Quality and Success in Museums

Based on my experiences with museums, the aspect of a museum, beside the content of the exhibit, what struck me as particularly effective in making my museum experience "successful" would be the educational aspect. That is, did I learn something from the visit, was the educational aspect of the museum effective. I don't know about anybody else, but I go to museums not for the aesthetic appeal, or for a purely pleasurable experience, but to learn something. Of course, I usually find learning something a pleasurable experience, so it is a "kill two birds with one stone" type of deal, but I judge whether or not a museum is effective, is successful, based on what I learned. The educational aspect of museums is as important, in my point of view, as the content of the museum. I'm a history major, and am getting my teaching certificate at the same time, and one of the things that we are always told in teaching and learning classes is that learning isn't passive. The best way to learn is not by sitting in one's seat and listening to a lecture but by participation, by involvement, engagement. So for a museums' education program, or aspect, to be effective, the set-up of the exhibit has to be engaging and interactive in some way. This could be questions that inspire further thought on the written information on the exhibits, or physical interaction with the artifacts, or a scavenger hunt throughout the exhibit, a crossword puzzle to take home and see how much one really paid attention. It could be videos, or speakers, anything really. But the educational aspect of a museum is generally what I judge a museum on in deciding whether or not the experience was successful and worthwhile, because museums are about knowledge for me, about awakening curiosity in a subject through physical pieces and offering information and inspiring a desire to further one's knowledge by further focus outside of the museum.