Go To a Museum. Any Museum.
The best thing I've done for my brain this month.
Wherever You Live, There’s Probably a Museum
Last weekend, I went to two museums. The first museum I was planning to visit, the second one was just a really nice surprise.
I went into last weekend feeling awful in my head — my brain was jumping around, obsessing over the news, horrified over ICE brutalities, feeling the impending doom of war. (Honestly, my brain is doing the same thing this weekend.)
But when I stepped into the museum, I noticed my mind settled down immediately. I swear I could feel my nervous system regulating in real time. It got me thinking about how museums are pretty much ideal for those of us with broken attention spans, or for those of us in need of distraction.
At a museum you are physically moving from one thing to another pretty quickly. There’s not much reading required at each stop — maybe a paragraph or two, maybe none. There are often multi-media components to an exhibit, with something to listen to, something to touch, something to walk around, somewhere to sit. Perfect for a brain that’s used to jumping around from post to post on their phone.
Sometimes there’s a suggested path through the museum, but there are typically no time limits. You can stay with one exhibit as long as you like. You can skip exhibits. You can come back to an exhibit you want to see a second time before you leave. Basically, you can customize your visit to a museum any way you like.
Museums can be about literally anything. The two I visited last weekend were about fashion and about art. But there are museums focused on every conceivable topic — public transit, libraries, a particular artist, music, a specific brand, toys, automobiles, horses, hunting, typography, furniture, history, fossils, architecture, old fashioned skills, modern technology, nostalgia, dishes, lace-making, fish, a Catholic Saint, a tapestry, war, medicine, and on and on for infinity.
Museums are inherently interesting. That’s the whole thing. Someone who is super passionate about a topic has set up displays to share their knowledge and explain all the most fascinating little details. Even if it’s a topic or subject or artist I don’t think I care about, I can’t remember ever entering a museum, no matter how niche, and not coming away with a new bit of knowledge or trivia, or a stroke of inspiration.
Museums are typically affordable and accessible. Many are free, or are pay-what-you-can. Others have a free day each month or each quarter, or offer free tickets for anyone under 25. At the end of the museum visit, there is often a gift shop, or small display, where you can pick up a postcard or bookmark that will remind you of the exhibits, or maybe there’s a related book. But of course, you don’t have to buy anything at all. A museum visit doesn’t have to be a big expense. In fact, there are often free museum exhibitions in public spaces like libraries or parks or city halls.
The whole idea of a museum is delightful. Museums are a celebration of the best of humanity. I like imagining the person who thought of the first one. Hey! Come and see what I made, or what I found, or what I learned, or what this other person made!
The museums I visited last weekend are both in Paris, both world-class (you can see my visits in this IG highlight). But even in our small town, hours away from Paris, there are excellent museums and fresh exhibits. Wherever you live, no matter how small the community, it’s a good bet you have a museum (or multiple museums) too.
If it’s safe to do so where you live (it’s not safe everywhere), and you’re in need of a moment of distraction, I recommend a visit to a nearby museum. While there, I hope you’ll get a moment to think about how someone (or a team of someones) made that space, just so they could share their knowledge and passion with the community — a hopeful act of joy and goodwill. And I hope it will give your brain a break, in the same way it calmed mine.
Lately at Same Boat
Last week we (me and my team at Alt Summit) sent out the 21st issue of Same Boat. I’m really enjoying creating this new magazine for women who work on the internet. I write the lead articles, and I love getting to take deep dives on so many interesting topics. Here are 3 recent issues you might have missed:
Vintage and Secondhand are Big Business. Thrifting is projected to outpace new clothing sales in 2026! Industry-wide, companies big and small are being affected by this shift. And industry disruption means opportunities abound.
Why the Target Boycott is Still Going Strong. If you’ve heard about the boycott and want to know more about what’s happening, this will catch you up.
Need Extra Cash? Here are 20 Legitimate Side Gig Ideas.
There are lots more issues if you’d like to explore. Several issues from September and October are free to read. The monthly editions are also free to read.
That’s all for now. Feel free to comment on anything I mentioned above, or whatever’s on your mind.
kisses,
Gabrielle
Last weekend I went to a gallery and a museum. At the gallery my family and I saw the Keith Haring mural that was on the FDR Dr in the 80s. That was very cool to see. Galleries can be so fun - free, small exhibits so you don’t have to invest a lot of time, often they’re pretty empty, and you can get so close to the art.
I’m literally sitting in the lobby of a museum while reading this. I drove 5 hours to Oklahoma City just to go to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum over the long MLk weekend. Highly recommended!
I’m a huge fan of small local museums as well. So many cool things to learn! Also, rarely crowded.