Talking and Museums

One of Sandy the Mammoth's friends posted an interesting article on Twitter. Keeping your kids from getting Museum fatigue. A noble idea. In fact, not a bad idea for adults as well as kids. Make your own connections, don't overdo it, change it up, even have a reward system. All good suggestions. There is one thing that I really don't agree with: you should visit a gift shop because you can speak at a normal volume level. Visiting the gift shop is fine but in most cases, I think a museum should be a place where you can speak at a normal level within the galleries. A museum should be a place that prompts discussions and you should be able to talk about your ideas while standing in front of the thing that inspired you. Now I'm not condoning shouting, absolutely not, but talking at a normal level is just fine (also, cell phone conversations should be kept more quiet and probably be taken outside the gallery...just my opinion). Of course, be considerate of those around you (that's just good manners in general) but don't be afraid to have a conversation about the object, gallery, or museum with your friends and family. Whether the conversation happens at the museum, in the car on the way home, at home, or even days later, a museum should inspire and even make you question what you know.