Exhibition vs. Museum

Main Difference

The main difference between Exhibition and Museum is that the Exhibition is a organized presentation and display of a selection of items or pictures and Museum is a institution that holds artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, historical, or other importance.

• Exhibition

  An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organised presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition hall, or World’s fairs. Exhibitions can include many things such as art in both major museums and smaller galleries, interpretive exhibitions, natural history museums and history museums, and also varieties such as more commercially focused exhibitions and trade fairs.

  In British English the word “exhibition” is used for a collection of items placed on display, and the event as a whole, which in American English is usually an “exhibit”. In both varieties of English each object being shown within an exhibition is an “exhibit”.

  In common usage, “exhibitions” are considered temporary and usually scheduled to open and close on specific dates. While many exhibitions are shown in just one venue, some exhibitions are shown in multiple locations and are called travelling exhibitions, and some are online exhibitions. Exhibitions featuring especially fragile or valuable objects, or live animals—may be shown only during a formal presentation, under the close supervision of attendant or educator. Temporary exhibits that are transported from institution to institution are traveling exhibits.

  Though exhibitions are common events, the concept of an exhibition is quite wide and encompasses many variables. Exhibitions range from an extraordinarily large event such as a World’s fair exposition to small one-artist solo shows or a display of just one item. Curators are sometimes involved as the people who select the items in an exhibition. Writers and editors are sometimes needed to write text, labels and accompanying printed material such as catalogs and books. Architects, exhibition designers, graphic designers and other designers may be needed to shape the exhibition space and give form to the editorial content. Organizing and holding exhibitions also requires effective event planning, management, and logistics.

• Museum

  A museum ( mew-ZEE-əm; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is an institution that cares for (conserves) a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these items available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. The largest museums are located in major cities throughout the world, while thousands of local museums exist in smaller cities, towns and rural areas. Museums have varying aims, ranging from serving researchers and specialists to serving the general public. The goal of serving researchers is increasingly shifting to serving the general public.

  There are many types of museums, including art museums, natural history museums, science museums, war museums, and children’s museums. Amongst the world’s largest and most visited museums are the Louvre in Paris, the National Museum of China in Beijing, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the British Museum and National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and Vatican Museums in Vatican City. According to The World Museum Community, there are more than 55,000 museums in 202 countries.

• Museum (noun)

  a building in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited

  “the Museum of Modern Art”

  “a museum curator”

  “the museum is noted for its fine fossil collection”

  “it is difficult to avoid the feeling that the city is now a living museum”