Mid-America Science Museum announced plans to open its newest exhibit called Point of View, to promote the worldwide phenomenon of taking “selfies” or self-portraits.  The exhibit will open to the public on Friday, January 28 and run through the rest of the year. 

The museum has set up a special area for patrons to take their selfie including an adjacent area displaying cameras and photography.  Patrons are encouraged to take their selfie and post them to Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag, #MASMSelfie. 

According to Museum Executive Director Diane LaFollette, “Museum Selfie Day inspired us to create a selfie room here at the museum, to not only be able to share our visitors experience, but to also share the long history and science of photography.  We hope Point of View will give the community and visitors a fun place to share their stories. We have the first dedicated museum selfie room in Arkansas that merges the past and present.”

The Point of View exhibit is included with general admission. Adults are $12, children ages 3-12:  $10, and seniors aged 65 and older, teachers and military: $11. The museum hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m.  

For more information, visit www.midamericamuseum.org or call (501) 767-3461. The Museum follows the CDC guidelines for masks and social distancing. The museum is located at 500 Mid America Blvd. in Hot Springs. 

BACKGROUND ON MUSEUM SELFIE DAY

Museum Selfie Day, started by London blogger Mar Dixon, has gone worldwide and spawned a plethora of creative posts on social media ever since. 

Many museums display “no photography” signs to discourage flash pictures, which degrade the quality of conserved works. But in today’s world of high-sensitivity smartphone cameras, many more museums are relaxing their rules on photography in an effort to encourage more engagement with the public. Museum Selfie Day is the perfect opportunity for people to get creative. 

Museum Selfie Day in January invites the general public to go to a museum and take a selfie. The day promotes awareness of great collections of work stored in museums.

Many museums don’t allow cameras. There is one day that they make an exception, however. On Museum Selfie Day, participating museums encourage visitors to take a selfie next to their favorite piece of art.