well, I am not sure what you are going to get from this thread, OP, as surely you only have to peer into a museum to see that people do go. But for what its worth, here are a few likes and dislikes , just off the top of my head
Firstly - why do I go? Well, its an activity I mostly enjoy as a destination with a friend, or with children, so its a reason to go out, and a place to be together in, and it is likely to be mostly inside, so weather -proof
Yes, I get a thrill from historical artefacts, seeing a pot someone has made 600 years ago, etc, but I would be very unlikely to cross a city to see it on my own. I might pop in to a museum I was passing by myself, but for me it is normally a social activity
Likes:
Hands on area for children.
Hands on area for adults! I want to touch and feel precious objects too! I love in the bank of England you can lift a gold ingot, for example ( in its very secure holding cage) and in the Old museum of London you could feel some firmly fixed down stone age axes, etc
seats/ benches places to sit down! Ideally places where we are also allowed to eat home brought snacks
Respect for the dead- yes I want to see human remains, but in the sense of meeting another human equal to equal, not like some grisly shop window display. I would like to have my remains displayed in a museum in a thousand years time, but with proper respect.
clear maps to show layout of museum - as with many places these days, encouragement to photograph map rather than pick up a paper copy goes down well with me, but paper copy available on request too
graded information - clear label on item- clear headline info near item, more detailed information available - I hate trying to scan through tiny print to find out just the basics, name of item, date of item.
Cheerful, friendly interested staff
Permission to take photos, as this does help you enjoy artefacts more for longer , and a bit of competitive photography engages teens as well - I appreciate thee may need to be a no flash rule
"Mock ups" and artists impressions, to show items in the context they would have originally been used
adequate toilet facilities - in a large museum I also like lockers available, including lockers large enough to take folded pushchair.
Access information clearly available - where are the nearest bus stops, etc
Voluntary donation rather than entrance charge
timetabled events, guided tours, children's activities,
Early opening and late closing, at least on some regular days a week, if not more often
interesting lighting, nicely presented displays
Dislikes
Uncontrolled crowds,
unreasonably priced cafe, especially if you cant tell if the museum is profiting from money you spend there,
large expanses of tiny dense texts,
being unable to find specific items, or being unable to identify specific items on display
Being unclear about what we are going to see, I have no interest in 19th century landscapes, for example, so if that is all there is, I would like to know that before we enter. I might still go, but it would affect my plans, and time allocation, etc.
to much moody lighting that makes it hard to see what you are looking at