Some people think museums should be enjoyable places to attract and entertain young people, while others think the purpose of museums should be to educate, not entertain. Discuss both sides and give your own opinion.
Museums are places where important objects of cultural, historical and scientific value are preserved and shown to the public. This function makes them play an extremely important role in disseminating human civilization. It is a topic of debate whether the main purpose of museums is to only educate or do both educate as well as entertain.
Museums such as the British Museum, the Louver, and the National Palace Museum are regarded as a vital educational resource because they highlight the achievements that have been accomplished by all mankind throughout history. Visiting them is an eye-opening experience. One will definitely be shocked by what is on display and learn something that they did not know previously. Actually, the majority of those who visit museums expect to know more about museum pieces of art and antiquities or those reflecting the development of science and technology. Therefore, museums should focus on providing more authentic information to meet their expectations.
On the other hand, it is certainly right for museums to improve their management, service and environment to attract young people who obviously need to be encouraged to learn more about human cultural history. If museums focus only on education and do not make things interesting, then they will not be visited much and even their function of education will not be fulfilled.
Today’s interactive museums are always crowded. This is because; people enjoy and learn at the same time. In the planetarium, one feels one is actually in space. This arouses curiosity to know more about the planets and satellites. However, museums should not overdo the entertainment and go astray—by which I mean museums should make it clear that they are not purely a source of entertainment, like a disco bar, cinema or amusement park.
To sum up, museums should try their best to educate people and this can be better done if they make learning fun especially for today’s youth.