Month: June 2025

When people think of museums, they often picture art galleries or historical monuments housing treasure troves that capture a particular culture or time period. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg, and Paris’s art-crammed Musee d’Orsay are all iconic museums with awe-inspiring collections that lure visitors in droves year after year. Yet while these are a few of the most visited museums in the world, the vast majority of museums in the world do not get as much recognition or visitor traffic.

This is despite the fact that these museums serve a vital purpose in society and play an essential role in human cultural consciousness. In a world that is increasingly shaped by globalization, museums are taking on an even more important responsibility to act as repositories for diverse cultural heritage and to facilitate the understanding of different perspectives of history and culture.

Historically, museums have been defined as institutions that acquire, conserve, document, research, communicate and exhibit the primary tangible evidence of humanity’s cultural development for the benefit of society. This definition has been used to guide the work of museums, whether they are art, natural history, archaeological, anthropological, ethnographic, or science and technology museums. Museums are also characterized by their specialized knowledge in the fields in which they operate.

As museums evolve, however, the concept of the museum has come to encompass many other activities that are not directly related to the acquisition and exhibition of objects. For example, the field of museology has emerged to study the museum as an organization and how it operates in a variety of contexts. In addition, museums have developed a wide range of strategies to support the preservation and maintenance of their collections and to improve public access to them.

In light of this growing complexity, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) has been working to develop a new definition of the museum. This definition will be adopted at the ICOM General Conference in Prague 2022 and will be used to guide museums in their work.

The new definition will challenge museums to cede institutional authority to their communities and shift their objective from transmitting expert knowledge to fostering dialogue and connection. This is a huge departure from the previous definition and it will take a great deal of time to implement.

The definition will also incorporate a commitment to the preservation and protection of the world’s cultural heritage in the face of threats including climate change, social disruption, health challenges, and illicit trade.

When it comes to wishing someone happy birthday, there are endless ways to show them how much they mean to you. From baking them a cake to getting them a thoughtful gift, the right message is sure to make their day extra special. But sometimes, a little more is needed to really convey just how much you care. That’s why we’ve curated this collection of short, sweet, and sincere birthday wishes that will add just the right amount of warmth and meaning to your loved one’s big day.

The word birthday is derived from the Latin byrthcen, which means “coming of age.” It’s also the anniversary that commemorates the date of a person’s birth. Birthdays are typically celebrated with a party or feast, and many people will exchange gifts on this occasion. A person’s birthday is the only day of the year that they are recognized as a special individual.

People celebrate their birthdays all over the world, though some cultures may have slightly different traditions. In general, however, birthdays are an occasion to enjoy the company of friends and family members and wish for a future filled with love, health, and happiness.

In most parts of the world, birthdays are marked by a special dessert or meal and a card with a personal message. In addition, the celebrant will often receive a present or gifts, such as clothes and jewelry. In some countries, it is customary for the celebrant to blow out a candle on their cake and make a wish. This custom is believed to bring good luck to the person making the wish.

For parents, a child’s birthday is a time to celebrate their growth and development. It’s also a chance to honor the role they have played in their child’s life. This is why birthday messages for parents are so full of love and appreciation. Whether you’re celebrating a son or daughter, these messages will help to make their big day even more special.

Throughout history, people have been expressing their love and affection for their friends with the language of poetry. Whether you’re looking for a heartfelt or funny poem, we have you covered with this selection of beautiful birthday poems that will help to make your loved ones’ special day unforgettable.

Birthdays aren’t just for humans; they can also be observed for animals and plants. In fact, the term birthday can be used to describe a celebration of any kind, including a coronation date for a king or the annual marking of the day that an event occurred, such as the founding of a country.

Every year history museums interpret America’s past for millions of visitors. While scholarly monographs, popular books, and living history presentations make important contributions to historical knowledge, museum exhibitions are uniquely able to reach large numbers of people with a single, powerful message. Exhibitions combine a wealth of research and interpretation with the physical form of objects to convey complex ideas in a way that resonates with viewers. Although exhibition reviews will examine some ancillary products, such as catalogues and videotapes, it is important to review an exhibit on its own terms—not only does the intellectual foundation of a show matter, but so does what actually happens when it is installed.

Unlike a monograph, the life of an exhibition is relatively short. It is thus vital that its reviews create a record that will outlive the show and help to expand the discourse of museum scholarship. This column aims to provide that record by examining exhibitions and their scholarly underpinnings in ways that will be of use to both scholars and museum professionals.

We will focus on exhibitions that challenge the established boundaries of interpretation, presentation, and collecting. Whether they explore abstract ideas, such as home, freedom, faith, democracy, or social justice; or concrete issues, such as slavery, immigration, and civic life, these exhibitions reach beyond the museum to bring the past into the lives of the public. The success of these exhibitions depends on the collaboration of many individuals, including scholars in the academy and those working in museums. The goal of this column is to strengthen this vital partnership by informing Perspectives readers about key exhibitions that contribute to the conversation of history in our museums.