28 July 2011 / leggypeggy

For Libby and other museum nuts

Our daughter, Libby, is our museum nut—she works at the National Museum of Australia. So I wanted her to know that all through Europe I have been impressed by the care and flair shown by the curators in even the smallest museums. A lot of thought and effort has been put into creating displays that are stylish, clear, varied, interesting and meaningful.

Every now and then in Germany, I wondered fleetingly why there weren’t more explanations in English as well as German, but then I’d remind myself that Australian museums only ever have explanations in English, except for an occasional usage of an Aboriginal language.

As we’ve moved through countries without main stream languages—places such as Czech, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and now Georgia—I’ve noticed that the touristic sites almost always have placards in English as well as the local language. This has been interesting and fun for me because it reduces the need for guide and also highlights the similarities and differences between languages. You also get some hilarious examples of fractured English, but I have to give them credit for trying.

These photos show some of the many diverse approaches to displays.