I love walking through an amazing museum and walking out with more than I walked in with. The thrill of discovery & wonder propel me to go again and again in city after city I travel. Some disappoint, yet most enthrall me with the unexpected & utterly wonderful. I have some thoughts on what makes a great museum that I would like to execute on, but I want to know what you think.
What makes a great museum? Is it the building? Is it the architect? Is it the curator? Is it the exhibits? Is it the gift shop? Is it the cafe? Is it just the whole experience? Is it having specific items or artist on display? What is it that draws you into a museum and hooks you? Is it interactive displays & exhibits? Could it be the crazy and absurd? Whatever it is, I want to know.
Bruce Heavin 
January 7th, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Bruce, I’ve been thinking about this on and off all day… I think a great museum is a story that you move through. Just as there is more than one good story, there’s more than one way for a museum to be, and just like stories, the difference between a good story and a great story is the way that it’s told.
Three more thoughts – for the best museums, it’s a different story each time (just like a great movie or painting or piece of music); and the story is not really in the museum, it’s in the person who constructs it as he/she moves through the museum. Lastly, it’s a physical experience – the fact that you move through the museum rather than sitting and watching it go by matters.
By the way when I visit a museum I don’t like, it makes me angry – it always seems like such a lost opportunity.