The Exhibition of Geoheritage in Geoparks and Geological Museums

Abstract

This article is based on the observation that, in Europe, the presentations of geological heritage in museums located within geoparks differ from those found in museums located outside of these areas, often in geology departments of natural history museums. As they both present a specific part of geoheritage (either conserved in situ or ex situ), this article seeks to understand the reasons for these differences, by postulating that they are due to different conceptions of geoheritage on which these institutions are based. As a result, these evolve and transform in parallel with each other, on the basis of issues specific to each of their institution, without real connection between them. The article then concludes with the possibilities of bringing these two parts of geoheritage closer together, while geoparks are becoming increasingly popular with museum visitors.