History in the Making

A Quick Guide to Museum Etiquette

On my trip, I plan on spending a lot of my time in museums. I can do whatever I want, and that means if I want, I can spend six hours in Kensington Palace taking in the Queen’s Apartments. I love museums, and I think that they have an incredible amount of knowledge, history, and value to offer all of us. However, with this hyper-casual society we live in, people feel compelled to pay no attention to their behaviour in museums. This a quick guide to museum etiquette, and how you can make the most of your visit for you and everyone else!

A Quick Guide to Museum Etiquette

1) Check the Hours Before Visiting 

We all have smartphones nowadays, and wi-fi is pretty widely available- there is no reason why you can’t check the hours of a museum before visiting. I’ve seen many people ranting at museum staff when they show up 30 minutes before closing and aren’t allowed in, or angrily pacing before it opens. Museums have hours for a reason, and you typically can’t make it through most of them in less than hour. Check the hours before you visit, and allow yourself a proper amount of time to see things.

2) Don’t Bring Huge Bags With You

I understand that sometimes only have a few hours until you have to head to the airport for your flight, but try your hardest not to lug your huge bags and luggage to museums. Some will have storage rooms (which you may have to pay for), but many do not. You don’t want to be lugging a super heavy bag around with you from gallery to gallery, and you don’t want to be bumping people into it, either. It won’t help anyone to bring it everywhere with you!

British Museum Reading Room

3) Look at the Directory

Most museums will have some sort of directory in the foyer or entryway; look at it before you progress on! One of my most vivid memories of the Tower of London was some lady loudly ranting in the Beauchamp Tower that the Crown Jewels were nowhere to be found. (Nevermind the Waterloo Barracks with the large “The Crown Jewels” sign….) Most of us want to see certain things, and awkwardly and loudly looking for those things tends to be fairly disruptive to everyone else.

4) Dress Appropriately 

Most museums don’t have a dress code, but do make sure that you are dressed appropriately for the subject matter. (Obviously, be appropriately dressed to be in public.) I consider visiting cathedrals and religious sites in the category of museums if you aren’t there for the sake of religious observance; if you are visiting a religious site, ensure that you are covered everywhere that you need to be covered. In this age, people feel compelled to rant on social media when they’ve not be allowed in somewhere because of their clothing, but organisations and institutions are allowed to set their own dress codes. Wear the appropriate clothing so that it doesn’t become an issue later!

Canadian Museum for Human Rights

5) Don’t Be Loud 

Unless you are at a children’s museum, or an interactive science museum, pay attention to your volume. (And even then, it still isn’t a bad idea.) Everyone deserves to enjoy the artefacts, artwork, and whatever else is there in peace. Most of us don’t want to listen to your very loud conversation while looking at George IV’s coronation robes or Degas’ “Dancing Class”. For many patrons, seeing these pieces in person can be quite meaningful and profound, and a loud or obnoxious conversation can take you right out of it and even ruin the whole experience for you.

6) Don’t Crowd Exhibits 

We all want to see the Crown Jewels, we all want to see the Mona Lisa, we all want to see the T-Rex fossils. Pushing your way to the front of the crowd, taking up a lot of space, and staying there for 15 minutes is a jerk move. Unless the museum truly is empty, make sure that you are enjoying things for an appropriate amount of time and then let the next patrons have their time. If you absolutely must see something for an extended amount of time, check to see if there is a preview day or if you can book private tours!

British Museum Greek Sculpture

7) Keep Your Opinions to Yourself 

It takes a very specific person to be open to a stranger chatting to them about how they hate the painting in front of them. I always recommending nodding and acknowledging someone if you are standing close together for any length of time, but I wouldn’t go much deeper than that. Yes, I know that there is a small percentage of us who are completely open to a new person chatting away about the museum, but most of us are there to enjoy the content ourselves. When I find myself in a history museum, I am there to get lost in the past! (Also, should you tell a strongly opinioned person that you feel the opposite way about something, it may not go well…)

8) Leave a Donation If There Is No Fee

This is just personal point of mine, but if there is no entry fee or ticket required, leave a donation for the museum. Cultural organisations don’t always seem to be a priority in the twenty first century, and museums try to keep ticket costs as low possible to attract more visitors and make it accessible. However, that can also mean that they struggle to make ends meet, might not be able to pay nearly enough staff, and can possibly not afford to restore or conserve their collections. It can be as little as a dollar or a pound, but leave something when you go to show your thanks and support! (That does not mean leave fake money, game tokens, or anything like that, though. You aren’t clever, and you aren’t helping anyone when you do that!)

British Museum Lion Statue

So, what are your museum pet peeves? And what is your personal number piece of museum etiquette?

Cheers,
The Historian
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4 thoughts on “A Quick Guide to Museum Etiquette”

  • Great advice. I have been to a few museums where they make sure people are moving through certain exhibits so no bottle neck. Respect, respect, respect just work on that!!

  • Yes!! Thank you for the reminder not to carry huge bags around with you at museums! Nothing aggravates me more. I have my “tight quarters purse,” which is very small and can go cross-wise over my body, so both my hands are free. It holds all the necessities. Even if I can’t go down to that small a purse, I always makes sure to have something that can easily tuck under my arm so it’s not invading anyone’s space or bumping into people as I move past them. Dressing appropriately for cathedrals, etc, is a good tip. My friends and I were surprised years ago when we visited some cathedrals in Italy; it was summer, so we were dressed in skirts and tank tops, and we were refused entrance to the sites unless we borrowed their shawls to cover our shoulders.

  • I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. The only other major thing is: DON’T TOUCH THE OBJECTS. I realize this is kinda obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people think that they can go around touching things when they aren’t behind glass. That not being behind glass= free for all. It’s not, it’s a museum or heritage site trying to get you closer to the object, to understand it better, not that you can touch it (or climb on it- don’t ask).
    Also, people working or volunteering there are there to help you- get a map and suggestions on where to go to help plan your visit or find out about the tours.

  • Using the flash when taking pictures!

    It was something that I learned in one of my summer art classes during “Kids College”. We didn’t just learn about the artists and attempt to practice what they did, but we were also taught about how the flash of a camera can cause the paint to fade when exposed over time. Plus if they’re behind bullet proof glass (aka Mona Lisa) you’re not going to get a good picture! You might as well either turn the flash off or invest in a camera that you can change the settings on.

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