements

• Complete insurance coverage, from the moment of departure from the previous museum to the moment of departure to the next
• Appropriate space layout
• Artifacts accompanied from previous museum to exhibition site
• Lighting: equipment and installation.

Rental Cost
Rental is $350,000 CA for three months and includes the following:

• Rights payable to MNHN and MCQ
• Exhibition transport (artifacts and display units)
• Broadcast and distribution rights (films, images, etc.)
• Educational program (French only)
• MCQ technician’s fee.

The host museum is responsible for the cost of
insurance as well as living and travel expenses
for couriers and the MCQ
technician.

Availability
Tour schedule