A museum is a cultural institution that acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the education, enjoyment and inspiration of the public. It differs from a library in that the objects it preserves are unique and constitute primary evidence, removed in time, place and context from their original environment. Museums can be founded for a wide variety of purposes, including recreation and entertainment, scholarly or educational resources, the promotion of civic pride or nationalistic endeavour, or even to transmit overtly ideological concepts.
The word museum derives from the Greek word museion and in classical times it meant “seat of the Muses”. The term was used during the 19th century to describe a building containing a collection of cultural materials to which the public had access. As museums evolved to reflect the needs of society, the emphasis shifted away from the building as a means to house a collection and towards the collections themselves. In this way open-air museums and ecomuseums developed and, more recently, the concept of virtual museums has emerged.
While some museums are in historic buildings, such as palaces or castles that were converted to a museum, many are modern and built specifically to accommodate their collections. The range of architectural styles is vast and reflects the fact that museums have been created for a diverse range of purposes.
Museums today are increasingly vibrant, lively and interactive. Gone are the days of the stuffy and off-putting museums of the past, which tended to keep visitors at a distance from their collections. Today’s museums aim to inspire their audiences and offer an immersive experience of the museum’s content through innovative displays and technologies.
In order to create and manage a museum, an institution must go through a process of planning that includes the identification of a vision and the knowledge, resources, organisation and experiences required to realise this. This will lead to the development of an interpretive plan and a set of policies that will guide the museum’s operations. These include an institutional policy and a code of ethics.
Some museums are free, others charge an entrance fee. The amount of the fee is dependent on the size of the museum and whether it is privately run or government funded. The largest museums are usually state or council run while the smaller independent museums are often private.
One of the most famous museums in the world is the Louvre, in Paris, which houses a huge collection of artwork and antiquities. The complex was originally a medieval fortress and the palace of the French kings, but was expanded by I.M. Pei in 1989 to include a pyramid which seamlessly integrates the various elements. It is a must visit for art lovers. Alternatively, those interested in consumer culture will enjoy visiting the Museum of Brands and Packaging in London, which is an incredible space that features a time tunnel where British products, packages and brands from Victorian times to the present day are displayed.