Museums

Museums are institutions dedicated to the collection and/or conservation of objects and experiences of cultural importance for educational or esthetic purposes. Museums vary in size and scope, and the term includes a wide variety of institutions, including, but not limited to, aquariums, arboretums, art museums, botanical gardens, children’s/youth museums, historic houses/sites, history museums, natural history/anthropology museums, nature centers, planetariums, science/technology centers, and zoos. In addition to this variety of content focus, museums may be operated under a variety of governance structures: nonprofit or charitable/nongovernmental organization; governmental units; for-profit; or a combination of any of these. Finally, although all museums concern themselves with some type of collection or conservation of ideas or objects, there may also be variation in the purpose of the collection(s) for either public educational purposes or private/research purposes. This entry focuses on the educational approaches and practices of museums whose primary purpose is the promotion and support of lifelong learning for the general public (as opposed to private collections and research collections). Lifelong learning is a central concept in museum education, as it acknowledges the position of museums as learning organizations that exist outside the formal education systems (schools, universities, and other training organizations) and thus have the potential to engage individuals in learning throughout their lifetimes, inspiring curiosity and creativity.