Understanding, Remembering, and Living Through Historical Museums

I have to be honest. I’ve never been a museum person. The traditional sense is one where you go and see paintings, sculptures, and other artwork that demonstrate various creators’ talent and vision. I’ve always had trouble even drawing a straight line with the ruler, So the idea of artwork has always someone eluded me. That says more about my lack of depth and culture than anything else.

However, a recent article in the Washington Post highlights a unique kind of museum, some that I have been to, that are critically important not just for what they show, but for what they mean historically. In particular, the article speaks about the 9/11 Museum in New York and how it was designed to not just show artifacts, but to tell the stories of people who were tragically affected by that day some two decades ago. Some of the images in the story show the interactive parts of the museum, including text messages between family members before the towers collapsed, everyday items like bicycles and personal items that were found at Ground Zero, and correspondence/video of survivors telling their story. It’s more experiential than it is just visual.

I’ve had the privilege of going to this historical museum. I would equate it in some ways to the experience I had  going to the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. Another historical museum that I have yet to see/feel is the Pearl Harbor/Arizona museum in Hawaii.

I am sure that if I ever got to the Louvre, I would be incredibly awe inspired. But I’m not sure I would understand it. When I go to a historical museum, even a presidential library, there’s something emotional that is stirred within me. They’re not more important than traditional museums, just a different way of experiencing “art.” Nevertheless, a valuable asset in our nonprofit world.