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Gift shops in museums used to be the last stop of each visit， where people would buy souvenirs for themselves and their friends. But what happened when the British Museum opened its online store on Chinese e-commerce website Tmall says otherwise.
博物馆礼品店过去是观光游览的最后一站，人们会在那儿给自己和朋友们买纪念品。但当大英博物馆在中国电商网站天猫上开设了网店后，情形就截然不同了。
The store has become so popular since its launch on July 1， 2018 that some of its items have already sold out. It’s even more interesting considering the fact that many of its customers in China have probably never even been to the museum before.
大英博物馆网店自2018年7月1日营业以来便大受欢迎，一些商品已经售罄。而更有意思的是，不少中国顾客实际上从未去过大英博物馆。
Perhaps French museum expert Diane Drubay made a good point when she said that gift shops have become “a point of entry to the museum”， as she told The New York Times. “Instead of being the last place people go after a visit， it can be the first.”
法国博物馆专家黛安·德吕贝或许提出了一个很好的观点，她在接受《纽约时报》采访时表示，礼品店已经成为“博物馆的一个入口”，“它可以成为人们游览的首站，而非最后一站。”
But you’re probably still wondering： What is it about museum gift shops that makes them so different？
但你或许还想知道：究竟是什么让博物馆礼品店如此与众不同？
Each museum product contains a small piece of history. For example， in the British Museum store there are different kinds of sticky tape printed with patterns inspired by the famous Rosetta Stone. Known as the “key to ancient Egyptian writing”， the stone was discovered in 1799， and contains an inscription that helped historians better understand some of the most mysterious Egyptian scripts. And in the gift shops of China’s Palace Museum， there are earphones inspired by the necklaces worn by ancient officials， which may also indicate the wearer’s position with the beads’ different materials and colors.
博物館的每件纪念品中都藏着一小段历史。比如，大英博物馆商店里就有各种印有著名的罗塞达石碑图案的胶带。该石碑发现于1799年，其上的碑铭被称为“解读埃及文字的钥匙”，有助于历史学家们更好地理解一些最为神秘的埃及手稿。而故宫博物院礼品店中售卖的耳机则是受到古代大臣们佩戴的朝珠的启发，不同等级的大臣佩戴不同材质和颜色的朝珠。
And with the design evolving over the years， museum products are no longer limited to exhibition catalogs to be put on the bookshelf or duplicates of famous paintings to be hung on the wall. They now mean items that we can put to use every day— glasses， jewelry， cushion covers—which means we’re able to not only “own” a piece of history， but also hold it in our hands， wear it on our neck， or even sleep on it.
这些年来随着设计的不断进步，博物馆商品也不再是仅限于放在书架上的展览目录或是挂在墙上的名画复制品。它们如今是我们每天都会使用的物件——玻璃杯、首饰、坐垫。这意味着我们不光能“拥有”一段历史，还能将其握在掌心，戴在脖子上，甚至睡在上面。
Indeed， museum shops are no longer just about selling things. As US Museum store consultant Geoff Walsky once told Gift Shop Magazine， “A great museum gift shop is an extension of the museum itself.”
的确，博物馆商店不再仅仅是售卖商品。正如美国博物馆商店顾问杰夫·瓦尔斯基在接受《礼品店》杂志采访时表示：“一家好的博物馆礼品店是博物馆本身的延伸。”
博物馆礼品店过去是观光游览的最后一站，人们会在那儿给自己和朋友们买纪念品。但当大英博物馆在中国电商网站天猫上开设了网店后，情形就截然不同了。
The store has become so popular since its launch on July 1， 2018 that some of its items have already sold out. It’s even more interesting considering the fact that many of its customers in China have probably never even been to the museum before.
大英博物馆网店自2018年7月1日营业以来便大受欢迎，一些商品已经售罄。而更有意思的是，不少中国顾客实际上从未去过大英博物馆。
Perhaps French museum expert Diane Drubay made a good point when she said that gift shops have become “a point of entry to the museum”， as she told The New York Times. “Instead of being the last place people go after a visit， it can be the first.”
法国博物馆专家黛安·德吕贝或许提出了一个很好的观点，她在接受《纽约时报》采访时表示，礼品店已经成为“博物馆的一个入口”，“它可以成为人们游览的首站，而非最后一站。”
But you’re probably still wondering： What is it about museum gift shops that makes them so different？
但你或许还想知道：究竟是什么让博物馆礼品店如此与众不同？
Each museum product contains a small piece of history. For example， in the British Museum store there are different kinds of sticky tape printed with patterns inspired by the famous Rosetta Stone. Known as the “key to ancient Egyptian writing”， the stone was discovered in 1799， and contains an inscription that helped historians better understand some of the most mysterious Egyptian scripts. And in the gift shops of China’s Palace Museum， there are earphones inspired by the necklaces worn by ancient officials， which may also indicate the wearer’s position with the beads’ different materials and colors.
博物館的每件纪念品中都藏着一小段历史。比如，大英博物馆商店里就有各种印有著名的罗塞达石碑图案的胶带。该石碑发现于1799年，其上的碑铭被称为“解读埃及文字的钥匙”，有助于历史学家们更好地理解一些最为神秘的埃及手稿。而故宫博物院礼品店中售卖的耳机则是受到古代大臣们佩戴的朝珠的启发，不同等级的大臣佩戴不同材质和颜色的朝珠。
And with the design evolving over the years， museum products are no longer limited to exhibition catalogs to be put on the bookshelf or duplicates of famous paintings to be hung on the wall. They now mean items that we can put to use every day— glasses， jewelry， cushion covers—which means we’re able to not only “own” a piece of history， but also hold it in our hands， wear it on our neck， or even sleep on it.
这些年来随着设计的不断进步，博物馆商品也不再是仅限于放在书架上的展览目录或是挂在墙上的名画复制品。它们如今是我们每天都会使用的物件——玻璃杯、首饰、坐垫。这意味着我们不光能“拥有”一段历史，还能将其握在掌心，戴在脖子上，甚至睡在上面。
Indeed， museum shops are no longer just about selling things. As US Museum store consultant Geoff Walsky once told Gift Shop Magazine， “A great museum gift shop is an extension of the museum itself.”
的确，博物馆商店不再仅仅是售卖商品。正如美国博物馆商店顾问杰夫·瓦尔斯基在接受《礼品店》杂志采访时表示：“一家好的博物馆礼品店是博物馆本身的延伸。”