“A people who do not know their past have no future.” This wise thought helps to understand what an important role history plays in the life of modern society. There is no excuse for those people who believe that museum exhibits are just useless ancient objects whose time has long passed. Today, everyone is obliged to realize the important social role they play. These expositions erase the boundaries of time, linking whole eras among themselves.
The importance of museums in society
They help modern man to see the similarities and differences between today and long-extinct civilizations. Thanks to numerous historical works and museum collections today, almost everyone has the opportunity to plunge into the past and learn a lot about the life and life of their ancestors. Modern museums are an integral part of the culture of an entire nation. In this article, we will consider what museums are, types and profiles of their activities.
From the depths of centuries to our days
Since ancient times, people valued the heritage of their ancestors and carefully collected particles of the past. Today, mankind has preserved this noble tradition in the form of expositions and exhibitions. What are museums and what are they? It is generally accepted that this is an institution that operates in the field of education and science in order to store, study and exhibit monuments of both spiritual and material culture. The very first museums were built in Egypt and Greece, since these countries were the most developed not only in terms of civilization, but also culture.
The first antique museums
In Greece, such educational institutions were called museyons and were often under the auspices of one or more scholars. One of the first museums in Alexandria was founded by Ptolemy I. It was quite spacious and included living rooms, reading rooms, botanical and biological gardens. Valuable exhibits were located in the halls, among which were busts and statues of various prominent figures of that time.
The subtleties of museum work in the past
Museyon employees received a decent salary, which stood out from the state treasury. The huge halls of the library could not but cause amazement on their faces. The most valuable manuscripts of the past were carefully kept there. Ptolemy made sure that in one of the many rooms a small school for children of wealthy parents was equipped. It was the first and truly beautiful museum, but alas, it did not last long, since in 270 there was a fire that destroyed it along with the Library of Alexandria, which to this day has no equal in the whole world.
Varieties of modern museums
What are modern museums? They differ among themselves not only in importance (all-Russian, central, republican), but also in types. The first and one of the most important are research. Most of them are aimed at educational and scientific-enlightening work. In such museums there are huge departments in which dozens of scientists work. At their disposal all the information collected on a particular issue. However, the main purpose of the building is an exhibition of museum exhibits.
What museums are there in Russia?
Another type of museum is a research one. It is intended purely for the study and storage of various primary sources of historical value. This is a closed type of museums that exhibit exhibits in extremely rare cases. What are some museums related to education? Today, there are also educational museums. Their main goal is to maximize the promotion of the educational process. There, in the right amount, the necessary materials for research are available.
Museums are divided not only by type, but also by profile. There are many more. Below are the main areas:
- Ethnographic specializes in the history and modernity of various peoples, as well as their culture.
- The archaeological exhibits mainly materials obtained as a result of excavations conducted in various countries.
- Military-historical stores materials of the military and post-war times, including military equipment, weapons, clothes and other items that were in everyday life with soldiers.
- Historical and revolutionary collects material information about various state reforms in various countries.
- The general historical is a museum, so to speak, of a wide profile, which contains materials about the origin and history of various states and their development.
- Technical - museums of engineering, astronautics, etc. can be attributed to this profile.
- Natural science exhibits exhibits of a biological, geological, zoological and anthropological nature.
- Literary exhibits print publications that are directly related to the process of development of literature within one or more states.
- Local history museums are complex, as they combine several profiles at once, for example, historical, biological and literary.
