Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
As we have the option to discuss non-bookish stuff for this week’s freebie, today I’m going to gush about one of my favourite hobbies: visiting museums.
I was homeschooled for several years growing up, and we sometimes visited local museums as part of our education. Those early experiences taught me not only to love museums as well as learning in general. It’s exciting to be so close to paintings, pottery, or other items that are hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, or even millions of years old. For a brief moment, it almost feels like stepping into a Time Machine and actually going to visit those places!
Here are ten things I love about museums:
1) Reading the plaques
You can learn so many interesting details about an item this way.They can include funny stories about the creator or unusual facts about the piece. For example, sometimes artists have reused old canvases to create new paintings, but modern scanning techniques can still kind of tell what was originally painted there.
2) Windows into the past
Did you know that watermelons used to have much thicker rinds and whiter flesh? This painting by Giovanni Stanchi shows a cut watermelon that doesn’t look much like our modern fruit at all. It’s a little detail about the past that I never would have known had I not seen that painting.
3) Likeminded people
Not everyone is interested in science, art, or history, so I relish the opportunity to be surrounded by people who share these interests regardless of if or how much I talk to them.
4) Peace and quiet
So many public places are noisy and overstimulating that it makes me smile to enjoy a quiet place that doesn’t have any flashing lights or heavy scents.
5) Truth
Yes, sometimes our understanding of certain things changes as new evidence is uncovered, of course, but that’s not what I’m talking about. One of the downsides of social media is how easy it is for half truths and sometimes completely made up stories to circulate there. When I’m at a museum, I can generally be reassured that what I’m looking at or reading about actually happened. It’s not photoshopped or a LLM hallucination. That painter really did exist. This fossil really does represent a living creature that lived X number of years ago.
6) A bonding opportunity
There’s nothing like visiting a museum with a loved one and talking about what you find there. I have so many happy memories of doing this over the years from everyone from my preschool-aged nephews to my grandparents and everyone in-between.
7) Beauty
Museums are filled with so many beautiful old paintings, ceramics, outfits, swords, fossils, displays, and other things to enjoy. I don’t know about all of you, but I need more beautiful things to think about in life!
8) Repentance
On the other hand, not everything in museums is pleasant to look at or think about, but I do see the benefit in acknowledging the ugly parts of them and taking note of how future generations can avoid making the same mistakes. It takes courage to admit what one’s country or culture got wrong in the past. I think there’s something to be said for talking about these things, now more than ever.
9) Music and dance
I love music and dancing, so any display or special event that includes them will have my attention immediately.
10) The gift shop
I rarely buy anything in them, but it sure is fun to window shop!
How many other TTT bloggers also love museums?
Everyone seems to be creating so many clever lists and featuring unique things!! Makes visiting these lists fun. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a museum, but I do like to think I would visit one someday. 🙂
I hope you’ll get to!
I love visiting museums! They’re always the first thing I check out in a new city.
Awesome!
Good idea! I like museums too but my vision is so bad it’s hard to read the plaques 😅
Oh, what a shame!
I love museums, too, but these days I find there’s a lot of “interactive” i.e. loud electronic junk in them. 🙁
Yeah, I’m not a fan of that either.
I love art museums the best. And those gift shops are always fun. What a great TTT list this week. 😀
Thank you, Lark!
I love Museums as well, especially all the big ones in London in the UK ,which are free!
Oh, that’s so cool. I didn’t know that.
Love this list! I don’t go to museums often but I do agree, I love peace and quiet, but I think also the opportunity to just wander and get lost in all the thoughts that whatever I’m observing stirs up in me. 🙂 I also love your point about repentance—very important to talk about these things especially in the current climate!
I’m glad you agree, Dini. And, yes, getting lost in your thoughts is another benefit for sure.
Great post!
Thank you.
Such a lovely list! I don’t go to museums often, but reading this definitely makes me want to check out some of my local options!
That’s awesome, Lindsey. And thanks.
Great memories. I’m glad you enjoyed our museum adventures. Not all kids would have. 😁
Aww, thanks. Yeah, that’s not something every kid enjoys.
I like museums that tell us about history of the people and places.
I mis-read the TTT topic and stayed with books doing a Natural World theme.
https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/2025/08/26/%f0%9f%93%9atoptentuesday-freebie-natural-world-tuesdaybookblog-booktwitter-booktwt/
I liked your post, Rosie. A few other bloggers stuck to bookish things, too. 🙂
And very cool.
I love this theme of museums!! I too enjoy visiting muesums.
Thank you. That’s awesome.
I also love museums, but I don’t visit them nearly often enough!
Cool. 🙂
What a great post, Lydia. I love museums, large or small, and whenever I go to a different place, you can bet they are on my list of places to go. Number 8 is one that is so important, but many don’t want to admit their past was not perfect.
Thank you. And, yes, that is so very true.
I absolutely love a museum. My favourite sections are Dinosaurs and Egyptians 🤣
Have a great week
Woohoo!
We don’t get to enough museums! We went when my kiddos were little and we were homeschooling, but it has been years since we have been to one. We also used to visit all the zoos…haven’t been to one of those recently either…sigh 😉
Oh, that’s awesome. I hope you’ll get to visit a museum and a zoo sometime again soon.
What a great topic! I love museums. I’m always looking for new museums to go to.
Same here. 🙂
Such a good point about repentance. One of the things I admire about Germany is that they own their mistakes with WW2 and they teach it in their schools. I’m from Malaysia and our country has changed our history books and censored a lot of the truth so there’s a lot that I don’t know about our own history.
Thank you. Yeah, Germany has done a great job with that from what I’ve observed!
I’m sorry Malaysia is censoring your past.
What a fun topic! My 6yr. old is all the sudden in love with museums. We have gone to quite a few the last year and it’s been so fun. His wonder inside is infectious!!
Oh, that’s delightful!
This is such a great post, Lydia. I love museums for so many of the reasons you mentioned. In Wilmington, they have two historical homes that I visited. One of them is https://www.bellamymansion.org Thanks for sharing and for visiting my blog.
Thank you, Cheryl.
That mansion sounds like such an interesting place to visit.
I think the best museums are those nearby so one can visit them often so as not to feel like you have to kill yourself to finish a whole museum in one day.
Yes, for sure.
I love museums too! Seeing something in person is way better than looking at it online.
Oh, yeah, totally.
Great topic and list! My husband and I enjoy going to museums together, but we have totally different approaches. He has to look at everything and read EVERY SINGLE plaque. I glance at everything and only read/examine the things or exhibits that really interest me. He takes FOREVER in museums, which isn’t a big deal when they’re small. When they’re big, I have to be really, REALLY patient! LOL
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Thank you! I’m more like your husband, and my spouse is more like you.
😂
This is a wonderful post. I love museums as well, and I am glad to hear that as someone who was homeschooled, that you enjoyed the museum trips. I have quite a few planned for my son this year, and I hope that they have the same impact on him that they did you.
Thank you. I hope you and your son have some wonderful field trips this year! What a lucky kid.
I love museums too. Me and my wife always look for interesting museums when we’re traveling; our favourite (so far) was probably the Royal Tyrrell.
Oh, that’s awesome. I’ve never been to the Royal Tyrrell, but it sounds cool.
I haven’t been to a museum in quite a while, but your reasons for loving them makes me want to visit one. Love that you mention repentance because sometimes history is ugly and we should always acknowledge that.