How to Absorb 2000 Years of Culture and History in an Hour

100 Things #013 - Take a Historical Audio Tour

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

A friend of mine recently got back from a trip to Amsterdam and told me about all of the informative and enlightening experiences she had at the historical monuments, museums, and art galleries that dotted the city. 

Of course, each one came with its own array of tourists who simply wanted to show up, grab a picture, and leave, but such is par for the course with any experiences like these.

The idea of being fully engaged with a historical exhibit, rather than superficially passing through, got me thinking about one aspect of museum crawling that I’m fairly passionate about, despite never actually having done myself…

The Audio Tour

One aspect of museums and galleries that I myself haven’t considered indulging in until very recently is the unique experience of engaging with a recorded audio tour during a visit. 

Despite how fundamental this part of tours is for some, I had never really understood the appeal until I was recently at an art gallery in Paris and found myself wanting to know more about the origins and artists of some of the paintings I was seeing. And I would have gone back to the front desk to ask for their rental headphones and audio player if not for the rush for time we found ourselves in that day. 

Since then, I’ve made a mental note that any time one of these audio tours is available, I would pay the small fee and properly engage with the exhibits in front of me. 

Though, it wasn’t until last week that I actually found myself at a museum, ready to stick to my commitment, when I actually got the chance to do so, and again, we were in too much of a rush to treat ourselves to a tour. 

With just an hour until the museum was set to close, my partner and I found ourselves darting around the building, trying to take in as much information on the history of Canada as we could before our allotted time expired. Not much of a visit, but hey, Thursday evenings were free.

So again, I’m left with this mission to find another museum and stick to my resolution of taking one of these audio tours. 

Yet, despite the fact that I haven’t been able to take part in one myself, I still find myself inspired to speak on just how valuable of an experience I believe fully absorbing museums and galleries to be. 

The Appeal of History

There’s something special about being physically surrounded by art and culture that you can’t really get from just a textbook or a documentary. Those no doubt have their place too, but each medium has something uniquely exclusive to their respective form.

As a student in grade school, I didn’t genuinely see much appeal in studying history. It felt irrelevant as a kid, as if there were no practical use in understanding the circumstances and motivations of people who came before us. 

Evidently, that mindset has done a bit of a 180º turn seeing as I’ve matured some since. 

Presently, I don’t know if there could be a more essential component to understanding modern society and humanity than looking to the past for answers.

All that being said, last week, my partner and I again booked a trip, this time to New York, with hopes of properly making time to engage with a museum, fully absorbing all of what it has to offer.

Here’s hoping we won’t have to rain check again this time.

I’ll leave you here with a few journaling prompts for those who want to do a bit of guided thinking around this topic:

• Explore your evolving perspective on history and its relevance to modern society. How has your view changed from childhood to adulthood? What factors influenced this shift in perspective?

• Reflect on the unique appeal of being physically surrounded by art and culture in a museum or gallery. What do you think makes this experience different from learning about history through other mediums, such as textbooks or documentaries?

• Consider the potential benefits of taking the time to fully absorb and engage with a museum or gallery. How might this experience enrich your understanding of art, history, and culture?

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That’s all from me for today. If you’ve enjoyed, or have any museum stories of your own to tell, I’m all ears!

For now, have a good week, and I’ll see you at 100.