美術館 and 博物館: exhibition venues and viewing scope
Learn venue names while preserving what was viewed, for how long, and to what extent.
Viewing art
美術館, read びじゅつかん, means art museum. 美術館で絵を見ました。 says that someone viewed paintings at an art museum.
美術館の前で待ち合わせました。 means meeting in front of the art museum. Do not move the meeting into an exhibition room.
Viewing objects and exhibits
博物館, read はくぶつかん, means museum. 博物館で昔の道具を見ました。 means viewing old tools at a museum.
博物館の展示を一時間見ました。 says that someone viewed the museum exhibits for an hour. 一時間 is the duration of the visit, not the opening time.
The scope of a visit
美術館も博物館も、館ごとに展示内容が異なります。 says that exhibition content varies by institution for both art museums and museums. The name alone does not specify every exhibit.
展示の一部だけ見ました。 says that someone saw only part of an exhibition. Entry or some viewing does not imply seeing everything.
Does 展示の一部だけ見ました mean seeing the whole exhibition?
Show the answer and why
No. It explicitly limits the viewing to only part.