From a very broad point of view a museum is a place that houses artifacts from a time before the present. That definition however, is a little too broad in my opinion. Sure, there are some museums that do seem to just hold hundreds of artifacts from a broad range of categories, but as we have learned, those are called Natural History Museums. Museums usually tend to focus on a “smaller” area of focus, be it one subject like an art museum, or more like the museum at UAF that tends to focus on Alaska and everything/one that comes with it. I also think that when people hear the word “museum”, they tend to think of a place that is very much based in natural objects or art, but there are many museums for physical objects like cars, planes, pop culture, chocolate, glass etc. So, if a museum isn’t necessarily a place that has hundreds of different things from different categories, sometimes it only focuses on a specific area or object, then what is a museum. I think that a museum is a place that houses artifacts (whatever they focus in), so that they can be viewed and learned about from the public.
While I’ve been to a few museums, I haven’t been to any major Natural History Museums, but I honestly think that the way that the US museums work are just fine, some places focus more on one subject, while others like the Smithsonian, house a large collection of a variety of objects to display. I don’t think that every museum should only be for a specific subject or area, because that would take away from the accessible learning experience that museums with large collections offer. While overwhelming, museums like the Smithsonian offer to the public a lot of knowledge about areas of the world and subjects that not everyone might be able to learn about in school. Don’t get me wrong though, I still see, and like the way that museums who specialize are able to really go deep into specific subjects, which is why I like the blend of both types of museums.
My question to the masses would be: which museum have you gone to/would like to go to, that was/is the most interesting for you?
Hello Arianna! That was an interesting and wholesome explanation of what a museum is. I like how you incorporated the concept of questioning what a museum really is because there are different types of museums for different types of artifacts. To answer your question, I’ve only gone to two museums so far – the Anchorage Museum when I was in middle school for the body exhibit (quite controversial now that I look back on it) and the MOPOP museum in Seattle, WA. I would love to visit the Natural History Museum in London one day as their videos on Youtube is actually what inspired me to go into Anthropology and take this course.
Hi Arianna!
As what Rose commented, I really like how not just wholesome but also how you explained what museums are in an interpersonal level. With the artifacts, I really like how you discussed the different types and your personal opinion on them.
To answer your question, I really love and missed going to the museums in the UK. The Yorkshire Museum and the Undercroft Museum were one of the bests. It was really important to me because the historical artifacts they’ve presented to the general public basically told the history and story of York, England. As one who is a huge admirer of medieval England and the other countries in the UK and Ireland, it was very inspiring me to understand the importance of York’s artifacts and history.
I’m glad you keyed in on the “usefulness to the public” aspect of modern museums, since that has not always been an important element for the people who made and cared for museum collections. Being open and available to the public is an essential element of what defines a museum, and makes it stand apart from repositories, which are primarily there to serve a smaller sub-set of users. We’ll keep teasing out the various elements that make museums a unique kind of institution, distinct from libraries, schools, and health facilities, but arguably are just as important to the health and wellbeing of our communities.