Smithsonian Museum: Pro-Selfie, Not Selfie-Stick
Head to the Smithsonian, and you’ll find a new rule added to the no tripods and no monopods policy for the museum: No selfie sticks.
That’s right, folks. The museum is still selfie-friendly; however, if you want to take a selfie in front of Abraham Lincoln’s top hat or Lindberg’s plane he used to fly solo across the Atlantic, you’ll have to do it like it is 2013. (Go ahead, you can even hashtag it #throwback when you ‘gram it.)
Selfie-sticks are officially a no-go for the Smithsonian Museum. (Photo: César/Flickr)
As of Tuesday, March 3, the Smithsonian instituted an official policy banning the use of selfie sticks across all of its museums.
“This is a preventive measure to protect visitors and objects, especially during crowded conditions,” a statement issued by the Smithsonian Institute reads.
The Smithsonian is one of a number of museums to institute the ban.
Related: Selfie Sticks: Helpful Travel Tool or Narcissi-stick?
Just last month, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City also banned the use of selfie sticks, says Sree Sreenivasan, the Met’s chief digital officer, saying that “we are in this thing together.”
“The reason we [banned selfie sticks] at the Met is because… it affects the safety of three different things: the art, the visitors, and the stick-wielders.” (Yes, there is a name for selfie-stick lovers out there.)
Sreenivasan points out that a selfie stick can make visitors very distracted, leading them to trip on stairs, or even worse, fall off balconies or into bodies of water in the museum, for example.
The decision to finally ban selfie sticks at the Met came after Sreenivasan himself purchased one last December, bringing it on his travels around Dubai, the UAE, and Paris.
“I tested it to see how it changes your experience and other people’s experiences,” he says.
Related: The Great Vacation #Selfie War: Parents vs. Teens
The Met had yet to see any selfie-stick related incidents of danger, but Sreenivasan adds, “we didn’t want an incident to be why do something.”
Despite the ban on selfies sticks, many museums, including the Smithsonian and the Met, are still pro-selfie.
“You don’t need a selfie stick to take great selfies,” Sreenivasan says. “There are little attachments you can put on your phone to get a great wide, shot.”
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