
A museum is a building which is open to the public. It is also the institution where things are collected and then shown to people.
Contents
History
The word, museum, originates Musa which are the goddesses of literature, art, and science who appear in Greek mythology.
According to the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the definition of museums has changed over time.
The oldest museum structure in the world is the Shōsō-in in Nara, Japan.
Today's museums are non-profit, permanent institutions in the service of society and its development.
Function
A museum acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible heritage and the intangible heritage of humanity and the environment.
Museums exist for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.
Some museums have things that visitors can do.
Museums can be about different things such as art, national history, natural history, or science. People go to museums sometimes to learn, or to simply have fun.
Museums with live animals are called zoos.
Exhibitions
- Temporary or changing exhibits
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- Exhibition which selects works along with some themes, e.g., a writer, a time, an area, etc.
- Permanent exhibits
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- Exhibition which displays the works which the museum possesses.
Gallery
Art museums
History museums
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The Tōhoku History Museum in Miyagi
Literature museums
Natural history museums
Open air museums
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Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine is a World Heritage Site in Shimane Prefecture, Japan
Science museums
Museum ships
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Nippon Maru in Yokohama harbor
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National Museum, Szczecin, Poland
Most visited museums
This section lists the 20 most visited museums as compiled by AECOM and the Themed Entertainment Association's annual report on the world's most visited attractions. The cities of London and Washington, D.C. contain more of the 20 most visited museums in the world than any others, with six museums and four museums, respectively.
Rank | Museum | City | Country | Visitor count (annually) |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
Louvre | Paris | ![]() |
8,600,000 |
|
National Museum of China | Beijing | ![]() |
7,290,000 |
|
National Museum of Natural History | Washington, D.C. | ![]() |
6,900,000 |
|
National Air and Space Museum | Washington, D.C. | ![]() |
6,900,000 |
|
British Museum | London | ![]() |
6,820,686 |
|
The Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York City | ![]() |
6,533,106 |
|
Vatican Museums | Vatican City (Rome) | ![]() |
6,002,251 |
|
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum | Shanghai | ![]() |
5,948,000 |
|
National Gallery | London | ![]() |
5,908,254 |
|
National Palace Museum | Taipei | ![]() |
5,301,860 |
|
Natural History Museum, London | London | ![]() |
5,284,023 |
|
American Museum of Natural History | New York City | ![]() |
5,000,000 |
|
Tate Modern | London | ![]() |
4,712,581 |
|
National Gallery of Art | Washington, D.C. | ![]() |
4,104,331 |
|
National Museum of American History | Washington, D.C. | ![]() |
4,100,000 |
|
State Hermitage Museum | St. Petersburg | ![]() |
3,668,031 |
|
Musée d'Orsay | Paris | ![]() |
3,440,000 |
|
Victoria and Albert Museum | London | ![]() |
3,432,325 |
|
The Science Museum | London | ![]() |
3,356,212 |
|
Reina Sofía | Madrid | ![]() |
3,249,591 |
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The British Museum in London.
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The State Historical Museum in Moscow.
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The Museum Island in Berlin.
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The Orthodox Church, later an Ottoman mosque, and now a museum, Hagia Sophia was once the pride of the Byzantine Empire. Historically located in Constantinople, is now modern day Istanbul, Turkey.
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The Museo del Prado in Madrid (est. 1785).
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The Peristylia hall in National Museum of Indonesia in Jakarta, the largest and one of the oldest museum in Indonesia.
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Exhibit in Indonesia Museum, Jakarta, displaying the traditional costumes of Indonesian ethnic groups, such as Balinese and East Java.
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Viewers of the Doni Tondo by Michelangelo in the Uffizi Gallery.
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Museum of Modern Art, New York.
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The Buell Children's Museum in Pueblo, Colorado was ranked #2 children's art museum in the United States by Child Magazine.
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Taiwan Design Museum in Taiwan.
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The queen's chamber in Petit Trianon, former residence of Marie Antoinette.
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The golden funerary mask of Tutankhamun, Egyptian Museum of Cairo
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The Creation Museum is a Christian creationism museum run by Answers in Genesis.
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Zoos are considered "living museums". This is the entrance of the San Diego Zoo in San Diego, California.
