The exact definition of what a museum is has always been a puzzle to me. There are so many different types of them: general, natural history, science and technology, art – just to name a few and without even mentioning virtual or Instagram museums. However, something that I had not considered before was that how much you like museums would also influence one’s definition. As Alexander mentions in the book Museums in Motion, it is also important to highlight how much museums, or at least the concept of them, has evolved throughout the years.

The Greeks were the founders of museums. For them, these were places of study as well as repositories of collections and more often than not, open to the general public. However, during the Middle Ages in western Europe, museums started becoming private, accessible only by princes, popes and plutocrats. As museums became more widespread and the United States started embracing these new cultural institutions, museums became more available to the general public. However, I believe that even today there is still room for improvement regarding this issue.

I find it contradicting that even today numerous museums are still quite expensive, especially if you are not carrying with you a student ID. If museums are meant to be centers of education and public enlightenment, how come they are not accessible to the people who need them the most? People who are currently not enrolled in college, people who might not have the resources to afford a good quality education. I understand that it is expensive to maintain said cultural institutions, but I would really like to see more efforts into at least reducing the entrance fee.

In regards to museums trying to adapt to the modern world, Arthur Parkes commentary really resonated with me: “museums that are not changing are in essence dead institutions”. It is imperative for museums to always try to understand their public, what they are looking for… Or even better: offer them what they didn’t know they needed. In particular, I find it inspiring and valuable when museums honestly try to encourage dialogue between members of their public since this not only promotes active learning (one of the best ways to retain information), but also allows people to further their awareness and empathy for others. I truly believe that we would live in a better world if discussions between strangers were encouraged instead of feared.