A museum is a place where we collect and preserve objects of art, history, science, decorative arts, technology, and many other types of objects, in order to preserve them and to make them available for public viewing and for education about our past.
The term may have derived from the Greek word mouseion meaning the “seat of the Muses.” The oldest museum still in existence is believed to be Shoso House at the Todai Temple in Nara, Japan. Many famous European museums began during the Renaissance as private collections and only later became the basis for public museums.
There are many types of museums, according to the American Association of Museums. Some of them are art museums, history museums, historic houses, historic sites, archaeology museums, natural history museums, zoos, aquariums, science museums, planetariums, anthropology museums, children's museums, sports museums, and botanical gardens. There are also museums made of individual collections of art or objects by individual people, which were opened to the public after the death of the owner.
The well-known Smithsonian Institution, located primarily in Washington, D.C. has nineteen museums and nine research centers. Its collections include objects of art, history, science and technology, anthropology, natural history and popular culture, as well as the National Zoo, the Tropical Research Institute, and the Environmental Research Center
Web Sites
- American Association of Museums
- Museumland
- Museums in The U.S.A.
- European Museum Guide
- Smithsonian Institution
Catalog
Search the library's catalog for:
- Museums
- Museums – Children's Fiction
- Smithsonian Institution
- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)
Databases
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