Trends in Museums

According to the ICOM Statutes adopted by the 22nd General Assembly in Vienna, Austria on 24th August, 2007:

"A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment"

Earlier, museums focused only on displaying the objects along with its labels which did not engage the visitors much. Hence the monotonous display of the objects gave museums the tag 'boring'.
Currently the trends in museums are changing and the museums are becoming more visitor friendly. The museums are becoming more engaging and are trying to break the myth that 'Museums are boring or are for only history/art student'.

Trends in Museums-

  • Museums have widened the horizon of their reach through temporary exhibitions, travelling exhibitions, outreach programmes, virtual tour of the museum
  • Museums are trying to provide more interactive and interpretive experiences through the use of creative displays, dioramas, multimedia, virtual reality, and creative workshops
  • From working for the community to working with the community
  • Museums are considering their visitor needs and trying to cater to their needs in the display and exhibitions
Examples:

Rashtrapati Bhawan Museum, New Delhi, has used virtual reality to make their museum more engaging to their visitors in order to have a good experience. You go to the green room and can see yourself walking with Mahatma Gandhi; you can also experience siting in the carriage virtually.
They have also designed a mini movie hall wherein they showcase 3-D movie of Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi Smriti Museum uses interactive multimedia to know about Mahatma Gandhi, his life and others.

The exhibition "Museum of the Moon" at Natural History Museum, London gives a vibrant experience to its visitors when under the installation of the moon, many events are taking place such as Yoga under the Moon, relax under the moon.

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