Every summer I look forward to a visit from our good friends from the local French immersion camp, Les Petite Pommes. The students are always ready to participate, and come well-prepared with questions, imagination, and a fantastic understanding of museum etiquette.

Museums are for everyone, but can sometimes be intimidating because of their special sets of rules and regulations. Museums are entrusted with preserving artwork for future generations, and so have to avoid activities that will harm the collection.

Art can be easily damaged, so things like food and drink can’t be brought in to the gallery.

Touching art, while very tempting, will damage it.

There’s a cautionary tale about getting too close, too: Steve Wynn, an American art collector, accidentally put his elbow through one of his Picassos, permanently damaging the painting!

Photography is more than just light damage! This certainly is a factor, but it’s also important to respect the artist’s copyright. So flash-free photography is allowed in certain exhibits.

If you ever have any questions when you come to the MMA, there’s always someone in the gallery to answer them. And if you *do* take some photos here at the MMA, we’d love to see them! Tweet @ us on twitter @MacMuseum.

-Teresa Gregorio, Information Officer, McMaster Museum of Art