Museum Exhibit and Design: Are Museums Necessary? A Report

 

          Whenever people talk about museums, we think of the typical images of the grand white columned structures of Europe and the United States.  Rarely do we even consider how museums are thought of or portrayed in other countries.  Or even if other countries have museums, or need them.  An even more rare concept to come up is the idea that museums can actually not be needed somewhere.  It has become such an integral part of our society to go to museums for school field trips or office parties, as centers for education and entertainment, that we cannot imagine life without them.  But there are many places in which the use and need of museums is in a hot debate.  India, for example, is one of these countries.

          For several years now, India has felt that the ideas of education need to be improved, and so museums are then brought into the conversation.  India is currently still living and breathing their history.   There are various religious monuments and grand architecture that still dot the landscape, while their society is much like it was.  And so when the British came and claimed India as a colony, the idea of museums was then introduced to the country, and was viewed with little enthusiasm.  It was thought that the British used museums to house things that have long since been dead and gone.  They wondered how that could do any good for them, when their culture is still there and thriving.  As we know, people come to museums with the concepts that they have learned and know, they are essentially not blank slates.  Every time they come into a museum they bring their own culture with them.  As such, Indians view their museums differently than an outsider would.  This is a key element in designing exhibits for the public; trying to ascertain what they probably already know, then going on from there. 

          These ideas tie in with the ideas of free-choice learning, in the sense that people often come to museums in the hopes of learning new things on their own time and pace.  The museum must also take this into account when designing the exhibit, how much they should tell their audience, and how succinctly so that they do not lose interest.  Since people are not blank slates and bring their cultures with them everywhere, the museum must make important decisions in what they feel is most important for the public to know.  This is also why museums are so intrinsically apart of our culture, and is becoming more important for others as they attempt to use them in education instead of merely being the displays.  This raises important issues in India as they struggle to make the government-run education system better.  It is a difficult idea to put the cultures from the past on display in a Western-born institution when that same culture is still in practice today.  Essentially they would be putting themselves on display, and how can someone learn something when they feel like the test subjects?