What's in your bag - at a museum?

August 14, 2019 5:56 AM

What's in your bag at a museum, that you a) do not want cloaked and/or b) do not want to dig out of your bag at the counter and proceed to carry around in the plastic bag they offer you? Am trying to get our local children's natural history museum to change it's "no backpacks" policy to address the actual issue of bulk, i.e. "no bags over X size". I'd also like better options than carrying around a plastic bag.

I think I've got my bases covered on why backpacks are more awesome than purses, and the various flavors of sexism involved in only restricting backpacks while permitting purses of any size. You are welcome to list yours here as well, as I'm sure there's things I hadn't thought of.

It also occurred to me that there are a great many personal items one might carry that one needs to retain on one's person, and that you may not want to dig out at the counter, or then subsequently carry around in a plastic bag (which I guess they have sometimes offered). Thoughts? What do you or the people you know need on hand, that you're not about to brandish about in public?

(I mean, my four yr old is already lukewarm about the fact I have spare clothes for him - even if it's in case of water play at the park or spills and not wetting his pants. And I don't know, but dragging him into a bathroom to sort through things in my bag, or back to the car or... is just... no. Ugh. And that's not even touching some of the personal / medical things that I know some of my friends keep on hand.)

Also, instead of plastic bags for in a pinch, I'd much rather be offered one of those little solid-color drawstring bags that could be worn like a backpack. Personally I'd even be willing to pay a buck or two for it, to avoid dragging my kid back to the car or carrying around, say tampons and my meds in a grocery store bag in my hand the whole time. Again, thoughts welcome.

Lastly, I have ADHD. Anything I carry around in my hands is going to get lost (a plastic bag? LOL). Purses get in the way, taken off, and left. If I have my keys in my pocket and cloak my bag, I will likely leave my bag and blithely head home. Any aspects related to being non NT or mental/emotional health are welcome too.

Front desk dude's manager was super nice; later she returned to the museum from somewhere and came in wearing a really awesome sparkly, holographic, silver backpack (and no purse) - so I think she'll be receptive in modifying the policy if I can present a good case for her (the museum is run by the city, so you know she's underpaid and this is likely not her top priority).

posted by jrobin276 to Grab Bag (21 answers total)

I usually don't find I need anything other than my phone and my wallet in a museum, so a small purse or my pockets works fine. But if I've come straight from work I might have my laptop, or an extra sweater, or what have you. Different people or even the same people on different days will have wildly different needs!

To me, though, the major concern about a backpack doesn't have much to do with size or contents - it's that often people wearing backpacks have a lack of situational awareness of how far back their backpack goes, and will tend to jostle other people (and/or exhibits) with the backpack. This is less of an issue with purses, or even messenger bags, as these types of bags tend to tuck under the arm. People usually know where their arms are, and their arms are outside of the bag, but since no body part protrudes beyond a backpack you don't have that proprioreceptive clue. You could consider asking whether the museum would consider a "no backpacks that protrude more than X inches off the back" rule, but that seems like it would be difficult to enforce compared to a simple "no backpacks".
posted by mskyle at 6:08 AM on August 14, 2019 [30 favorites]

Best answer: My camera. I probably won't be using it inside the museum but I would rather not leave a couple of thousand dollars worth of stuff at their coat check. I may have a laptop with me too.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:10 AM on August 14, 2019 [5 favorites]

Best answer: My epi pen, need it quickly and if it gets lost because I’m carrying around a plastic bag I’m in trouble. Same with inhalers.
posted by lepus at 6:22 AM on August 14, 2019 [4 favorites]

The Met allows backpacks, but you have to hold them in your hand and not on your back. It’s exactly the situational awareness issue that any portmanteau is discussing. You could knock over a case or a smaller person, plus it takes up too much room in a crowd because they essentially double your footprint.
posted by blnkfrnk at 6:34 AM on August 14, 2019 [23 favorites]

Thirding what mskyle and blnkfrnk have said - at the (art) museums where I have worked, rules about backpacks have been meant to address the fact that it's surprisingly easy to forget how far the backpack extends into space if you turn around quickly or take a step backward near an exhibit that's on a pedestal, etc. (I mean "you" in the general sense, here - even people who have spent their lives working around art and other precious objects are prone to this if they don't take precautions!)

It might be easier for them, and a win for you, if they'd be open to modifying their rules about how visitors need to carry backpacks to minimize the possibility that something like that will happen: allowing them if people carry them in their hands, as blnkfrnk mentioned, or if people wear them on the front of their bodies (at the last museum where I worked).
posted by Anita Bath at 6:50 AM on August 14, 2019 [6 favorites]

Best answer: Y’all clearly don’t overstuff your purses because mine protrudes just as much as a backpack and is as likely to knock something over. I experience no situational awareness differences between the two. I get not having a big school backpack but one of those draw string backpacks should be fine.

I feel you on the ADHD thing. It helps me to use a crossbody bag—the hassle of taking it off means it stays put, generally. Bad for my shoulders, though. The plastic bag with no handles is unacceptable though, as someone who has to carry a water bottle around and used to use a cane, I would have had no way to carry it.
posted by brook horse at 7:09 AM on August 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

The hassle of having to come back to coat-check, get diapers/wipes, go to bathroom to change baby, return to coat-check to return wipes package... sounds a bit onerous.
posted by xo at 7:29 AM on August 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

expensive things: ipad, second phone, camera, anything you may have brought from work/school (laptop), passport
personal things: epi pen, tampons/pads, diapers or spare underwear for a kid, band-aids, wipes
bulky things: wallet/checkbook, extra sweatshirt/hat, book to read, water bottle
posted by jessamyn at 7:32 AM on August 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

Mod note: Couple comments deleted; OP is looking for items you need to keep with you, so let's please focus on that.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:33 AM on August 14, 2019

I carry only a Baggallini backpack (for women) with me and most museums etc allow me to carry it like a purse, using just one strap, which is fine. In it I have my camera, which I don't want to carry in my hands, my rather heavy cell phone charger, candy and cough drops, tissues, sometimes water, sometimes menstrual pads, sometimes a sweater or fleece top in case I get cold .., really a plethora of things I don't want to remove, carry by hand or in a plastic bag, or check in a cloakroom.
posted by mmw at 8:06 AM on August 14, 2019

I would absolutely prefer the option of a cheap drawstring backpack or a flimsy but opaque shoulder tote to a clear plastic bag carried by hand. Reasons: less likely to set it down and lose/spill things, safer from theft, leaves hands free (probably important for parents dealing with small children), provides privacy for carrying stuff like tampons/pads, incontinence supplies (probably an issue for some mothers), medication, spare underwear or a change of clothes, books with covers I might not want people to see, any electronics I don't want strangers to know I'm carrying, etc.

Those drawstring backpacks or shoulder totes could also be branded with the museum's logo (or a sponsor's)--maybe pitch them as a form of advertising, since people who got them might keep using/wearing them around town? I bet they are cheap enough to produce that they could be sold for a nominal fee, or even free if you could get them sponsored by someone.
posted by karayel at 8:11 AM on August 14, 2019 [2 favorites]

If I'm understanding correctly, your goal isn't to create a comprehensive list of all things that could possibly be carried in a backpack, it's to convince the museum that requiring personal items to be decanted into a plastic bag is not acceptable?

When in doubt, take the medical/personal hygenic care angle.

Tampons, pads
Incontinence support products
Ostomy support products
Medication, especially medication that requires refrigeration so you need an insulated pouch
Spare underpants

Like, there is no situation in which a person should have to explain to a staff member (who is underpaid and truly does not care or need to know) that while they (or the person they're with) appear to be a healthy, able-bodied person, there is a nonzero chance they'll poop themselves a little during their visit so if you don't mind we'll keep this bag with us ok.

I also really like the "I have thousands of dollars of equipment in this bag" angle, that's another that will get you far in your goal.

As a former underpaid museum security staff person thank you for working toward this. I can't tell you how many times I told guests "I know, but if my boss sees you carrying a backpack then I'm going to get chewed out, I'm really sorry."
posted by phunniemee at 8:27 AM on August 14, 2019 [9 favorites]

This is a little tangential, but - for me as someone with rheumatoid arthritis, carrying a plastic bag around in my hand will hurt my hand, and since I walk with a cane it would mean I have no hands to do anything else.

I also don't need to advertise how much medication I have on me at any given time. EpiPen included, but also if I have an extra step to go through to get to my anti-emetics, well... that's not a great idea, and it's harder to get at them if I have a plastic bag in my hand instead of my small shoulder bag.

For other people, I think there is a sizeable population that doesn't need everyone in the museum knowing their preferred menstrual products.
posted by bile and syntax at 8:32 AM on August 14, 2019 [7 favorites]

When I brought my Girl Scouts to a museum I had to carry around a first aid kit and a binder of paperwork, because I'm supposed to always have those on me. Luckily the museum had experience dealing with Girl Scout leaders and, without my even asking, gave me a FIRST AID sign to clip onto my backpack so the guards wouldn't ask me to check it. (And I guess I could have provided first aid to patrons? Win-win?)

So it isn't that I would want to keep stuff private -- I have it all folded and stored that way anyway -- but it would have been annoying to have to transfer things to a smaller backpack that they might not have fit in. This would be true for any school group or similar.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:36 AM on August 14, 2019

We keep kosher. When I'm out with kids I always go out with some snacks (and sometimes lunches) in my bag because there's no guarantee that the attraction will have literally anything that my kid can eat. I would never take out food in a place where food wasn't permitted, but having it on hand for this child needs some food in him now or he'll melt down moments was pretty important. But I wouldn't want it on display or to make it seem like I was bending the rules, since we know you can't just snack in museums.
posted by Mchelly at 8:47 AM on August 14, 2019 [2 favorites]

I would think sharps generally--e.g., for diabetics who still inject.

I'd also point out that this doesn't really seem to be best practices. I've been to a lot of the big art museums in the U.S. and Western Europe. Many of them have restrictions on backpacks above a certain size; I can't remember ever being made to put my stuff in a clear bag. Not even at the Neue Galerie, where they plainly have a base level of concern about anti-Semitic violence that is higher than usual.
posted by praemunire at 8:50 AM on August 14, 2019

Oh! Naloxone.
posted by praemunire at 8:51 AM on August 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

My first thoughts were of menstrual and other personal care supplies, as noted above (medication, incontinence, emergency sugar for diabetics, etc.). These are all really important for people to have on them at all times, and which may not be possible to keep in a plastic bag.

For myself, I also try to always have water (since I have fainted in the past from dehydration) - and I also tend to have a wallet, a notebook & pen(s), a phone - all of which I may wish access to while in the museum and which may not all fit in my pockets (though I have tried). I also carry handicrafts, in case I end up sitting around waiting for something. (I've also been known to crochet/knit & walk, but that may be just me).

Another thing to note is that a lot of women's clothes don't have pockets - and they may not have a purse in addition to a backpack, so expecting them to just carry their valuables around with them may be unreasonable. I have been in museums which allowed moderate backpacks so long as they were worn on the front (due to the knocking issue).
posted by jb at 12:13 PM on August 14, 2019 [2 favorites]

I have been in a museum that offer the option of wearing the backpack on your front if you don't want to check it. I suppose this benefits people with flat chests since it could be a problem for busty folks but as it might work as a fourth option (check bag, bring a purse or tote of your own, use our plastic or reverse your backpack)
posted by metahawk at 12:29 PM on August 14, 2019

If I'm carrying my work laptop, I'm not comfortable with it leaving my sight - not because of the value of the hardware, but because there's enough data, passwords, SSH keys etc on there that would be create a huge pain if it went missing. It also weighs a non-trivial amount and would be annoying to carry around in a plastic bag.
posted by each day we work at 1:37 AM on August 15, 2019

It seems to me like the solution is to permit backpacks as long as they are worn 'backwards', on the front of the body.

The other thing I'd say is that you might need to get more clarity on whom you are convincing. The decision may well be over the head of the manager on duty. Make sure you are making your arguments to someone who actually has the power to change or influence the changing of the policy. A lay-board, or city council, might be powerful movers in that space, and fertile ground for finding allies.

In terms of stuff I carry, ADHD meds come to mind. If you take the short acting kind, you need them with you, and depending on local law may be required to carry them in the prescription bottle that identifies what they are and your name. But they are controlled substances, high value target for theft, and very difficult to replace if stolen. There seem to be potential liability concerns for museum staff either for taking custody of them or for requiring you to carry them in asee-through visible way.
posted by Salamandrous at 10:47 AM on August 18, 2019