An understanding of the visitor experience at the Egyptian and Te Papa Museums: The Other Roles of Traditional and Modern Museums.

Abstract

This study constitutes a first trial to examine domestic and international visitors’ experiences at two different museums: the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, a long established traditional museum, and Te Papa Museum in Wellington, New Zealand, one of the world's most modern national museums. The study presents a summary of key findings as well as the implications of those findings. The findings highlight the fact that the Egyptian and Te Papa Museums have much in common. The similar roles of both museums sabotage the reductionist trap of binary oppositions and melting the iron grid of either traditional passive learning experience and presentation of original artefacts or fun learning experiences. Both museums are important sites for: learning; social interactions; remembering historical and personal events; connecting visitors with the familiar and reinforcing their pre-existing knowledge; and settings for aesthetic, recreational and restful experiences. These insights can enable museum practitioners to better understand their visitors and the wider roles modern and traditional museums may play in visitors’ experiences as well as to rethink the mission and goals of these types of institutions.

Keywords

• Te Papa
• Egyptian Museum
• traditional
• modern
• visitor experiences
• international visitors
• domestic visitors