When I was little, Sesame Street aired a special called “Don’t Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.” I adored it. For those who didn’t watch the VHS tape on repeat, the gang go to the Met and accidentally get locked inside for the night. The story focuses on Big Bird helping the spirit of an Egyptian boy to reunite with his parents. Meanwhile, Cookie Monster is struggling with his desire to eat all of the paintings depicting food. But Bob points to the sign that says “Please don’t eat the pictures!”
消化艺术是一个显而易见的“不”，有时候博物馆似乎没有理由对事物说“不”。我保证我们不会试图抑制任何人的乐趣。这些规则旨在保护收藏和人员。
现在我们再次开放（YAY!) and welcoming people back into the galleries, I thought it’d be fun to celebrate in the nerdiest way possible; facts! In this post I’ll explain some museum etiquette basics and talk about some extra services museum’s offer that you might not be aware of. Hopefully it’ll answer some questions you’ve had but never thought to ask. And feel free to ask about anything in the comments section too.
“没有摄影”或“没有闪光摄影”：有什么区别？
Most museums, including ours, allow photography for personal use in the galleries. So go on, post those art doppelgänger selfies to Instagram (#iamaMariner)! But if you see a “No Photography” sign there’s a few possibilities. It may be usage restrictions related to copyrights, owner permissions, or artist requests. It’s also a crowd control measure to keep people moving. You’ll often see this for traveling exhibits or highly visited sites like the Sistine Chapel.
另一个常见的原因是要尊重文化敏感的项目及其创作者。人类遗体，宗教物体和种族灭绝或奴隶制的人工制品是该类别的一部分。限制摄影可以使这些物品和与之相关的人建立更周到和情感上的联系。对于人类的遗体，这提醒人们，尽管个人正在展出，但他们仍然是一个人。
Preservation is another major reason. Gallery light levels are determined by the type of material on display. Textiles, manuscripts, and watercolors fade in strong light. To keep their colors vibrant, we keep the lights dimmed. Camera flashes use intense light that can damage light-sensitive materials. Even though it’s less than a second, if everyone takes a flash photograph this damage adds up. “No Photography” and “No FLASH photography” mean the same thing in this case. Usually a highly visited object, like a Renaissance masterpiece, will have a complete photo ban because the number of people who will forget to turn off their flash makes a “no闪光photography” sign virtually useless.
真的很喜欢什么吗？我们的数字服务部门可以在我们的收藏中打印自定义的高质量复制品（查看丽莎的博客文章了解更多信息）。我负担得起的替代方案：在礼品店购买明信片。已经打印了，可以保证比我的手机上的更好！
From a distance: “Do not touch”
Humans want to experience things with all our senses, so I get how tempting it is to touch museum artifacts. However those “no touching” signs are there not just for the object’s protection, but sometimes yours as well. For example, AC72’s hydrofoils are razor sharp to reduce friction and increase its speed, and they can easily cut an unsuspecting guest.
触摸油和污垢表面上的残留物。添加更多的力和脆弱的零件可以折断或颤抖的东西可能会掉下来并破碎（有关更多信息，请查看较早的blog post）。另一个重要的提醒是不要依靠玻璃（玻璃箱）。它们旨在防止灰尘，而不支持体重。它可能会破裂并掉落在物体上，并可能伤害您。
In addition to signs, displays use platforms or stanchions to provide objects with breathing room.障碍的主要工作是防止接触损坏，但也可以防止湿度变化的损坏。纸张和绘画可能容易受到少量的湿度变化，这可能会导致微裂纹，卷曲甚至是金属颜料的腐蚀。基本上，我们希望人们没有呼吸艺术品。障碍还降低了盗窃或故意破坏的风险。
Coat checks and bag lockers
Often museums will ask you to check your backpacks or umbrellas in the lobby. The bag ban is mainly to prevent accidental collisions with objects and other visitors. Umbrellas leave water trails through the galleries which in addition to causing humidity issues can also be a slip hazard. I personally love this option because I hate being bogged down with my winter coat or sopping umbrella when I’m trying to enjoy the exhibit.
吃，喝和快乐……在咖啡馆里
“No food beyond this point” may be the most common sign in museums. It is much easier to maintain an object’s condition than it is to clean it. Fingerprints can cause enough damage on their own. Now add food residues to the mix and it could be a devastating combination. The object will have to come off exhibit for conservation and there is the possibility, depending on what the stain is and how fragile the object is, that we may not be able to fully remove the deposits, altering the object permanently. Crumbs and stains in the galleries encourage pests to come in and “eat the pictures” or furniture, or tapestries, or canoes… Anything organic is fair game. Bans on live plants for events in the galleries are extensions of this policy, because they will draw insects or even transport them inside.
谢谢你不吸烟
Fire can devastate a collection. Open flames, either from catering equipment or candles, are kept to a minimum and are only for special events where they are monitored closely. Cigarettes are banned in most indoor places due to health concerns, but what about e-cigarettes? Are these ok in galleries? The danger of an open flame is eliminated, but e-cigarettes can still deposit residues and pollutants on artifacts just like traditional cigarettes. These deposits can chemically alter materials and obscure surfaces.
博物馆的ll
博物馆越来越专注于可访问性，并为多样化的受众提供有意义的体验。维多利亚时代在带有微型标签的玻璃箱中挤压物体的想法已经过时了，但还有更多要做的事情。使用新技术更新画廊并提供多种类型的体验至关重要。在访问之前，请检查博物馆的网站或与他们联系，以了解他们提供的经验类型。如果您愿意，请分享您的想法。我们喜欢听听客人如何改善他们的访问（this is why we now have more benches in the galleries!）。Our mission at the Mariners’ is to connect everyone to the water and each other. We want people to come here and say “this is MY museum!”
在本月的第二个星期日，水手博物馆主持友好的时间对于客人来说，包括那些有行动能力，认知或身体挑战的人，他们更喜欢在一个安静，拥挤的环境中体验博物馆，声音和照明降低。”单击链接保留票。
Happy Trees
Artists often come to museums to practice technique and gain inspiration. Most museums welcome sketching in their galleries and may even have artist’s stools available at the front desk. Check with a museum on their policies before visiting. This activity may be restricted until social distancing and capacity restrictions are lifted. And verify what is allowed; often only pencils are acceptable as they create the least mess and removing pencil marks is fairly straightforward.
但是等等，还有更多！
Ask at the front desk or look online before you visit to learn about extra activities and programs. The Mariners’ has a galleries scavenger hunt for young mariners as well as family activities throughout the year. Museum’s host different types of lectures and informal talks as well. We have both a more formal Thursday evening lecture series that runs through the year as well as daytime talks and gallery tours by docents and curators.
Behind-the-scenes tours are popular, too. It’s a chance to view collections storage, conservation labs, or get a close up look at rare objects. Call a museum ahead of time to check availability since most services are temporarily suspended. There’s lots offun eventscoming up at the Mariners’ (hint hint）请按照链接了解本月正在发生的事情。
再见！
通常，规则归结为尊重收藏和访客安全的需求。而且它们很容易遵循。许多博物馆都在画廊中有动手段，以满足我们的触觉欲望。当他们可以在咖啡馆里休息和茶时，谁真的想在画廊里涂抹饼干？并在线检查或询问桌子，以查看其他哪些活动可以个性化您的访问。随时询问评论中的任何内容，或下次您亲自访问。请记住，请不要吃照片。他们是让我们所有人享受的！