Art Museums - What's the Point

I visited an Art Museum the other day, and as I was wandering the galleries of centuried works of European masters, ancient and not so ancient remnants of Greek, Egyptian, Asian, Native American, and Oceania, I couldn't help but ask what was the point? The point of a museum at least is to educate, therefore is it worthwhile to educate people about art? For the older pieces, distant in time and place, the answer is yes. Whether, Renaissance Masterpieces or Chinese Ink-paintings, they are representative of other cultures and times, and educating people about them opens new perspectives. Something that can only be a good thing. As for more modern pieces there is one question to ask, is the opening of new perspectives on our own culture and own time worthwhile? I believe the answer is yes.