Making the Most of Your Museum Visit

Written by Marie Rea

Many people get turned off with the idea of visiting museums. But for my family of four, museums are awesome and interesting places to enjoy- they offer exhibits and collections you will perhaps never see as they are rare and they offer avenues for intellectual exploration which can lead to more amazing discoveries for your kids particularly, depending on their interests.

First, what are museums?

According to the Museum Association website (UK): 'Museums enable people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society.' This definition includes art galleries with collections of works of art, as well as museums with historical collections of objects."

Often they are housed in huge buildings with several levels like the Natural History Museums in almost every country. Or, they can be in a small "Heritage listed" old home that often has been restored and so forth.

Inside Museum - Prefecture of Kerkyra CORFU

Here are some guidelines on getting the most from your museum visit, based on my personal experience:

Do your research before your intended visit. This way, you will know which areas you need to spend more time in and those you don't need to see or just pass through quickly.

For instance, when my boys were fascinated with dinosaurs and other prehistoric stuff, we took them to the Field Museum in Chicago which was an enormous place with various sections. So we knew which floors to go to first and then just browsed through the others. But, once we were there, we were also fascinated with the various natural stones and minerals exhibits that this encouraged my boys to get interested in collecting stones and forge metals.To this day, they have a growing collection of pocket knives (all legal) and the like.

Why Museums are Almost Always Not in my Itinerary

I have been to over 30 countries since I started travelling. I have 7 European countries lined up and not sure if these countries are famous for museums that I may not be able to resist. This will be my 4th trip to Europe and I do not even remember a single museum that I have visited on my first three. That's how bad my memory can be when it comes to museums.

So don't get me wrong if I seldom include it in my itinerary. I go on a holiday for three main reasons -- architecture (old and new), nature and people.

Royal Ontario Museum

Just the same, I need your feedback on why I should or shouldn't bother visiting museums in any of these towns/cities and countries: Southampton and London England, Oslo Norway, Copenhagen Denmark, Tallinn Estonia, St. Petersburg Russia, Helsinki Finland and Bruges Belgium.

The European countries I am visiting are beautiful in their own right, that's for sure, and that's the reason why I am so excited and can hardly wait for this trip.

Don't be surprised why I am writing this. I must admit ~ I feel guilty at times. For myself, because I feel am missing the history of a country that can be found and discovered in a museum. And feel guilty for the country that I am visiting for not giving appreciation for the effort of the curators and the other human beings manning the memories that the local people consider as a treasure of historical value.

So, there you go, my friends. Tell me. Is it worth visiting the museums in any of the countries I mentioned? 

Things to Remember About Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya is worth remembering, it really is. I have good memories of this old city of Thailand. I have two friends from Bangkok who show me around and explore its historic ruins, its history, and how it looks at the present time.

Ayutthaya is located approximately 80 kilometres north of Bangkok. History tells us that Ayutthaya was the Thai capital for more than 400 years.  During this period, Thai Culture flourished, and Ayutthaya became a centre for international commerce.