Replying to:
>Subj: Re- all cultures valid

>   Gary [sic; should be "Gerry," pronounced "Jerry"]: Whose culture is it
>that promotes respect for cultures present
>   and past?  I'm just curious, because I would like to join this
>   culture, if they're accepting new members.  Maybe it's the Museum-L
>   culture.  Oh, and by the way, what's a culture, anyway?
>
>  Eric Siegel
>  [log in to unmask]


Eric,

You've written too many intelligent things on this list to fool me with
rhetorical questions like these!  In the context of the thread regarding the
touching of objects, I wrote because I couldn't resist pointing out the
fallacy of saying that all kinds of behavior (or "culture" if you prefer) are
equally valid, or desirable, or acceptable.

As to the actual issue of visitor behavior, I'm much more sympathetic to the
view that the responsibility to educate visitors lies with the museum.  Many
visitors have never learned the codes of behavior that many museums expect,
and with the advent of hands-on science centers there's no reason at all to
expect that children should automatically think that a museum is a "don't
touch" place.  The Lincoln Museum has numerous hands-on exhibits, more than
the local art museum but fewer than the local science center.  How the heck
should kids, or their teachers, know the three different levels of acceptable
interactivity in these three institutions, unless we tell them?  Further, we
try to honor the intelligence and goodwill of our visitors by explaining why
the museum's rules are necessary, rather than stating them categorically.

What I don't agree with is the patronizing spirit that says, "You've never
been to a museum before, and you'd instinctively like to touch everything you
see?  Why, go ahead, for your kind can never be educated to behave
differently."

Gerry Prokopowicz, Ph.D.
Historian, The Lincoln Museum
Fort Wayne, Indiana
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These opinions are my own and not necessarily those of The Lincoln Museum.
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