Prior to taking this class this semester, I had a minimal working knowledge of how museum’s truly function and what their role was in both society and education institutions. I had conducted two internships prior to this course working with museums. The first, was with a History Museum that had a low budget and minimal staffing. The second was with the Palmer Museum of art that had, in comparison, a much higher budget and aura of prestige. Culminating my two past experiences with the knowledge gained from this class, it was interesting to contrast how these two separate institutions function, and how they each are viewed by their target markets.
I know realize that each type of museum serves its community through a different role. The history museum, whose collection centered around military memorabilia and weaponry, often catered to a much older demographic and thus its outreach and educational programming was structure heavily on integration with a much older demographic along with trying to target a very young demographic with education programs. The fine art museum seemed to have held a much more prestigious role in its community being that its targeted demographic was much wider. The politics and criteria surrounding funding was quite fascinating. How this funding effected the way the museum operated, along with its ability to staff, was a integral indicator of the future success of the museum itself.
Overall, my knowledge about museum function on a larger socioeconomic scale has vastly increased. With this new knowledge the fight for education and outreach through the platform of the museum seems more important now than ever. Whether the museum is large or small, history or fine arts, its value to the community it stands in is vital to our evolution as a society. Museums are progressive and are an excellent extension of experiential learning for all ages, demographics, and interests.