What to talk about in Museum Tours

Galleries and museums are interesting places for some people while boring for others. The collections displayed usually take up most of the tour guide’s commentary. Besides that, there are more to cover on a museum tour.

The museum building itself. Many museums have an architecture that is specially designed for its collection. For example, Shanghai museum is in the shape of ancient Chinese bronze ware “Ding”. The architecture has also embedded the traditional Chinese “heaven and earth” concept with its round top and square base. The museum holds traditional Chinese arts and is known for its ancient bronze collection.

The history of the museum. Some sights are turned into a museum with its historic values. Like the Palace Museum in Beijing, it is known as the Forbidden City which was home to Chinese emperors in Ming and Qing dynasties. The British Museum has a history dated back to 18th century.

The fun and entertaining stories of a museum. The tour guide is encouraged to add interesting elements to a museum tour, so that people can enjoy more while learning. Famous people that visited the museum, movies shot related to the museum (Le fantôme du Louvre, Night at the Museum etc.). Yet be award not to go over the line. In the commentary, the tour guide shall still stick to facts, especially when introducing the collections.


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What’s your most memorable museum experience as a tour guide?