Top Five: New Museums Opening in 2020 and 2021
In case you missed it, with the world shut down this year, there were a number of museums that were scheduled to open in 2020. (Due to COVID-19, some of these openings were pushed to 2021.) Let’s check out the top five.
1. The Grand Egyptian Museum/Giza Museum (Cairo, Egypt)
After a very long delay, the Grand Egyptian Museum is set to open in early 2021. It will be the largest archeological museum in the world and will display over 50,000 artifacts of ancient Egypt. The highlight will be the first exhibition of the full tomb collection of King Tutankhamun.
2. Planet Word Museum (Washington DC)
This unique museum, which opened in early this year in Washington DC, celebrates written and spoken words. It’s the world’s first voice-activated museum and it’s mission is to “inspire and renew a love of words, language, and reading in people of all ages.” It is located inside the Franklin School, where Alexander Graham Bell first transmitted speech by a beam of light.
3. Munchmuseet (Oslo, Norway)
If you or your student group is a fan of Edvard Munch’s The Scream, then this is the museum for you. The Munch Museum will be one of the largest museums in the world dedicated to one artist. It will house over 1,100 paintings and 18,000 prints by Munch. The museum opened this autumn.
4. US Olympic and Paralympic Museum (Colorado Springs, CO)
The US Olympic and Paralympic Museum is dedicated to all things Olympics and Paralympics and showcases the stories of some of America’s most famous athletes. Check out the Hall of Fame to learn the stories of some of these athletes, like Mary Lou Retton and Muhammad Ali. The museum will also house some very unique artifacts, including the complete collection of Olympic torches and the final scoreboard from the 1980 “Miracle on Ice”.
5. Albertina Modern (Vienna, Austria)
If you’ve visited Vienna with your student group, you’ve most likely visited the Albertina Museum. As the museum’s modern art collection grew, so did the need for a dedicated space to house it. Thus, the Albertina Modern was opened in the spring of this year. This museum houses nearly 60,000 modern pieces by over 5,000 artists, including Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst.
Be sure to ask your tour company about new and exciting places to visit on your next student tour.
Disclaimer! Many sites, venues and activities are closed, have limited hours or other various restrictions due to Covid-19. Be sure to check with your tour company and/or the sites themselves for more detailed information.
