May 18 is International Museum Day—here’s “how to use a museum”

By Ishaba Haque

Thursday, May 18 marks International Museum Day, a day to celebrate the role museums play in the development of society. The theme this year is “Museums and contested histories: saying the unspeakable in museums.” This theme resonates with us because saying the unspeakable in museums means creating dialogue, being conscious of other world views, and immersing ourselves in a space that allows us to understand one another better through reconciliation and mediation.

Museums are a great place to challenge your thinking and look at issues from a new perspective, whether in an art, history, or scientific institution. All of us at Tremendousness wanted to celebrate this day with a fun and useful infographic that will help you navigate a museum with ease. Remember, most museums in your city will be participating on May 18th. They are a community resource and a place for all kinds of people to come together—take advantage of them!

That sense of continuum—displayed in millions of collections and buildings all over the world–offers me comfort that we will get through this moment, and that one day, the story of our moment in time will be shared for others to learn from and reflect upon.

—Heather Shelton, digital curator for MuseWeb Foundation

This infographic gives you some helpful tips and tricks for how to use a museum. We hope this helps you broaden your understanding of people and perspectives both like and unlike you, and gives you the capacity to embrace the unspeakable. Click the image above to download “How to use a museum” as a PDF.

This project was inspired by our work with brightspot strategy. Learn more about what they do and see the infographic we created with them here.