On Museums

If you're a life-long learner, if you revere history for its lessons and insight into the human condition, if you're just plain curious about most things - you may want to sit down and prepare yourself for a shock.

It has come to my attention that some people, well, they..... I don't know how to say it...... here goes -

Don't. Like. Museums.

Feel free to get a drink of your favourite bracing beverage.

Back again? Feel up to continuing?

I know I was shocked. I have heard of the existence of these people but I thought it was a rumour circulated by producers of cheap and tawdry cable television shows.

I live with two children who absolutely enjoy going to museums. Sure, they have different tastes and interests and sometimes are not entirely gripped by certain subjects, but generally speaking you can chuck them into any decent sized museum, or art gallery for that matter, and provided they've been fed/watered/& toiletted, you'll get several hours of cheerful interest from them. Even in places where they've been lots of times, there is always something left to learn, something to discover, or just something to enjoy again.

I could maybe understand some hesitation around certain old fashioned European museums which can tend to be the stuffy, smelly, don't touch, just read the small print label (squinting from afar because the red rope keeps you back from the artifact) and move on, variety. Don't ask questions from the staff in the room as they're guards, not interpreters. But even so, these museums are glimpses into the past, helping us understand the stuffy and snobby present & I wouldn't dream of going to a European country and NOT checking out a decent sample of museums.

And anyway, we're not talking about those types of museums. We're talking about OUR museums, the ones with cheerful interpreters who have been stuffed full of funny anecdotes to amuse the visitors, who encourage you to touch, to participate, to live the history. How can you not like that?

And yet, apparently some people don't. Now I consider myself a tolerant person. I'm Canadian, eh! We support gay marriage, we're about multi-culturalism, we're all about exploring and respecting differences. But I'm just a bit uncertain about people who don't like museums. It's a similar feeling I have towards people who take no interest in politics and can't be bothered to vote. Chacun a son gout and all that but where would we be if we ALL did that?

From my perspective, all students and tourists should embrace museums. If you're a travelling student, you have a double obligation.

How can one begin to understand a country without knowing its history? I can't imagine travelling to a country and not taking an interest in its history, its culture, its values. Am I a weird tourist? Because this is what I'd say are de rigueur for travellers to a new country:

-read up ahead of time. Learn some basics about the country's history, the geography, art and culture. Life is short - don't go in blind.
-take note of special things about the area. You don't want to find out when you get home that you were just at a location which is world famous for something or other and which you missed because you didn't even know about it. And now you need to start saving your money again to go back and check it out.
-once you arrive, get to know the area by visiting museums, art galleries, shows. Check out the architecture of the city, spend some time wandering the streets, watch the people. Try some of the local foods.
-suspend judgement. Let the ambience soak in. It's not like home. People are different. They behave differently, build their homes differently, admire different things. That's the point. Be open and respectful.

Here's an interesting tidbit on the Worst Tourists in the World with some good advice for how to avoid being a bad tourist.

And now, a propos of tourists and good for a giggle, here's a story from Roo, who heard it at the barbershop in Skagway, Alaska where he was taking a break from lugging rocks around as a young geologist in Canada's far North.

Setting: barbershop, just a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean, Skagway, Alaska

blue-haired lady from US mainland, just disembarked from cruise ship: "Beautiful! Beautiful! Can you tell me the elevation here?"

barber: "Elevation?"

lady: "Yes, the elevation."

barber - slightly incredulous : "M'am, we are at sea level. 0 feet."

lady - astonished: "Nonsense! We've been going UP for 5 days! That can't be the elevation!"

barber - evil: "Oh, of course. My mistake. 500 feet m'am."

lady - mollified: "Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~~

So, chime in friends. Where do you stand on the museum issue? Enthusiastic? Faking enthusiasm for the kiddies? Avoid like the plague and MTV? Do you go to museums in your own city or just when you're travelling? Do you return from holidays with your suitcase littered with those little metal colored disks which pin on to your lapel or do you have no clue what I'm talking about? Do your kids like museums? Or do they like them only because the field trip releases them from the routine of studies and chores? I want to know. (for the purposes of this discussion, museum is defined broadly as any building housing a collection of artifacts relating to culture, history, anthropology, nature, science or art. Yes, the barber museum counts too.)