Thu 2 Aug 2007

Every Museum Should Be In A Movie

As predicted, I went to the Museum of Natural History yesterday afternoon.

Every museum wanting to attract visitors should make itself available for a movie. No matter how formulaic, providing it's good fun and appeals to children, especially, there will be a flow-on effect. Wandering around yesterday, I frequently overheard children telling their parents things like "that's where the monkey is from that peed on him" (clearly a highlight for many), or "here's the big head statue". Since you could stand next to the big head statue (a.k.a Easter Island statue) for a photo, there was quite a crowd around it.

More than one parent was being asked to explain why the layout was different than in the movie. One brave dad was explaining about artistic license and rearranging things to make the story flow. Another couple I overheard were resorting to "maybe they've changed things around since then."

Watching the people enjoying the exhibits was nearly as interesting as the exhibits themselves. At times it was a bit of a United Nations gathering; I lost track of the number of foreign languages I heard around the place. Despite the large crowds, the vast amount of space meant you could always see something whilst waiting for a gap at another exhibit. Almost everybody was considerate of other people and the layout was sensible and kept the crowds flowing between locations.

A good way to spend four hours.

Note to self: Two museums in two days plus walking all over the place will make your legs sore the next day. Trust me on this. You need to get in better shape.

Topics: travel/New York