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I think I am an explorer however, I can be a professional/hobbyist at times. I enjoy learning about new artifacts but since being an art history student I have started to make a list of works of art that I want to see. Over the past summer I was able to go to the Acropolis in Athens and it was an amazing experience. I was there as someone who was interested in the site and seeing the Acropolis had become a passion of mine while learning about it in class so many times. So, I think in time I will become more of a professional visitor however, for now I mainly am an explorer. It's because most museums I visit I don't know about the artifacts that I'm seeing so I'm there to experience and learn about new things.

This picture is one out of many that I took on my trip to the Acropolis. Along with visiting the Acropolis I also visited the Acropolis Museum. I don't have a picture of the museum so I instead chose this one.

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My motives for what type of visitor I am definitely change with every trip: on trips with my family I become a Facilitator, and when I go for the exhibit project in this class I will be totally a Professional type. However, in my everyday life I would say I'm mostly the Explorer type, with a little bit of the Hobbyist type thrown in. While I do often have the "specific, content-oriented interests" that define a Hobbyist, the Explorer one fits my museum style really well too: "Explorers are focused on what they see and find interesting." I always have the desire to be able to wander a museum alone when I go with people, because of that "me-centered agenda" to see what I find interesting, ignore what I don't, and look through everything at my own pace.
This picture describes my visitor type because it was actually taken by my dad, but I'm obviously alone in it: he's the same kind of type as me so we would "explore" together in silence, until of course I had some art history knowledge that I desperately need to bounce off of someone :)

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I think I started as an explore, when I was younger I just enjoy the time I visited various types of museums and zoos. Back then my motivation is simple, I was living in a huge city and everything in my life are the same from day to day. The museums provide me windows where I could get a glance of the world out of my hometown. The way I visit a museum is 100% of the visitor point of view where I just passively accept information. Then, when I realized I would like to become a professional and work in a museum someday, my motivation changes and I began to pay more and more attention about details like how to exhibit is designed and are the museum provide the best tour experience. Sometimes I when I feel tired and just want to relax, I would find a museum that I know will and just enjoy the quiet environment. It feels good that I don't need to analyze how successful the exhibit is or are the arrangement of the cabinets reasonable(which I already have done those thoughts) and I'm particularly happy when I find an interesting piece of information I've never notice before. It feels like the artist smile at me though time.

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I think the type of visitor that best descries me would be an explorer.  I'm always drawn towards a museum that has a specific interest of mine, a zoo being a major interest as well as natural history.  I think one motivation for me would be to see what else I can learn about an interest of mine.  Also, I do look for some form of entertainment whether I'm looking at animals or an artifact from history.  I don't really think any of my motivations would change as the people I tend to go to museums with often have the same interests as me.  The only thing I can really think of that would probably cause a change is if I were to go anywhere with my three-year-old niece.  She'd probably love to see animals (the following picture is actually from my sister when they went to the Henry Doorly Zoo and she knows I love penguins) and more than likely wouldn't want to be cooped up inside a building but rather be able to walk around in the open air.

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The type of visitor that best describes me is explorer. I almost always go to museums to satisfy a curiosity. Occasionally I will do research on a museum before I go, but often I enjoy the surprise of not knowing exactly what to expect. The exception to this is when I am going to museums with other people. In the case of going with other people, often my family, I become more of an experience seeker. Not being alone makes being an explorer harder when I'm trying to respect their time.

Attached it a picture I took of the Louvre in summer 2018.

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Seth Moffitt - This summer, on my trip to DC, I used much of my time to explore and document exhibit design, and the techniques used to draw visitors into the experience. This is a really fascinating aspect of museums to me, but I can only typically get this experience at large museums. More locally, I am definitely a recharger. Museums for me are almost a form of therapy. Museums are places that are usually dimly lit and quiet, plus the use of phones is often not needed, so I can disconnect from the world for a while.

The attached photo is from the Museum of the Bible. Although I went to this museum with skepticism about what I was going to see, I can honestly say it was one of the most technologically-advanced and peaceful museums I have ever visited. It piqued my interests in so many ways, and it was a great experience.

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If there is one label that belongs to me, it is Explorer. I am so curious about other cultures, art, and history that I could be Alice. My main motivation for visiting any museum is out of genuine curiosity, especially over the subjects I find interesting. The only time I believe my motivations might align more with Experience Seeker is when it has come to the larger monuments, landscapes, and museums I have visited, such as the Smithsonian and its memorials to the various presidents.

The attached photo is from the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum, when I once considered being an archaeologist rather than a museum curator.

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I think I am a mix between an Explorer or a Professional/Hobbyist. I either visit a museum because I know I like the content and can understand it on a higher level, like an art museum, because I am very passionate about art. Though, I also love visiting museums that I have not been to or heard of, even if they are not art related. Whenever I am in a new city, I always try and visit a museum I haven't been to explore what the city has to offer. I think I love museums so much my motivation to go is to experience how each museum differs form each other, and how each motivates the visitor to engage with the exhibits.

My photo is from a museum in London that I visited on a school trip. I knew I would love the art museum and I love Titian, the Renaissance artist, but I wasn't expecting to see so much of his work. Here is one of my favorite paintings he created. It was cool to explore and find things I love in the museum.

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I believe I am an explorer most of the time and a experience seeker occasionally. My motivations change between the two depending on where I am, for example I went to several museums and historic buildings when I took a vacation to Finland. At that time, I was an experience seeker, going to the museums in order to better understand and experience the culture. When I'm not vacationing however, I generally go to museums because I enjoy going and seeing new pieces and exhibits, as an explorer does.

From a recent visit to the UI Stanley Museum of Art

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I find my identity changes depends on the type of museum I am visiting. Generally, I am an experience seeker. Museums are places I am generally looking for when I travel, especially the ones unique to the local areas, for instance, the Czech and Slovak museum in Czech Village, Cedar Rapid, or the Mardi Gras World in New Orleans. However, I seldom go to art museums to recharge: I don't know a lot about art nor art history, I go to appreciate the beauty of the artworks and the architecture. Also, as a science studies student, I find myself going to science museum as a hobbyist. I would generally have or know the contents in these museums to some extent, so I focus more on how museum communicate those contents with the public instead.

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Benjamin Kimball, I think at one point or another I have fulfilled all the types of visitor, throughout my life and at various museums. I often for example between classes here at the University like to spend time looking at the exhibits in the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History to relax between classes, I also recently showed my father around that same Museum when He came down to visit me a few weeks ago. At most other Museums I’ve been an explorer looking to learn something new, or an experience seeker looking to go to Museum’s I’d likely never get to see again. In one case I went to a Museum as a Hobbyist when I was very little, and intensely interested in Dinosaurs dragging my family off to the Museum that has the famous ‘Big Al’ allosaurus ( which I had been watching a documentary about while on a family vacation). I think it’s pretty clear to me that no Museum ever really has the same visitor twice, as I’ve gone to many Museums for many different reasons.

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Prof. Heidi- I take my son to museums and at those times, I am motivated by his learning and interests. Here he is at the Indian Creek Nature Center in CR. On my own I am a recharger and like to visit places of contemplation parks, gardens, anything outside. Because of this, I take my son to a lot of parks and nature museums and centers.