Museums are institutions that house, preserve, and display collections of artifacts and objects of cultural, historical, or scientific significance. Most large museums are located in major cities and aim to serve both researchers and the general public. The earliest museums began as private collections of wealthy individuals and families displayed in "wonder rooms." Modern museum design and planning aims to properly house collections and meet the needs of the community through intentional planning of the mission and physical space. Proper environmental controls are crucial, as museums require strict temperature and humidity levels to prevent damage to artifacts from fluctuations or condensation.

1. Furqan Ullah
Cu-437-2014 A

2.  A museum is an institution that cares for (conserves) a collection of artifacts and
other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance and some
public museums make them available for public viewing through exhibits that
may be permanent or temporary.
 Most large museums are located in major cities throughout the world and more
local ones exist in smaller cities, towns and even the countryside. 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.

3.  The English "museum" comes from the Latin word, and is pluralized as
"museums" (or rarely, "musea"). It is originally from the Ancient Greek
(Mouseion), which denotes a place or temple dedicated to the Muses (the
patron divinities in Greek mythology of the arts), and hence a building set
apart for study and the arts.
 The first museum/library is considered to be the one of Plato in Athens.[5]
However, Pausanias gives another place called "Museum," namely a small hill
in Classical Athens opposite to the Akropolis. The hill was called Mouseion
after Mousaious, a man who used to sing on the hill and died there of old age
and was subsequently buried there as well.

4.  Early museums began as the private collections of wealthy individuals,
families or institutions of art and rare or curious natural objects and
artifacts. These were often displayed in so-called wonder rooms or
cabinets of curiosities. The oldest such museum in evidence was
Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum, dating from c. 530 BC and devoted to
Mesopotamian antiquities; it apparently had sufficient traffic as to
warrant labels for the ordered collection, although there is no source for
this information.

5. A clay cylinder inscribed with a description in
three languages, as used in Ennigaldi's
museum to accompany an ancient artifact;
these are the earliest known "museum
labels".
First Museum

6.  The design of museums has evolved throughout history. However, museum
planning involves planning the actual mission of the museum along with planning
the space that the collection of the museum will be housed in Intentional museum
planning has its beginnings with the museum founder and librarian John Cotton
Dana.
 Dana detailed the process of founding the Newark Museum in a series of books in
the early 20th century so that other museum founders could plan their museums.
 Dana suggested that potential founders of museums should form a committee
first, and reach out to the community for input as to what the museum should
supply or do for the community.
 According to Dana, museums should be planned according to community's needs.

7.  Design enclosure systems must include air barrier, vapor retarder, and thermal
insulation systems that are sufficient and continuous.
 Design mechanical systems must provide close control over interior temperature
and RH levels.
 Avoid interior shading devices at windows. If shading devices are used, provide
supplemental heat to windows to prevent condensation when the shades are
drawn.
 Skylight systems should be high performance, with integral condensate gutters
and a heat source near the skylight. Alternatively, a “buffer zone” of dry air
between a skylight and laylight may be sufficient to prevent condensation
problems.

8.  Avoid severe swings in temperature and humidity.
 Museums, archives, and art storage facilities generally have strict requirements
for interior temperature and relative humidity (RH) control. The unofficial
museum standard for temperature and RH is 70°F and 50%.
 Pay careful attention to fenestration and wall systems to avoid condensation.
 Museum environments typically have an interior dew point temperature of
approximately 50°F—much higher than a typical office building or
condominium—and this dew point is constantly maintained throughout the
winter. In non-humidified buildings, the coldest exterior temperatures generally
coincide with the driest interior conditions, reducing condensation risk in most
cases. For museums, there is no corresponding drop in interior dew point at low
exterior temperatures, thereby increasing the risk for condensation.

9.  Reception
 Research Lab
 Conservation Lab
 Storage (Painting, Artifacts etc.)
 Service Room
 Mechanical Room
 Administration
 Gallery
 Conference
 Terrace
 Recreation
 Washrooms