The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra one of the oldest Orthodox monasteries in Eastern Europe.
The first monastery was built in a natural cave near the Dnieper River in 1051. The first above-ground church, the Church of the Dormition, was constructed in the mid-11th century. Byzantine architects supervised its design, blending local Slavic styles with Byzantine influences.
In the 17th century, the monastery underwent significant transformation during the reign of the Cossack Hetmanate. Lavish Baroque architecture replaced many medieval structures.
The complex has over 100 architectural structures, including Orthodox churches, chapels, bell towers and caves. The main ones include:
- Dormition Cathedral
- Great Bell Tower (height 96.5 meters)
- Gate Church of the Trinity
- Far Caves ("Dalshe Pechery")
- Near Caves ("Blizhnye Pechery")
- Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine
- Museum of Books and Printing
- Fortress Walls and Towers
The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra occupies a vast area of approximately 28 hectares.

Louvre Abu Dhabi, opened in 2017, presents art from prehistory to the present day in chronological order, including works by Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, René Magritte and others.
The museum covers an area of approximately 24,000 square meters.


© Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi Photo by Hufton+Crow

Madame Tussauds was founded by Marie Tussaud, a French artist specializing in wax sculpture. The official opening of the museum's first permanent exhibition took place in London in 1835.
Madame Tussauds has many branches around the world. Current locations:
America: Hollywood, Las Vegas, Nashville, New York, Orlando
Europe: Amsterdam, Berlin, Blackpool, Budapest, Istanbul, London, Prague, Vienna
Asia: Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Wuhan
Middle East: Dubai
Australia: Sydney
Madame Tussauds is known for its collections of wax figures that depict famous people from various walks of life. The collection includes:
1. Movie and music stars: Figures of famous actors, musicians and singers. There are figures of stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley.
2. Historical and political figures: Figures depicting famous historical figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as contemporary politicians such as Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron,
3. Athletes: Famous personalities from the world of sports, such as Usain Bolt, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Muhammad Ali.
4. Pop culture and fiction characters: Characters from movies, comics and literature, such as Spider-Man, James Bond and heroes from Marvel and Star Wars films.
5. Scientists and inventors: Figures depicting famous scientists and inventors such as Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla and Isaac Newton.
6. Members of the Royal Family: Figures representing the British royal family, including King Charles III, Prince William, Duchess Kate and others.
Madame Tussauds' collections are regularly updated to reflect current events and changing trends in popular culture. The museum also has interactive exhibitions that allow visitors to get to know and interact with the figures better.
It is estimated that there are several thousand wax figures in the global Madame Tussauds network. As for the number of exhibits on display, each museum usually has from several dozen to several hundred wax figures on display at any given time. For example, the main location in London usually has around 250-300 figures on display.
Madame Tussauds' main location in London covers approximately 5,500 square meters. The exhibition area in London is approximately 2,000-3,000 square meters.

The Al Shindagha Museum is a heritage museum located in the historic Al Shindagha district, one of the city's oldest neighborhoods. It was developed as part of Dubai’s broader initiative to preserve its cultural heritage and showcase the emirate’s transformation over time.
History of Its Construction:
1. Origins and Restoration Efforts
- The museum is housed in restored buildings that date back to the 19th century when Al Shindagha was home to Dubai’s ruling family.
- The area was historically a center of trade and governance, with traditional wind-tower houses that were vital for cooling in the hot desert climate.
- Dubai’s government initiated large-scale restoration projects to preserve this historic district, and many of the old houses were converted into museum spaces.
2. Opening and Development
- The Al Shindagha Museum officially opened in 2019 as part of Dubai’s heritage conservation efforts.
- It was developed under the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, in collaboration with Dubai Municipality and the Department of Tourism.
- The project aimed to create a cultural and historical hub showcasing Dubai’s history, traditions, and maritime heritage.
3. Museum Features
- The museum consists of several pavilions and exhibitions, with the main attraction being the “Dubai Creek: Birth of a City” exhibit, which tells the story of Dubai’s evolution.
- Other sections include exhibits on traditional crafts, pearl diving, trade, and Bedouin life, offering an immersive experience through multimedia displays and artifacts.
Main Buildings & Sections of Al Shindagha Museum:
1. Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House
- One of the most important buildings in the complex, this was the residence of Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai from 1912 to 1958.
- It showcases historical photographs, documents, and artifacts related to Dubai’s ruling family and political history.
2. Dubai Creek: Birth of a City
- This pavilion tells the story of Dubai Creek and its role in shaping the city’s trade, economy, and development.
- It features interactive exhibits on pearl diving, maritime trade, and early settlements.
3. Perfume House
- This section highlights the traditional art of Emirati perfumery, including the significance of oud, incense (bukhoor), and essential oils in Emirati culture.
- Visitors can explore traditional perfume-making techniques and ingredients.
4. Emerging City
- Focuses on Dubai’s transformation from a small fishing and trading village to a global metropolis.
- Includes exhibits on urban planning, infrastructure, and architectural developments.
5. Traditional Crafts House
- Showcases Emirati craftsmanship, including textile weaving, pottery, and metalwork.
- Demonstrates how traditional skills have been passed down through generations.
6. Children’s Pavilion
- A dedicated space for younger visitors to engage with Emirati history and culture through interactive and educational exhibits.
7. Traditional Jewellery House
- Displays historical Emirati jewelry, showcasing intricate designs and the significance of gold, silver, and gemstones in local traditions.
8. Culture of the Sea Pavilion
- Focuses on the maritime heritage of the UAE, including pearl diving, fishing, and dhow (traditional boat) building.
9. Story of the Creek Pavilion
- Highlights the importance of Dubai Creek in trade, migration, and the city's early economic development.
The Al Shindagha Museum is situated within the Al Shindagha Historic district in Dubai, a neighborhood covering approximately 0.26 square kilometers (260,000 square meters). Within this district, the museum complex itself comprises 22 pavilions housed within over 80 historic buildings.

Etihad Museum is a cultural landmark in Dubai that tells the story of the founding of the United Arab Emirates in 1971. Located near the historic Union House, the museum offers interactive exhibits and archival materials showcasing the events that led to the unification of the nation.

The Sharjah Museums Authority (SMA) was established in 2006 as an autonomous government authority. SMA includes:
AI Eslah School Museum (opened in 2003)
Al Mahatta Museum (opened in 2000)
Bait Al Naboodah (opened in 1995)
Bait Sheikh Saeed Bin Hamad Al Qasimi (opened in 1999)
Hisn Khor Fakkan (opened in 2019)
Sharjah Aquarium (opened in 2008)
Sharjah Archaeology Museum (opened in 1993)
Sharjah Art Museum (opened in 1997)
Sharjah Calligraphy Museum (opened in 2002)
Sharjah Classic Cars Museum (opened in 2002)
Sharjah Discovery Centre (opened in 1999)
Sharjah Fort (Al Hisn) (opened in 2015)
Sharjah ‎Heritage ‎‎Museum (opened in 2005)
Sharjah Maritime Museum (opened in 2003)
Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization (opened in 1996)
Sharjah Science Museum (opened in 1996)

The Tank Museum was established in 1947.
The Tank Museum has a very large and varied collection centred mainly on armoured fighting vehicles, but also including related artefacts, archives and supporting objects. Here are the main components of what it holds:
Main Collections
1. Tank / Armoured Fighting Vehicle Collection
- Almost 300 vehicles from over 26 countries.
- Vehicles span from the early prototypes of WWI (e.g. Little Willie) through to modern main battle tanks (e.g. Challenger 2).
- Highlights include:
• Tiger 131, the only operational Tiger I in the world.
• Rare WWI machines (Marks I, IV, V etc.).
• Cold War tanks (T-54, T-62, etc.) and vehicles from post-WWII conflicts and development.
2. Archive & Supporting Collection
- The museum maintains a research archive designated as a Place of Deposit for The National Archives.
- Formats include: documents, technical drawings, maps, photographs, moving images, books, journals, etc., largely centred on armoured warfare and the history of the Royal Armoured Corps / Royal Tank Regiment.
- The Supporting Collection (non-vehicle objects) includes uniforms, medals, flags, weapons and ammunition, models, art, radios, technical instruments etc.
3. Exhibition Halls / Themed Displays
- The Museum is organised into halls by era or theme: WWI Hall, Inter-War Hall (“War Horse to Horsepower”), WWII Hall, “The Tank Story Hall”, plus Cold War / modern era halls.
- There is also a Vehicle Conservation Centre where some of the collection (or parts of it) are displayed in states of restoration / maintenance, giving visitors insight into how conservation work is done.
4. Memorial & Commemorative Components

The National Museums Scotland (NMS) was formed in 1985, however, it originates from the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland founded in 1780.
The museum consists of:
- National Museum of Scotland
- National Museum of Flight
- National War Museum
- National Museum of Rural Life
- National Museums Collection Centre
The exhibitions display 8,000 exhibits, mainly Scottish archaeological monuments but also objects from around the world in the fields of geology, natural history, art as well as science and technology.

National Galleries of Scotland organized in 1985. Brings together:
Scottish National Gallery,
Scottish National Portrait Gallery,
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art,
Paxton House,
Duff House,
Granton Center for Art.
Has nearly 100,000 esponates in its collection, which includes works by artists such as Titian, Rembrandt, Picasso, Hockney, and Warhol.

The Edinburgh Castle built from the 11th to the 21st century.
Its most important places include:
- St. Margaret's Chapel from the beginning of the 12th century,
- Royal Palace (15th-17th century), where the Honors of Scotland: the crown, the scepter and the sword of state are kept,
- Great Hall (16th-20th centuries),
- Queen Anne Building (18th-20th centuries),
- Scottish National War Memorial commemorating Scottish soldiers who died in the armed conflicts of the 20th century,
- National War Museum of Scotland, presenting the last 400 years of Scotland's military history,
- Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum,
- Regimental Museum of the Royal Scots.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum established in 1901.
Has a collection of military items and natural history. The painting collection includes paintings by Rembrandt, Monet, Renoir, van Gogh, and Dalí.

The Riverside Museum was opened in 2011.
It has 3000 objects in its collection, including the South African Railways Class 15F 4-8-2 No. 3007 steam locomotive. A Tall Ship is moored next to the museum.

The World Museum dates back to 1853. The World Museum is part of the National Museums Liverpool.
The collections of the World Museum are divided into:
- Antiquities, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Anglo-Saxon collections, approximately 80,000 artifacts
- World Cultures, collections from West Africa, East Asia, Tibet, the Northwest coast of the Americas, Amazon, New Zealand and New Guinea, about 40,000 objects
- Natural History, collections in the field of geology, botany, zoology, over a million specimens from around the world
- Physical sciences, a collection of scientific instruments and objects related to astronomy and space, particle physics, oceanography.

The Museum of Liverpool opened in 2011 and its predecessor the Museum of Liverpool Life in 1993.
The Museum of Liverpool is part of the National Museums Liverpool.
The Museum of Liverpool tells the story of the city and port.
There are more than 6,000 objects on display at the museum.
The museum building is 110 meters long, 60 meters wide and 26 meters high. The exhibition space in the building occupies 8,000 square meters.

The British Museum was founded in 1753. The British Museum has over 8 million exhibits, including 80,000 on exhibitions. The collection consists primarily of monuments of ancient history. The collections are presented in nine sections:
Ancient Egypt and Sudan,
Ancient Greece and Rome,
Near East,
Asia,
Africa, Oceania and both Americas,
Great Britain, prehistory and Europe,
Drawing and graphics,
Coins and medals,
Conservation and scientific research.
The most important monuments of the British Museum include:
Rosetta Stone,
carvings from the ancient city of Nineveh,
Letters from Amarna,
royal tombs from Ur,
marbles from the Athenian Parthenon,
one of six caryatids from Erechtheion,
Cyrus cylinder,
reliefs from Nineveh,
sketches of Michelangelo, Rafael, Leonardo da Vinci.

The opening of Tate Modern took place in 2000. Tate Modern collects art collections of the 20th and 21st centuries. Exhibition area 55,000 square meters.

Tate Modern exterior from the Millennium Bridge. Photocredit: Tate Photography

Natural History Museum opened in 1881.
The collection includes over 80 million exhibits and is divided into:
- mineralogy
- botany
- entomology
- paleontology
- zoology


Photo copyright Natural History Museum

National Gallery was founded in 1824. You can see 2,300 images there.
The most famous works:
- Leonardo da Vinci "Madonna in the Grotto"
- Vincent van Gogh "Sunflowers"
- Rembrandt van Rijn "Bathing woman"
- Caravaggio "Supper in Emmaus"

Science Museum founded in 1857.
It has a collection of over 300,000 exhibits.
The collections cover various fields of science and technology, presenting the history of the development of these fields. There are, among others sets of exhibits related to the activities of British inventors, e.g. James Watt (pioneering steam engines), George Stephenson (Rocket steam engine), John Logie Baird (prototype television sets).

Victoria and Albert Museum was founded in 1852 as the South Kensington Museum. The permanent collection consists of over 2.3 million exhibits.
V&A Family: V&A South Kensington, V&A Museum of Childhood (transforming), V&A Dundee, V&A at Design Society (Shekou, China), V&A East (project).
The museum is divided into four sections - collections: 1) Asia; 2) furniture, textiles and fashion; 3) sculpture, metalwork, ceramics, glass; 4) word and image. The collection includes applied and decorative arts as well as design, as well as post-classical sculpture. The collections of the Italian Renaissance belong to the largest outside Italy. The Asian department covers art from South Asia, China, Japan, Korea and the Islamic world. East Asian collections draw attention with ceramics and metalwork.

Since 1973, the Somerset House has the Courtauld Institute of Art, which exhibits an important collection of European art at the Courtauld Gallery. The pride of the collection are paintings painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder, Pieter Paul Rubens, William Turner, Bruegel, Van Dyck as well as impressionists and post-impressionists, e.g. The Bar of the Folies-Bergère Manet. Courtauld Gallery owns more than 500 paintings, 7,000 drawings, sculptures, and artistic craftsmanship.

Royal Museums Greenwich is an organization associating four museums located in Greenwich in London: National Maritime Museum, Queen's House, Royal Observatory Greenwich, Cutty Sark.
Established in 2012.
It has over 4,000,000 objects in its collection.

Founded in 1856, the National Portrait Gallery tells the story of Britain through portraits, using art to bring history to life and explore living today. From global icons, to unsung heroes, our Collection is filled with the stories that have shaped, and continue to shape a nation. We celebrate the power of portraiture and offer encounters with some of the world’s greatest and most exciting new artists, promoting engagement with portraiture in all media to a wide- ranging public by conserving, growing and sharing the world’s largest collection of portraits.

National Portrait Gallery Forecourt, photo © Olivier Hess

Royal Academy of Arts founded in 1768.
RA presents works of art from ancient sculptures to paintings by members such as Joshua Reynolds and John Constable to the work of contemporary artists. Every year in the summer a contemporary art exhibition is organized, which has an open formula for submitting applications.


Burlington House, Royal Academy of Arts, London (c) Fraser Marr

Saatchi Gallery was founded in 1985.
It covers an area of ​​6,500 square meters.
Saatchi Gallery presents the art of young, unknown artists from around the world.

The Buckingham Palace was originally built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham, later extended many times. Since 1837, it has been the official London residence of the British monarch.
Length 108 meters, width 120 meters, height 24 meters. Area of 77,000 square meters. Number of rooms 775.
The palace interiors have a 50-meter long Picture Gallery with paintings by Rembrandt, van Dyck, Rubens and Vermeer. In the corner of the palace there is the Queen's Gallery with old masters' paintings, valuable furniture, decorative art, and representative examples of photographs. Historical royal carriages are located next to the gallery in the Royal Mews.
The palace is surrounded by a 17 hectare garden and park.

Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023, photo Andrew Holt

Serpentine founded in 1970 present the art of the 20th and 21st century world. In the summer, the Serpentine Pavilion program is run with outstanding architects.


Serpentine Pavilion 2022 designed by Theaster Gates © Theaster Gates Studio. Photo: Iwan Baan. Courtesy: Serpentine.

Imperial War Museum (IWM) opened to the public in 1920.
Museums included in the IWM:
- IWM London,
- Churchill War Rooms London,
- HMS Belfast (London),
- IWM Duxford,
- IWM North.
The IWM collections mainly include:
- military vehicles (e.g. one of the first "Devil" a Mark V tanks that were used at the end of World War I),
- airplanes (e.g. the Supermarine Spitfire that flew in the Battle of Britain and the Heinkel He 162 jet fighter),
- missiles (e.g. a V-1 flying bomb, a V-2 rocket and Polaris missiles),
- documents, photos, films, videos, oral history recordings,
- a large collection of works of art.
IWM has gathered 10,700,000 individual exhibits or entire collections of exhibits from the times of the World War I until today.

Tate Britain has been under this name since 2000. The origins of Tate Britain date back to 1897. Tate Britain presents British painting and sculpture from 1500 to the present day. The collection includes paintings by William Blake, JMW Turner, and Francis Bacon.

Tate Britain, Millbank façade. Photocredit: Rikard Osterlund

The Westminster Abbey built from the 10th century. The present church was built in the 13th century in the Gothic style.
The abbey, from the beginning of its history it was a Roman Catholic church and from 1539 it became a Church of England ("Royal Peculiar" - a church responsible directly to the sovereign).
The abbey, beginning with William the Conqueror (from 1066), is the site of the coronation of the kings of England and Great Britain. Since the 13th century, the abbey has also been the burial place of kings and distinguished persons.
The Westminster Abbey Museum has been open since 1908.
The width of the nave is 26 meters, the height of the nave is 31 meters, floor area is 3,000 square meters. The height of the towers is 69 meters.

Tower of London defensive and palace structure of the monarchs of England, used in the past also as a prison. The main building of the White Tower was erected in 1078 for William the Conqueror. Today the Tower of London is managed by Historic Royal Palaces. The Tower of London stores numerous armor, weapons, jewels and coronation insignia, e.g. the scepter with the world's largest Cullinan I diamond and the the Crown Jewels decorated with the world's second-largest Cullinan II diamond. The Tower of London is currently a tourist attraction of London open to visitors. The Tower of London is home to the Fusiliers Museum. The Tower of London covers an area of ​​4.9 hectares.

The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford was officially established in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley. The library opened to the public on November 8, 1602.
The Bodleian Library is one of the most significant libraries in the world, with extensive collections spanning various subjects. Some of its most notable collections include:
1. Manuscripts and Rare Books
- Medieval Manuscripts – Includes illuminated manuscripts, such as the Ashmole Bestiary and The Book of Hours.
- Gutenberg Bible – One of the earliest books printed with movable type.
- Shakespeare’s First Folio (1623) – A rare edition of Shakespeare’s collected plays.
- Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts – Including the Lindisfarne Gospels and Red Book of Hergest.
2. Maps and Cartography
- Gough Map (c. 1360) – One of the earliest detailed maps of Britain.
- Selden Map of China (17th century) – A rare Chinese maritime trade map.
3. Personal Papers and Archives
- J.R.R. Tolkien’s Papers – Including drafts and illustrations for „The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit”.
- C.S. Lewis Collection – Personal writings of the author of „The Chronicles of Narnia”.
- Mary Shelley’s „Frankenstein” – Original handwritten manuscript.
- Letters and Diaries of British Prime Ministers – Including papers from Winston Churchill.
4. Eastern and Non-Western Collections
- Islamic Manuscripts – Including Persian, Arabic, and Ottoman texts.
- Chinese, Japanese, and Sanskrit Texts – Rare books from across Asia.
- Hebrew Manuscripts – Important Jewish texts, including biblical and Talmudic works.
5. Scientific and Medical Collections
- Codex Mendoza – A 16th-century Aztec codex detailing the history and culture of the Aztec Empire.
- John Dee’s Collection – Works of the famous Elizabethan alchemist and astrologer.
- Robert Hooke’s Micrographia – A groundbreaking 1665 book on early microscopy.
6. Modern and Digital Archives
- Literary Archives – Includes modern authors such as Philip Pullman.
- Oxford University Archives – Documents related to the history of the university.
- Digitized Collections – Many manuscripts and books are available online through projects like Digital Bodleian.
The Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford collectively hold over 13 million printed items. Additionally, they house more than one million special collection items, including manuscripts, archives, and rare books.
The Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford encompass multiple buildings with a combined gross internal floor area of approximately 42,774 square meters as of the 2020–2021 period. Additionally, the Book Storage Facility (BSF) in Swindon, designed to house lower-usage items from the libraries' collections, offers around 10,000 square meters of warehouse space, complemented by 1,000 square meters of ancillary office and processing areas. Therefore, the combined area of the Bodleian Libraries' main buildings and the BSF is approximately 53,774 square meters.
The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford features several exhibition spaces, primarily within the Weston Library. The main public area, Blackwell Hall, serves as the central hub for visitors, offering access to exhibitions, a café, and a gift shop. While the exact total exhibition area isn't specified in the available sources, the Weston Library includes a hall measuring 854 square meters, which is utilized for various events, including exhibitions. Additionally, the Old Schools Quadrangle, part of the historic Bodleian complex, houses spaces that have been repurposed for exhibitions and other public functions.

Ashmolean Museum opened in 1683. The world's first university museum.
The museum's collection includes one of the most important collections of Pre-Raphaelite paintings, paintings by William Turner, John Constable, Claude Lorraine and Pablo Picasso. The archeology department boasts a collection of Greek and Minoan pottery (the largest outside Crete), artifacts from ancient Egypt and Sudan. An important place is occupied by the collections of majolica ceramics and English silverware.

Stonehenge is a prehistoric structure consisting of a circle of standing stones surrounded by embankments. Built from 3100 BC to 2000 BC. Stonehenge was probably associated with the cult of the Moon and the Sun, and could also have been a cemetery from the very beginning.
The present appearance of the monument is the result of renovation and reconstruction works carried out in the 20th century.
Partner museums:
- Salisbury Museum (history and archeology of southern Wiltshire from prehistory to the present day)
- Wiltshire Museum in Devizes (Stonehenge-era gold exhibitions).

Windsor Castle is a royal residence built in the three bailey wards with a round keep type since the 11th century. In the Lower Ward there is the St George's Chapel and the Albert Memorial Chapel - royal mausoleums. The Upper Ward houses the royal library, with a collection of drawings by, among others, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Hans Holbein the Younger.
Windsor Castle is 800 meters long. It covers an area of 53,000 square meters. It is the largest inhabited castle in the world.
The castle is surrounded by a 200-hectare Home Park. Within the park there is Frogmore House with its garden, which houses the mausoleum of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Further south from Windsor Castle is the Great Park, covering approximately 700 hectares.

Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2024, photo Peter Packer

Blenheim Palace was built between 1705 and 1722 in the English Baroque style. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough. It combines the functions of a family home, a mausoleum and a national monument.
Blenheim Palace has 187 rooms that cover an area of 28,000 square meters. Blenheim Palace is home to The Palace State Rooms, Sir Winston Churchill Exhibition, among others. The Blenheim Art Foundation (BAF) is located at Blenheim Palace, organizing exhibitions of contemporary art.
Blenheim Palace is surrounded by formal gardens and landscaped parkland covering over 800 hectares in total.

The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) was founded in 1914 when it was officially incorporated and began building its collection. Its permanent building opened to the public on April 19, 1929.
In October 2020, the BMA announced it would sell three major paintings — by Andy Warhol, Brice Marden, and Clyfford Still — from its permanent collection to raise roughly $65 million for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs as well as other institutional needs. The plan immediately sparked widespread criticism from museum professionals, donors, and community members, who argued that selling high-value works to fund general operations and equity initiatives violated museum ethics and deaccessioning norms. Many said collections should not be treated as financial assets.
Backlash included:
- Letters to Maryland officials calling for intervention.
- Artists resigning from the museum’s board.
- Two former board chairs rescinding $50 million in pledged gifts in protest.
- National media criticism of both the plan and museum leadership.
Less than 24 hours before the scheduled auction, the BMA canceled the sale in response to the firestorm of criticism — a dramatic reversal that highlighted governance tensions and ethical debates in the museum world.
Director Asma Naeem.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in 2011.
The founding donor of the museum is the Walton Family Foundation.
The museum's permanent collection covers American art from the colonial era to the present day. The collection includes paintings by Charles Willson Peale, Asher Durand, Thomas Eakins, Gilbert Stuart, Mary Cassatt, Benjamin West, Norman Rockwell, Agnes Pelton, John Singer Sargent, Jasper Johns, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Mark Rothko, Georgia O'Keeffe, Edward Hopper and sculptures by Vanessa German, Roxy Paine, James Turrell.
The museum buildings, covering an area of 20,200 square meters, are located in the almost 50-hectare park of the museum.
In 2014, the museum acquired and reconstructed the Bachman–Wilson House by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
In downtown Bentonville, a satellite multidisciplinary contemporary art space dubbed The Momentary opened in 2020.

Museum of Fine Arts was founded in 1870.
It has over 450,000 works of art from various periods from antiquity to the present day. The collection includes, among others, ancient Egyptian and Greek sculptures, Dutch painting of the seventeenth century, paintings of French impressionists, American art of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Japanese ceramics and woodcut.

The Museum of Science (MoS) deduces its history back to 1830.
Permanent exhibitions include sciences and topics such as: mathematics, astronomy, human biology, robotics, computers, spacecraft, electricity, renewable energy, nanotechnology, rocks and minerals, plants, dinosaurs, birds, butterflies, stuffed and living animals.
MoS has 700 models and interactive exhibits.
MoS also includes the indoor zoo, the Charles Hayden Planetarium, the Mugar Omni Theater, and IMAX.

Art Institute of Chicago founded in 1879.
The entire collection includes approximately 260,000 works of art.
The museum has a collection of European paintings, from the twelfth century to the mid-twentieth century, with distinctive paintings of impressionists and post-impressionists: Monet, Renoir, van Gogh, Cézanne, and Matisse. American painting is represented by: Wood, Hopper.

Photo: The Art Institute of Chicago. Michigan Avenue Entrance. Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Edward Kemeys, Lions. Bronze with Green patina. Gift of Mrs. Henry Field, 1898.1a-b. The Art Institute of Chicago. The lions are the registered trademarks of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Field Museum dates back to 1893.
The Field Museum has collections in zoology, evolutionary biology, geology, and palaeontology. Including the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton called Sue, the largest and most complete (90%) T-Rex skeleton discovered so far. The entire collection is complemented by archeology, anthropology, ethnography and cultural artifacts from around the world.
The Field Museum has collected nearly 40 million artifacts and specimens.

© Field Museum, Lucy Hewett

Museum of Science and Industry opened in 1933.
In the museum you can see, among others:
- the first diesel-powered, streamlined stainless-steel train, the Pioneer Zephyr,
- 999 Empire State Express steam locomotive,
- a working, full-size replica of a hard coal mine,
- German submarine U-505 from World War II,
- the first Boeing 727 jet plane in commercial service,
- Apollo 8 spacecraft.
The entire collection includes more than 35,000 artifacts, of which more than 2,000 exhibits are displayed in 75 main rooms.
The museum has over 37,160 square meters of exhibition space.

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) opened to the public in 1916.
The CMA collections include art collections from all eras and from all parts of the world. The collections of Asian and Ancient Egyptian art stand out.
In its collection, CMA has works by, among others, Sandro Botticelli, Caravaggio, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, Francisco de Goya, William Turner, Arnold Böcklin, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Auguste Rodin, Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, Salvador Dalí, George Bellows, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock,
CMA's collection includes over 61,000 works of art.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has faced controversy mainly over serious collection mismanagement in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when internal audits and investigations revealed that thousands of artifacts had gone missing, been improperly disposed of, or stolen, including historically significant items. A former museum official was implicated, and weak record-keeping, poor oversight, and inactive advisory boards were criticized by investigators and veterans’ groups. Although reforms were reportedly introduced afterward, the episode damaged public trust and highlighted broader ethical and accountability challenges in managing military heritage.
Director David Tillotson

Denver Museum of Nature & Science opened to the public in 1908.
Museum collections gather exhibits in the fields of geology, palaeontology, zoology, anthropology, health sciences, and space sciences. The museum is richly equipped with dioramas. It also has a collection of crystallized gold and a full-size replica of the Mars exploration rover, among others.
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is in possession of 4.3 million artifacts and specimens, of which 2 percent can be seen at permanent exhibitions.

The origins of the museum date back to 1893, and since 1922 the museum has been operating under the name Denver Art Museum (DAM).
Collections:
- Architecture and Design
- Arts of Africa
- Arts of Asia
- Arts of Oceania
- Arts of the Ancient Americas
- European and American Art before 1900
- Indigenous Arts of North America
- Latin American Art
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Photography
- Textile Arts and Fashion
- Western American Art
The Buildings:
- Lanny & Sharon Martin Building (19.509 square meters)
- Frederic C. Hamilton Building (13.563 square meters)
- Bannock Administration Building (4.645 square meters)
DAM has over 70,000 works of art.

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, opened in 1995, covers an area of 64 hectares.
There is a 30-hectare sculpture park with almost 300 cannons of Auguste Rodin, Edgar Degas, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, Richard Serra. Ai Weiwei, Beverly Pepper, Jaume Plensa, Magdalena Abakanowicz and others.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science was founded in 1909.
The museum complex consists of the main facility and the Burke Baker Planetarium, Cockrell Butterfly Center and Wortham Giant Screen Theater.
In the museum you can see dinosaurs and other exhibits from various fields of knowledge, e.g. geology, biology, geography.

Museum of Fine Arts founded in 1900.
It has over 70,000 exhibits in its collection from antiquity to the present day. The collection consists of art: European (e.g. Sandro Botticelli, Francisco Goya, Peter Paul Rubens, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Édouard Manet, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh), American (e.g. Charles Willson Peale, Albert Bierstadt, Mary Cassatt , Georgia O'Keeffe, Alexander Calder, Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol), Latin America (e.g. David Alfaro Siqueiros), Africa, Asia (e.g. Utamaro Kitagawa), Australia and Oceania, Islam, photography (e.g. Man Ray, Alfred Stieglitz).

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, founded in 1925, is the world's largest children's museum.
The museum's collections are divided into:
- Natural Science Collection - fossils, bones of Ice Age animals and animals living today
- World Cultures Collection - items from all continents, many eras and a great variety of cultures
- Arts and Humanities Collections - American culture from the 18th century to the present day
- National Art Museum of Sport - famous athletes and moments in the history of sport presented in the works of artists
More than 130,000 number of artifacts and specimens.
The museum covers an area of 43,934 square meters.

Photo: The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

California Science Center founded in 1951 as the California Museum of Science and Industry. Current permanent exhibitions: Ecosystems, Creative World, World of Life, Space exhibits, Aircraft, Robotic spacecraft.

Getty Center was opened in 1997.
Exhibitions include sculpture of ancient Greece and ancient Rome (Getty Villa), paintings of European masters (e.g. Titian "Venus and Adonis" or van Gogh "Irises"), manuscripts, photography.

The Getty Center
Photo: Christopher Sprinkle
© 2018 J. Paul Getty Trust

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) founded in 1961.
It has over 150,000 artifacts from around the world from ancient times to the present day.

The Broad opened to the public in 2015.
The Broad collection includes contemporary art from the 1950s to the present day. The entire collection includes over 2,000 works, including by: Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama, Ragnar Kjartansson, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Joseph Beuys, Jasper Johns, and Robert Rauschenberg. The Broad has the largest Cindy Sherman collection in the world.
The Broad building has an area of 11,150 square meters, of which 4,645 square meters is an exhibition space.

The Petersen Automotive Museum was founded in 1994. The museum was created thanks to a donation from Robert E. Petersen, a publisher of automotive magazines, who had a passion for cars and wanted to create a space to present the rich history of the automotive industry.
The Petersen Automotive Museum has one of the largest and most diverse vehicle collections in the world. It includes over 300 vehicles (about half of them on exhibition) that represent a wide cross-section of automotive history, technological innovation, design and car culture. Here are some of the main types of collections you can see there:
1. Vintage and classic cars. The collection includes many classic vehicles from the early 20th century, including cars from 1900 to 1940, which reflect the beginning of the development of the automotive industry.
2. Racing cars. There are iconic racing vehicles there, including Formula 1 cars, cars from Le Mans, NASCAR and rallies. Many of them have been used in actual races, which adds to their authenticity.
3. Luxury and exotic cars. The museum displays a wide range of luxury and exotic cars such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Rolls-Royce. These vehicles are distinguished by their extraordinary design, power and technology.
4. Prototypes and futuristic concept cars. The collection also includes rare prototypes and concept vehicles that never went into mass production, but had a huge impact on the development of automotive design and technology.
5. Movie and culture cars. The museum has vehicles known from films and television, including such icons as the Batmobile from the "Batman" series, the DeLorean from "Back to the Future" and cars from the "Fast and Furious" series.
6. Unique and special cars. The collections include vehicles that have special cultural or historical significance, e.g. cars that belonged to famous people (Jay Leno, Steve McQueen) or that played a key role in the history of the automotive industry.
7. Motorcycles. The collection includes motorcycles that played an important role in the history of transport, both historical and modern.
8. Electric and innovative cars. The museum showcases modern and futuristic technologies, including electric and hybrid vehicles, that reflect the development of sustainable mobility.
9. The Vault. The museum has a special section called "The Vault", where you can see even more rare, unique and historic cars from different eras and places around the world, available as part of special tours.
The Petersen Automotive Museum covers an area of approximately 9,290 square meters. The exhibition area of the museum is approximately 5,600 square meters.

The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) was founded in 1883.
More than 90,000 works of art represent 20,000 years of world history.
Mia's collection includes art from the Americas, Asia (ceramics, bronzes, jade), Africa and Oceania. Painting (paintings by e.g. El Greco, Rembrandt, Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin), sculpture, graphics, drawing, decorative art, contemporary art, photography and new media.
About 5 percent of the total collection is on permanent exhibitions.
Mia is the owner of Purcell-Cutts House.

The oldest and largest American museum. Founded in 1870.
The collections are divided into thematic sections covering the history of world art: painting, applied art, military, musical instruments, photography.
The collection of paintings includes works of the world's greatest artists. The collection's decoration is the canvas of Dutch master Rembrandt. Italian paintings are represented by paintings e.g. Botticelli and Rafael.
The museum has an excellent collection of 19th-century French painting e.g. Manet, Monet, Renoir, van Gogh, Cézanne.

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) was founded in 1869.
The museum's collection includes over 34 million specimens of minerals, rocks, meteorites, fossils, plants, animals, human bones and artifacts.

Museum of Modern Art was founded in 1929.
Museum departments: architecture and design, painting and sculpture, graphics and book illustration, drawing, photography, film, media.
The collection includes works by: Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Edward Hopper.
The MoMA library has a collection of 300,000 books primarily on the history of modern art.

The Museum of Modern Art © 2019 The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Photo: Brett Beyer

National September 11 Memorial & Museum opened to the public in 2014.
The monument and museum in New York commemorate the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The museum collection includes, among others, over 40,000 paintings and 14,000 artifacts.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was established in 1939 as the Museum of Non-Objective Painting. The museum collects impressionist, post-impressionist, modern and contemporary art. Its collections include works by artists such as Paul Cézanne, Georges Braque, Fernand Léger, Paul Klee.

Whitney Museum of American Art opened to the public in 1931.
It collects works of 20th-century and contemporary American art focusing on the works of living artists. Collection volume of 25,000 paintings, sculptures, graphics, drawings, photographs, films, videos, installations, new media art representing over 3,500 artists. His collections include works by, among others: Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, Alexander Calder, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Jackson Pollock, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol.

The Philadelphia Art Museum (PhAM) was founded in 1876.
It has significant collections of European, American and Asian art. The PhAM includes, among others: the world's largest collection of works by Marcel Duchamp, an important collection of sculptures by Auguste Rodin, important paintings by Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh, the richest collection of paintings in the USA by Thomas Eakins, a collection of Paul Strand's photographs, Shakers' crafts, numerous "period rooms" and architectural ensembles from around the world, e.g. from China, India, Japan, United Kingdom and France, a collection of weapons and combat gear second largest in the USA.
The entire collection of the PhAM includes over 240,000 exhibits.

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) consists of the de Young and the Legion of Honor. The collection includes about 150,000 exhibits. M. H. de Young Memorial Museum was opened in 1895, it collects and presents mainly American art from the 17th to the 20th century. At the California Palace of the Legion of Honor you can see European ancient art and works of European masters such as Rembrandt, Rubens, Renoir, Cézanne, and Picasso.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) founded in 1935.
It collects works of modern and contemporary art. The entire collection consists of over 33,000 paintings, sculptures, photographs, design, and media art. The collection includes works of: Klee, Duchamp, Magritte, Mondrian, Kahlo, Rivera, Pollock, Warhol, Rauschenberg, de Kooning, Bacon, Rothko, Calder, Stella.

SFMOMA; photo: © Henrik Kam, courtesy SFMOMA

The California Academy of Sciences traces its history from 1853.
The museum is accompanied by a planetarium, rainforest and aquarium - coral reef, tides and marsh habitats. The museum holds 46 million specimens. The exhibitions show, among others, the skeleton of Tyrannosaurus Rex, the albino American alligator, the albino reticulated python, and the Foucault pendulum.
The main building covers an area of 37,000 square meters.

© California Academy of Sciences

The Huntington - Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens founded in 1919, open to the public in 1928.
The library has approximately 11 million items from the 11th to 21st centuries.
The museum focuses on 18th and 19th century British painting and design (e.g. Thomas Gainsborough, Thomas Lawrence, William Morris) and American art from the 17th to 20th centuries (e.g. Mary Cassatt, Edward Hopper, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg).
The gardens cover 49 ha and show plants from all over the world.

Photo: The Huntington Library Exhibition Hall exterior

The National Gallery of Art, founded as a gift to the nation, serves as a center of visual art, education, and culture. Our collection of more than 150,000 paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, photographs, prints, and drawings spans the history of Western art and showcases some of the triumphs of human creativity. Across 363 days a year, the National Gallery offers a full spectrum of special exhibitions and public programs free of charge.

National Air and Space Museum part of the Smithsonian Institution, open since 1976. He makes public about 80% of his 50,000 exhibits. The most important of them are:
- the world's first Flyer I engine plane constructed in 1903 by the Wright brothers
- Spirit of St. Louis, which the American pilot Charles Lindbergh made in 1927 the first single stopover flight from North America to Europe
- built from original components acquired during World War II, the German V2 rocket
- Columbia command module (orbital) from the Apollo 11 mission, during which the first human landing on the moon took place
- Discovery space shuttle
- supersonic Concorde passenger plane

A view of the "America by Air" gallery; National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian

The National Museum of Natural History is part of the Smithsonian Institution. It was founded in 1910.
Currently, exhibition and public space covers 30,200 square meters.
It has more than 126 million specimens of minerals, rocks, meteorites, fossils, plants, animals, human bones and artifacts.

The National Museum of American History as part of the Smithsonian Institution was opened in 1964 as the Museum of History and Technology. The museum collects, preserves and exposes the US heritage in the aspect of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items presented is the original banner with the stars - a flag that fluttered over Fort McHenry in the port of Baltimore during the maritime part of the Battle of Baltimore during the war in 1812.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) belongs to the Smithsonian Institution, opened to the public in 2016.
The museum building has an area of ​​33,000 square meters.
NMAAHC has in its collection over 40,000 exhibits, of which about 3,500 exhibits are exhibited. The museum presents African American history, art, music. One of the most pipular exhibits was the 1953 Jacqueline Bouvier wedding dress when she got married to John F. Kennedy, a trumpet that belonged to jazz musician Louis Armstrong, Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves.

Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery founded in 1829.
The museum presents 300 years of American art, from colonial times to the present day.
The collection includes over 41,000 works by more than 7,000 artists, including: James McNeill Whistler, Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Hopper, Robert Rauschenberg, Nam June Paik, Jenny Holzer, David Hockney.


Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum; photo by Tim Hursley

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) opened in 1993.
The USHMM commemorates the Jewish victims of the Nazis.
The USHMM collection includes over 13,000 artifacts (works of art, furniture, architectural fragments, models, machines, tools, personal belongings, textiles, jewelry, numismatics), 50 million pages of archival documents, 86,000 historical photos, 1,000 hours of archival material, 9,000 oral history testimonies. 93,000 library items, a list of over 200,000 registered survivors and their families,
At the USHMM, the Hall of Remembrance has a prominent place, moreover, the USHMM has been presenting, continuously since 1993, two permanent exhibitions, numerous temporary exhibitions and traveling exhibitions traveling around the USA and around the world.

The Library of Congress was founded in 1800 and opened to the public that same year.
The collection includes:
1. Books and Magazines: The library holds over 38 million books and other printed materials, including magazines, newspapers, and pamphlets.
2. Manuscripts: The Library of Congress Manuscript Collection contains approximately 70 million manuscripts, including letters, diaries, notes, and other historical documents.
3. Photographs and Graphics: The collection includes approximately 14 million photographs, graphics, drawings and illustrations.
4. Maps and Atlases: The library has over 5.5 million maps, atlases and other cartographic materials.
5. Music and Sound Recordings: Its collection includes over 8 million musical materials, including sheet music, sound recordings, and musical manuscripts.
6. Films and Videos: The library holds approximately 3.6 million film and video materials, including films, television programs and videos.
7. Multimedia Materials: The collection includes a variety of multimedia materials, such as CDs, DVDs, and other digital media.
8. Government Documents: The library also maintains a large number of United States government documents, including legislation, reports, and other official publications.
9. Materials in Foreign Languages: The collection contains materials in over 470 languages, reflecting the global reach of the library's collections.
10. Microforms: The collection includes millions of microfilms and microfiches that contain a variety of documents, including newspapers, manuscripts, and other archival materials.
The entire collection includes over 175 million items.
As part of permanent and temporary exhibitions, you can see unique manuscripts, rare books, maps, historical documents, photographs and multimedia items.
The total usable area of all buildings is approximately 195,000 square meters.

The Library of Congress campus from the U.S. Capitol Dome, February 15, 2019. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress.

Established in 1962, the National Portrait Gallery is part of the Smithsonian Institution.
The National Portrait Gallery tells the history of America by presenting portraits of famous Americans - politicians, artists, scientists, explorers. It has, among other things, a representative collection of portraits of American presidents.
The National Portrait Gallery has gathered over 23,000 objects.


National Portrait Gallery Building by Tony Powell, 2019

Lincoln Memorial opened in 1922. Commemorates the 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln.
Area 539.6 square meters. Managed by the National Park Service.

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden opened in 1974 as a museum of contemporary and modern art. Managed by the Smithsonian.
Its collections include works by artists such as: Auguste Rodin, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Francis Bacon, Willem de Kooning, Edward Hopper, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Fernando Botero.
The collection volume is over 11,500 art pieces.
The exhibition area is over 18,301 square meters.

The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) was established in 1989 as part of the Smithsonian Institution. It includes: NMAI at the National Mall in Washington, the George Gustav Heye Center (GGHC) in New York, the Cultural Resources Center (CRC) in Suitland, Maryland.
The museum is dedicated to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially North American Indians.
The collection includes over 800,000 objects, archives and media, as well as over 125,000 photos.

The origins of the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan date back to 1876.
The core of the museum's collection are archaeological monuments and a collection of gold and silver coins. The artifacts come from Uzbekistan and Central Asia. The museum has, among others, an alabaster bas-relief of Buddha with Monks from Fayaz Tepe, Termez, 2nd century AD.
The museum has collected over 300,000 exhibits.