A museum (/mjuːˈziːəm/ mew-ZEE-əm) is an institution dedicated to displaying and/or preserving culturally significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers and specialists.

They preserve and promote social interests as diverse and unique as the people who visit them. Our world would be entirely different without all of the ways museums positively impact society. Here are some of the main ways they do so: Community – Museums build a sense of community identity.

In this article, museums are classified into five basic types—general, natural history and natural science, science and technology, history, and art. A more recent kind of museum—the virtual museum—transcends all other types by virtue of its unique electronic presentation and is discussed as well.