Museum

A museum is a building<ref>Alexander, Edward Porter et al. (2008). [https://books.google.com/books?id=owHSEk96qxQC&pg=PA2  Museums in Motion: an Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums, p. 2]; excerpt, "Douglas Alan, former director of the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh, said that 'a museum in its simplest form consists of a building to house collections of objects for inspection, study and enjoyment."</ref> which is open to the public.International Council of Museums (ICOM), "Museum Definition" ; retrieved 2012-6-26.   It is also the institution where things are collected and then shown to people.Alexander, p. 2; excerpt, "The American Association of Museums ... defines 'a museum as an organized and permanent non-profit institution ... which organizes or utilizes tangible objects, cares for them, and exhibits them to the public on some regular schedule."

History
The word, museum, originates from Musa which is the goddesses of literature, art, and science who appears in Greek mythology.

According to the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the definition of museums has changed over time.   

The oldest museum structure in the world is the Shōsō-in'' in Nara, Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Museums" in Japan Encyclopedia, pp. 671-672.

Today's museums are non-profit, permanent institutions in the service of society and its development.

Function
A museum acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the  tangible heritageMiyagi Prefecture,  文化財財案内 (Cultural heritage guide); excerpt, tangible objects include  "arts and crafts, ... historical documents, textiles, swords, sculpture, paintings, houses, temples and shrines" ; retrieved 2012-6-27. and the intangible heritageMiyagi, 文化財財案内; excerpt, "intangible cultural heritage is 'human technology', such as the process of traditional Japanese sword training, traditional Japanese dyeing and weaving, traditional Japanese theater like Kabuki and Noh" ; retrieved 2012-6-27. of humanity and the environment.

Museums exist for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.

Some museums have things that visitors can do. For example, ecomuseums exist.

Museums can be about different things such as art, national history, natural history, or science. People go to museums sometimes to learn, or to simply have fun. 

Museums with live animals are called zoos.

Exhibitions
Temporary or changing exhibits
Exhibition which selects works along with some themes, e.g., a writer, a time, an area, etc.
Permanent exhibits
Exhibition which displays the works which the museum possesses.

Gallery
Art museums

History museums

Literature museums

Natural history museums

Open air museums

Science museums

Museum ships

Related pages
Curator
Museology

References

Further reading
 Simon, Nina K. (2010). Simon, Nina K. (2010). The Participatory Museum.

Other websites

 International Council of Museums website
 Virtual Library Musems website