The significance of Museums

The significance of museums

The last few months, I have really enjoyed visiting museums. So, I wanted to tell you something about the importance of them, and why I think they are fun to visit.

According to the Oxford dictionary, a museum is a building in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited. For a long time, they have played a role in preserving the history of our society. Exhibitions give insight on how our nations, communities, and cultures came to be. The purpose of the museums we visit nowadays is to collect, preserve, interpret, and display objects of artistic, cultural, or scientific significance for studies and the education of the public.

Because I wanted to visit museums more often, some friends and I decided to buy a Museumkaart (Museum card). With this card, you can visit more than 450 Dutch museums in the time period of a year, as often as you want. This lowers the threshold, because I don't have to worry about museums not being worth my money, or museums being too expensive. The exhibitions of museums change throughout the year, so it is possible to visit the same museum multiple times a year.

Museums are very versatile and diverse in their offerings, likely displaying something for everyone's liking. Below, I listed 3 of my favorite museums.

• Kunsthal, Rotterdam (Mainly, Tim Walkers exhibition intrigued me because of the remarkable and informative walk-through of his photographic series)
• Mauritshuis, The Hague (A beautiful museum with paintings from the Dutch Golden Ages. Next to every painting, there is a QR code that gives information on the painting. Because of this, you get more context, which makes it even more informative. This museum exhibits famous paintings painted by Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt van Rijn)
• Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (This museum owns a collection of Dutch art and history, containing famous paintings like The Night Watch made by Rembrandt van Rijn and the Self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh. Starting on the 10^th of February 2023 until the 4^th of June 2023, the Rijksmuseum will bring together 28 of all 37 Vermeer paintings. This is the largest Vermeer exhibition in history)

There are many more museums, also containing contemporary art, fashion, ancient art, nature exhibitions, technological museums etcetera.

Even though not all people might enjoy museums, I do hope more people will give them a try. And a little tip when you might want to visit one, most of them are free until 18 or have a student discount!