Does anyone actually visit the museums?

I've only gone to the one in Brindleton Bay recently and that was because my sim wanted to visit the lighthouse. I've actually deleted a few museums and put up different lot types there since I feel the same way - they're pretty pointless

To be honest, I did once, soon after I got TS4. One of my early sims took a date there. Since then, I don't think I've gone anywhere, except for the gym as part of an achievement. I'm not certain why, but I think it has to do with the lack of personality sims have. I don't feel any impetus to have my sims go meet anyone.

I sometimes visit the ones that are churches and/or wedding venues. I also have an arts center that's also a museum, I think it's nicer than museum lot type. Although museum is actually an okay lot type for a community lot where you don't want that much happening.

I still agree that museums need something more. Remember when we voted for the stuff pack and one option included galas or something in museums. Now that would have been a great addition.

I sent my sim in my last play all the time. She was an archeologist. I rebuilt the museum in the world that cane with Get Famous (sorry its name escapes me at the moment). She would throw her fund raising parties there and I had her work there on her archeological finds and things sent into her to do.

I also demolished the museum in Willow Creek and replaced it with my Creekside Museum build. I have that place set up as an all in one hobby haven along with a wedding venue.

I find they are utterly pointless. My sims can look at plenty of art at home, they usually have their own art studio, with all kinds of creative stuff. I don't need them to visit a museum just to talk about colour theory or look at 3 pictures. Museums are boring and uninspiring.

I did make one myself (the second ever venue I built), 3 floors filled with Island and Jungle art, fish (both aquariums that will be filled eventually and mounted fish). Also a large pool, easels and other creative objects and a cafe. Kind of built as a Mesopotamian (?) pyramid temple of sorts.

Of course, Maxis museums (and other types of builds) are bland because WE are supposed to make them more fun and lively. They kind of limit us though, with what objects visitors will autonomously use. Our sims can use whatever we tell them to, NPC's don't.

I deleted mine.
To bad we don't have that device from TS2 Open for Business that allows you to charge sims for visiting your business.
I would have my sims plunder Selvadorada and build a museum as a business.

It's the best place for a vampire to drink the blood of cultured sims :p !

On a serious note, if a sim is an art-lover but also too poor to buy their own art, they can pop to the museum to get their fix. A bit like real life, I suppose.

There's a couple of things I personally like to use my museums to on my game. Masterpiece paintings and craftings can be exposed on it to make the museum reflects your Sims accomplishments. I like to use it too for social talkings between neighbors and communitary painting (Sims will paint on easels, I like my Sims to paint/graffiti on floor or walls with the CL item). You can use it as a meeting place for a Art Club.

One tip is to travel to a museum with a group of Sims that your Sim knows. Sims within groups seems to have an improved autonomy over the one Sims visiting museums usually do.

A question and "a challenge" to anyone at this forum: has anyone build a museum or reformed some existing one to expose all paintings and collectibles etc.?

Honestly one of my low key goals is to make more community lots that are diverse and leave only one or two libraries, gyms and museums since sims can travel to any world, so why do I need like 5 gyms in my universe? Also I tend to make workout rooms in the homes of my athletic sims, so gyms become even more pointless in that case

Sure. Not very often, but yes. They are nice and quiet places and thus offer opportunity for undisturbed feeding for a vampire.