Currently, there is a debate about the purpose of museums. While some people argue that museums are appropriate for educational purposes, others contend that museums should be operated as recreational spaces. I firmly believe that museums can serve both these purposes.
Museums focus on entertainment as it can offer a more substantial amount of revenue. If museums prioritise entertainment purposes, they can appeal to more visitors. With intriguing and interactive antiques, museums attract the public, thereby increasing the revenue, which can maintain their operation. Consequently, investments aimed at enhancing the leisure aspect of museum experiences can positively impact their financial viability.
On the other hand, museums should serve an educational purpose as it can enrich the knowledge of pupils through artefacts displayed in museums. As exhibitions encompass diverse items spanning over long period, they can assist both teachers and students in learning history. As theoretical insights are uninspiring to students as they seem to lack relevance to the modern world, museums help students better understand history and its connection to contemporary society. Consequently, they offer a vital purpose of making history more engaging.
In my opinion, museums should balance these two purposes. While museums that serve for recreation can provide high revenue, they can also provide valuable insights into different cultures and historical events.
In conclusion, museums should retain their entertainment role to earn revenue. Furthermore, they also should serve an instructional purpose to make learning history more efficiently. Therefore, the most effective method to maintain museums is to integrate both of these purposes so that financial resources stemming from entertainment purposes may fund educational materials.