Since World War II, European museums have abandoned their laissez-faire policy and design, and have decided to actively teach or guide visitors' learning. The position of museum educator has been created to place objects in their scientific, social, or historical context, and to help members of the public to extract the maximum meaning from these objects with the overall aim of persuading people that museums should form a normal feature of their lives. The first of seven sections of the paper describes four stages in the development of a European museum tradition. Sections two through six define museum education; the role of museum educators; the diversity of European museums (specifically looking at the legacies of Greece, Rome, Christianity, Judaism, Protestantism and humanism, absorption of the barbaric cultures, Napoleonism and post-Napoleonism, intellectual life, scientific and technical innovation, emigration, food and drink, and the two World Wars); Europeanness and museums (developing a Museum of Europe); and brief descriptions of and proposals for changes in the programs of 39 museums in 15 countries. The final section discusses the current status of museums in European countries vis-a-vis the public and their need for more emphasis on attracting visitors. (ALF)