Are Museums Boring?

We were talking dull museums on Twitter today.

It started when someone enthusiastically endorsed this article from the UK's Daily Telegraph, "21 Reasons Why I Hate Museums".

Aside from wondering what had happened to articles structured around a mere five or ten points, I found myself in two minds about this piece.

On one hand, I kind of agree with its main point.

Too many people trudge around museums while on vacation out of a sense of duty, regardless of whether the exhibits are engaging or they're interested in its subject matter.

To my mind, this approach is a hangover from the 19th century idea that travel should always be educational and instructive.

By contrast, I've been in cities where I've read a description of the major museums, and then decided I'd rather go on a walking tour or hang out in an interesting neighbourhood.

I can't speak highly enough of this latter strategy, if thought and research is applied to the selection of neighbourhood. I've had some great articles result from simply exploring in this manner (eg my day hanging out in St Roch, Quebec).

On the other hand, I feel the Telegraph article is unfair in dismissing museum visits altogether.

For my money, there are two key elements which must be in place for a museum visit to be a highlight of your holiday:

1. The museum has a creative and stimulating approach to addressing its subject;
2. The subject is something you're personally interested in.

The second point is really the most important, as a personal interest in the subject matter will excuse a fair bit of dodgy presentation.

As proof that interesting museums exist (at least for me), here are twelve accounts I've written of museums which were personal highlights because the above elements were in play:

• Schindler Factory Museum, Kraków, Poland.
• Pick Salami & Paprika Museum, Szeged, Hungary.
• Museum of Old & New Art (MONA), Hobart, Australia.
• Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka, Ballarat, Australia.
• Grammy Museum, Los Angeles, USA.
• La Chascona, Santiago, Chile.
• Spirit Museum, Stockholm, Sweden.
• Neon Museum, Las Vegas, USA.
• Shangri La, Honolulu, USA.
• Million Toy Museum, Ayutthaya, Thailand.
• Sandringham Museum, UK.
• Discovery Pavilion, Quebec City, Canada.

What about you? Which museums moved you, and why? Leave a comment below.

Viva Las Vegas (Signs)

I'm in Las Vegas this week, attending the massive IPW, an annual travel trade show at which the USA sells its attractions to the world.

It's been a busy schedule, but on Monday night I finally got the chance to walk along The Strip, on the way to and from my accommodation at the Tropicana and a show at Planet Hollywood.

The Strip is rightly famous for its vast and sometimes bizarre resorts, often shaped into outlandish themed landmarks. New York New York has its Statue of Liberty and cityscape facade, Paris its Eiffel Tower, and Excalibur an eye-catching set of Camelot turrets and towers which glow at night.

This, for example, is the nighttime view from my hotel window, looking out toward the MGM lion:

Big resorts aside, I had fun on my walk in spotting smaller signage and other items that were still garish but presented at a more human scale (well, comparatively). Here are a few examples...

To start with, I passed this this beautiful car parked permanently in front of the Tropicana, recalling the resort's 1950s origins:

Then I saw this huge old-school Pepsi ad on the side of New York New York:

A lurking demon atop the sign for Cantina Diablo:

The garish disco entrance to Planet Hollywood:

A giant motorbike suspended high above the street at the Harley-Davidson Cafe:

And finally, the sign for a McDonald's. In Las Vegas, it seems, even mundane fast food joints become glam:

Disclosure time... On this trip I was hosted by Air Pacific and IPW.