The brainchild of Mar Dixon (@MarDixon), Museum Selfie Day encourages people to share images of themselves having fun and interacting with artefacts and displays, challenging the traditional view of museums as staid, stuffy and old-fashioned.
Taking selfies at cultural sites and museums can be a divisive issue, particularly at sites of sensitive historical importance. People posing for selfies can prompt discussions about whether there’s a time and a place for snapping a selfie, as well as some tricky issues about copyright or conservation.
On the other hand, selfie advocates see the engagement as a new form of appreciation of cultural objects, appealing across the generations and making the most of the new social technologies available in the 21st century.
At the National Railway Museum we’d love to see your #MuseumSelfie! Perhaps a pic of yourself next to your favourite locomotive, dwarfed by the Chinese locomotive KF7, or a selfie from the seats of Shinkansen?
Or you might like to take a selfie in North Shed, surrounded by the weird and wonderful smaller objects in our collection—perhaps our lovely collection of chamber pots, or posing like this policeman by Helen McKie?
Tag us @railwaymuseum on Twitter and Instagram or @nationalrailwaymuseum Facebook, and follow along using the hashtag #MuseumSelfie to join in the fun.
However you choose to celebrate Museum Selfie Day, please keep yourself and others safe (no hanging from Percy Main Bridge) and be aware of your surroundings.
Don’t risk doing what this unfortunate gallery visitor in Los Angeles did!