Every year on May 18th, International Museum Day is celebrated globally. The International Council of Museums (ICOM) has recently completed the revision of the Code of Ethics for Museums, which standardizes the social functions of museums, including collection, preservation, research, and education.
It also sets goals for promoting diversity and sustainable development in museums to better serve society. In response, countries like Egypt, Thailand, and Germany are taking adaptive and innovative measures to advance museum renovations, standardization, and the protection and display of cultural relics, continuously creating more engaging museums.
Egypt: Enhancing Interactivity with Digital Technology
Located near the Giza Pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo, the Grand Egyptian Museum is already attracting many visitors. Inside the exhibition halls, holographic projections recreate ancient Egyptian rituals, projecting them onto glass walls and creating a magical experience that leaves visitors in awe. “This is a perfect dialogue between ancient civilization and modern technology!” one visitor exclaimed.
The Grand Egyptian Museum began a trial operation in October last year. This largest archaeological museum in the world, which took the Egyptian government over 20 years to prepare and cost more than $1 billion to build, displays over 100,000 precious cultural relics from ancient Egypt. It has drawn tourists from around the globe. According to local media, the museum is not just a traditional place for displaying artifacts but more like an immersive civilizational theater. It uses digital technology to provide a visual feast and a novel experience for visitors.
With the core concept of “revitalizing the vitality of civilization,” the main building of the Grand Egyptian Museum is designed in the shape of a giant triangle, echoing the nearby Giza Pyramids. The 50-meter-high central staircase inside the museum is created as a “corridor of time,” with 87 pharaoh statues and giant sarcophagi displayed along the steps.
This spatial narrative replaces linear interpretation, allowing visitors to feel the passage of history as they climb. Through augmented reality guides, visitors can scan artifacts to watch dynamic historical scenes. The museum also has a special design that allows outdoor sunlight to shine through specific windows to illuminate the statue of Ramses II, paying tribute to the thousand-year-old wonder of the Abu Simbel Temple and integrating astronomical archaeology into the exhibition experience.
The Grand Egyptian Museum has also set up a “Civilization Classroom,” developing archaeological simulation courses for primary and secondary school students. Children can manually piece together pottery shards and decipher hieroglyphs. The museum’s official website offers a 3D cultural relics database, available for global scholars to study for free. In 2024 alone, it facilitated 12 international archaeological cooperation projects.
The museum also launched a “community participation program,” inviting Nubian craftsmen from southern Egypt to demonstrate traditional goldsmithing skills on-site and sell their works in the museum’s creative store. This not only preserves and utilizes intangible cultural heritage but also creates employment opportunities for marginalized groups.
Professor Savi of Tanta University in Egypt said that the Grand Egyptian Museum has enriched the exhibition experience with digital technology and enhanced the interactivity between cultural relics and visitors.
This is one of the future directions for museum construction. Professor Hamad of the Faculty of Arts at Cairo University told reporters that as an ancient civilization, Egypt needs to incorporate more cutting-edge technology into museum construction to attract more young people. A new batch of Egyptian museums, represented by the Grand Egyptian Museum, is innovating development concepts, attracting more people to museums, and enhancing cultural confidence and civilizational awareness.
Thailand: Bringing Classrooms and Tourist Attractions into Museums
In 2024, the Thai Ministry of Culture held a series of celebratory activities themed “Pathway to Wisdom,” including academic discussions, special exhibitions, and free museum visits, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Thai Museum Day.
According to statistics from the Thai Ministry of Culture, Thailand has over 1,500 museums, with approximately 4 million visitors annually to museums, historical sites, and national historical parks. Pannon Phong, the director of the Department of Fine Arts of the Thai Ministry of Culture, said that more and more young people, including students, hope to visit museums to gain knowledge. The Thai government and social forces are actively responding to public demands and exploring ways to strengthen the educational functions of museums.
Universities and high schools in Thailand often organize group visits to museums for students to experience Thailand’s history, culture, and traditions firsthand. The reporter recently visited the National Museum of Thailand in Bangkok, which was established in 1782 and is the largest national museum in Southeast Asia.
Inside the exhibition halls, one can see artifacts and artworks from various periods of Thai history, from the Stone Age to the present, including puppets and shadow play props, folk utensils, ancient Buddha statues, and royal weapons. The National Museum began collecting modern artworks in 1993. Staff revealed that the museum receives 400,000 visitors annually, both from Thailand and abroad. “The National Museum is a microcosm of Thai history and cultural art, and it is the charm of Thai culture,” said Piny, a Thai university student who was visiting the museum.
During the “Thai History” course at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, the reporter visited museums in various parts of Thailand multiple times with local students. Inside the museums, teachers provided detailed explanations of history, deepening students’ understanding of Thai history through historical relics and displayed artifacts. This covered the Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, Thonburi, and Rattanakosin dynasties, helping students thoroughly grasp the entire history of Thailand. Many teachers and students reported that this method of learning was very effective.
Thailand also emphasizes the integration of museums with tourism to showcase local customs and unique cultures. The Ayutthaya Historical Park is the largest museum in Thailand with architecture as its main feature, covering an area of over 800,000 square meters.
Here, there are miniature landscapes of famous historical sites from all over Thailand, such as the Sukhothai Stone Palace in the north, the Mahathat Phrathat in the northeast, the Grand Palace in the central region, and the Chaiya Phrathat in the south. The park also has a small floating market with traditional water architecture and vendors selling traditional snacks by boat, attracting many domestic and international tourists.
Surat Thai, the director of the Public Relations Department of the Thai Prime Minister’s Office, said that Thai museums carry the vicissitudes and prosperity of history, representing the inheritance of history and culture. They should inspire more Thai people to take an interest in and love museums, making museums a bridge that connects the past and the future, as well as tradition and innovation.
Germany: Continuously Renovating the Century-Old Museum Island
Germany has more than 7,200 museums and other exhibition halls covering various fields such as art, history, technology, architecture, literature, and nature. Visiting museums is a common leisure activity for Germans. According to a survey, 55% of Germans said they visit a museum at least once a year. In 2022 alone, the total number of visitors to German museums reached 81.4 million.
In the heart of Berlin, there is an ancient Museum Island, covering an area of only 1 square kilometer and surrounded by the beautiful Spree River. There are five museums on the island, built between 1823 and 1930, namely the Altes Museum (Old Museum), Neues Museum (New Museum), Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), Bode Museum, and Pergamon Museum. As one of the main attractions in Berlin, Museum Island receives about 3 million visitors annually. In 1999, Museum Island was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
From the Altes Museum, which was built in 1823, to the Pergamon Museum, which was completed in 1930, visitors to Museum Island can not only admire valuable artworks but also appreciate the architectural styles and historical traces of Germany’s century-old museums.
According to the “Master Plan for Museum Island” proposed by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in 1999, the island will eventually be developed into a modern museum complex.
After the plan was introduced, the five museums on the island were renovated step by step according to the official regulations for the protection of historical buildings, while barrier-free facilities were also created. Some new buildings have also been included, such as the James Simon Gallery, which was completed in 2019 and serves as the main entrance to all the museums. In the future, people will also be able to enter the Archaeological Promenade directly from here.
The Pergamon Museum, the last museum on the island to be opened to the public, is also one of the most visited museums in Berlin, attracting more than 1 million visitors from around the world each year. Since October 23, 2023, the museum has been closed for an expected 14-year renovation.
Over its nearly 100-year history, the Pergamon Museum has undergone four or five renovations to maximize the protection of the ancient buildings and exhibits. The current renovation, which began in 2023, is also part of the “Master Plan for Museum Island.” At present, the construction of the “Master Plan for Museum Island” is still ongoing, aiming to create a better venue environment, better display the cultural relics,
