The traditional perception of knowledge is that it is steeped in concrete facts - unchanging and immovable throughout time. It is this interpretation of knowledge that is openly embraced by the average museum institution - an institution whose reputation and theoretical appeal is dependent upon its promotion of knowledge as a graspable constant. The museum as an authoritative presence has been practiced in almost every established institution nationwide, however there are a few institutions who are beginning to change this standard perspective. Take for example, Ralph Rugoff’s explanation of the Museum of Jurassic Technology. Despite its typical methods of display and meticulous labels, the Museum of Jurassic Technology is to a large degree a facade. The museum has little to do with the geographic location of the Jurassic nor of its prehistoric time period. As Rugoff puts it, “taken together, these observations lead to an irrevocable conclusion: the museum isn’t what it says it is. If not an outright impostor, at the very least it has to be considered an unreliable narrator” (Rugoff 70). However, this is not to be considered a disparaging mark. On the contrary, Rugoff views the museum’s facade to be quite tantalizing and romantic. The museum as metaphor is in fact an accurate reflection of knowledge’s tenuousness and its seductiveness fosters curiosity and the human desire to discover more.

This brings up an important point. Is the museum institution really a place that upholds and dictates the truth? No matter how successful and accurate a museum is in categorizing its collection or executing its mission, the museum is essentially dictating a story. And aren’t stories subject to interpretation? The essential difference between museums such as the Museum of Jurassic Technology and such establishments as the Metropolitan Museum of Art is within this very representation of narrative. The Museum of Jurassic Technology embraces knowledge’s inherent ambiguity and invites its visitors to take part in its creation. The latter dictates through an authoritative voice, leaving very little space for the visitor to contribute, elaborate, and imagine. Whether or not museum institutions should become as vague as the Museum of Jurassic Technology remains to be known, but the museum as a metaphor should indeed be taken into careful consideration.

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