Museum

The word "museum"originally comes from the Musaeum of Alexandria, which was founded in the third century B.C. by the Ptolemies and "was renowned throughout the ancient world as a haven for philosophers and scientists from throughout the Alexandrian empire." Museums have undergone a number of transformations since the time of the Musaeum, taking on a variety of forms and serving several different functions. Today, the term encompasses a range of different institutions, all of which display collections of material of one sort or another for public consumption and the majority of which include as a part of their mission statements a component of educational outreach.