What Exactly is the Purpose of the Museum Lot?

"QueenofMyshuno;c-17566276" wrote:
It's good for some specialty lots, like an aquarium. I kind of want to make a zoo, too, but I need to search for more zoo animal deco. I really don't like actual museums in the sims...boooooring.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/94ed3f171011ec3fdcda080faa0e1d4a/c30efc6c62828cce-b7/s2048x3072/bacebc659aea8ce668e43728920e380acda3e2a0.png

That Shark. Creepy and cool hahaha I love it

I left one museum in game and added science objects to it that the general public can use. Its purpose is to house Big Things, same as @DaWaterRat has done. Otherwise, it really just comes down to story play. For example, I have a club of artist Sims whose venues are museums, so if my Sims go to museums it won't always just be randoms there when my Sims have an outing to a museum.

"crocobaura;c-17566249" wrote:

"ClaimingTheFifth;c-17566197" wrote:
I have a fascination with ancient Egyptian stuff...and was spotting lots of it like mummies, pharoh's busts, tomb wallpaper,etc., one day while searching for other cc. I decided to go back and pick up as much as I could find and put in on a large lot (wall sections for artwork and wall hangings) back at the corner of the lot. I decided I could build an Ancient Egyptian Museum - and still have stuff left over. I used large triangular windows and staggered their heights so they kind of looked like a field of pyramids :smiley: I always throw in a kitchenette, a couple of tables, coffee and tea stations, rest rooms, and a 4-computer study area. Technically, a sim could spend the day there but I never send my sims there :D Instead I occasionally go in and admire it myself :p It's complete with kiosk columns in the front. So I visit the museum; they don't!

Why not turn it into a themed cafe, bar, or restaurant. For a restaurant you could even design the waiter's outfits and you could have Cleopatra or Ra as your hostess?

That’s what I’ve got planned for the one in Del Sol. Make it like a Planet Hollywood type restaurant.

Otherwise I’ll turn them into community arts centers. I’ll put in all the musical instruments and easels and crafting tables and the kid’s art tables and there’s even a toddler nook with the blocks and tablets. This way my poorer sims have access to these things until they can afford to buy them.

I made a science museum, I set the lot as restaurant and had a museum cafe on top floor selling coffee, cakes, sandwiches etc. The other two floors I filled with science items and electronic stuff like the gaming mat thingy that my sims never buy. I used it for family outings at weekend and a good place for chess club and rocket building club. It worked pretty well.

I remember back in 2014(!) the game was promoted as having less emphasis on careers and rabbithole buildings to make room for the fantastic emotion system. No Hogan's diner. No theater, grocery, school, career rabbitholes. Instead we got lounges, bars, libraries and museums. The thing is the libraries and museums don't really have any unique social activities.

Honestly the Art Centres that came with City Living I find to be like a Museum Lot 2.0. They have all the functionality of a Museum plus more. Art Centres are one of my favourite lot types in the game because they’re incredibly versatile, they can act as a museum, cafe, a community centre, etc.

I like to have a few museums for my art lover and history buff sims. I think they are a great venue for dates, family days out, history/art club hangouts, and showcasing collectibles. Archaeologist sims might go there to work on their skill or give lectures. Art lovers might go to view art and improve their painting or woodworking skills. Geeky sims might go to a science museum to work on their logic, rocket science, and robotics skills. Outdoor lovers might walk around the gardens and then sit outside with a cake and drink from the café. There are a lot of possibilities, but I agree it would be nice to have more activities for museums, especially for children and teens. I would also love a museum curator career.

"Fallsmyer;c-17566072" wrote:
> @crocobaura said:
> I always thought museums were there to store and display your collections. When I used to play painter sims, if they ever pained some Masterpiece, it would go in a museum for display.

This is a great idea! I have played several painters in TS4, but never thought to take their masterpieces to a museum and personally put them on display, I usually just sell them to gallery or collector and get rich and then get bored and move on to their child. I will definitely have to attempt to fully decorate a museum with my own art now.


As for other uses for museums, I tend to keep 3-4 throughout the game. I love the idea of a cinematography museum in Del Sol; since I live in Los Angeles and am very used to the Hollywood museums and such. I also keep the one in Brindleton Bay, though I spruce it up and add a bit more to it. Lastly, I keep one more museum for art and my art club (which has view art and paint as their two activities). It's all about how you play and creating a story to make use of the different venues. If you don't use them then you should definitely take them out and replace them with whatever you like. With the new Eco pack, I have thought about reducing the number of museums I play with, probably going to replace the one in Willow Creek with a community lot!

If I'm not selling the masterpieces, I save them on a generic lot (usually in a basement) then when I have a good selection, I create an art gallery where my Sims can shop for them. That way, if I have multiple painters in a save all of them can save their work and it feels more realistic.

I always use my museums for dates, but it only changes between two of them :P

I would replace the ones i don't go to that often, but I'm bad at building and a bit too lazy to go search for other community lots instead lol

My museums serve double duty usually. One is a wedding venue, one is a bank (with vaults from GF so my sims don't have to have them in home), and one is a school (filled with skill up items). There's some traditional museums in my game but I normally don't go to any of those, just my special 3 that I'd built and they're only there for their other purposes, not to "view art" ;)