Best Practices in place for Children's Museums
Develop a Gallery exhibition of your own
Read through the short PDFs below make notes of some of the best practices (cite the location)
1. Leonardo's Children's Museum
2. Standards for Professional Practice in Children's Museums
3. Play & Playground Encyclopedia
4. The concept of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis
5. Website link to Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Your written responses to be directed towards:
1a. What two established processes already in place from above would you adopt and why?
1b. What might you change?
(Cite one example for both 1a.+1b. from your reading)
Develop a fictitious gallery exhibition centered on ONE theme of your choosing.
The bulk of your response paper should explain the following:
2. Name of your exhibition?
3. Why shed light on this particular topic?
4. How would you curate your exhibition? What parameters would you place to acquire your objects?
5. How would you install your exhibition? Diagram a schematic floor plan
6. What ideas of interest would you put into place for the museum the gallery fictiously resides within?
7. What "special" events / ideas / educational planning would you provide for the community?
Student Responses:
Education begins in childhood and as such children’s museums are of the utmost importance. While the Association of Children’s Museums has produced a Standards for Professional Practice…, each and every museum is different with their own values, benefits, and flaws. I examined both Leonardo’s Children’s Museum and the Indianapolis Children’s Museum for processes that would inform my own design for an exhibition. From each of those, I chose one established protocol that was my favorite. From Leonardo’s, however, I did also find processes to criticize in a children’s museum.
To begin, I was deeply impressed by the well thought-out layout from Leonardo’s, which is the first of the two established processes I would adopt. The first floor contained versatile exhibits for all ages including a “critter room”, a retail space, and a room for nursing mothers (Maxwell 6). This practicality caught my eye and is something I would want to emulate. What particularly caught my eye were the safety protocols in place for visitors and the live animal exhibit: the “critter room” doubles as a storm shelter (ACM 9; Maxwell 5). My second selected process was from the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. Their concept brochure stated their stance on fun accessibility for children through the use of “bright, vivid colors and dramatic lighting effects...used to capture attention.” and “labels...written in easily understood, contemporary language.”, which was something that sounds so simple and common sense but to see it reiterated seriously on paper gladdened me (The Concept… 1).
However, one thing distinctly took me aback in my perusal of Leonardo’s Children’s Museum, and that was the last line of their concept statement: “We are proud to have a military base that enriches our community and serves our nation.” (2). Violence is a difficult field to navigate in children’s museums and in my personal opinion, I would avoid mentions of current militaristic actions. This is certainly something I would change for my thought experiment exhibition but I fully admit that my exhibition would have skating mentions of violence within itself too -- but nothing that would glorify the current United States military actions. In light of the readings, I designed my gallery exhibition for children around the theme of medieval life and I chose to call it “A Window Into the Past”. Not only did I personally find this a fascinating topic as a child but I have seen firsthand the extraordinary numbers of families that Renaissance festivals -- like the Sterling Renaissance Festival (located at 15385 Farden Rd, Sterling, NY) for example -- attract and also the ongoing demand for historical works of fiction. I believe light should always be shed on the past for scholarly reasons but for children in particular history can be a source of fantastical inspiration and play. If, in the process, an exhibit on medieval life inspired a child’s love of history later in life I would count that as a victory. I would host this exhibition within the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Cloisters (located at 99 Margaret Corbin Drive, Fort Tryon Park in New York City, New York) for a sense of spacial authenticity, and during the late spring to take advantage of the natural beauty and warm temperatures of the Cloisters.
I would curate my exhibition using pieces on loan from the Met from their tapestry and ceramic collections including the Unicorn Tapestry. That would make up the majority of the historical artifacts and I chose them because of their universal and visual appeal -- however other pieces would include toys and garments. While the ACM defines children at ages 2-12, this is specifically curated for a slightly older audience of ages 4-12 but of course, all ages are welcome and would have access to the exhibit (2). Using the frame of ages 4-12, I would choose tapestries and ceramics depicting age-appropriate scenes -- no graphic depictions of dead bodies or war, no depictions of divine plagues or godly wrath. I would also attempt to include other smaller items like surviving children’s toys or clothing from the Renaissance period in order to allow the target audience members to relate to history. I decided to choose the Cloisters because admission is free for under-12s and I feel that this is an admission some parents do not think to take advantage of because otherwise the Cloisters and the Met at large are not child-centric (“The Met…”). I would also input an adult discount to bring in more foot traffic. I also thought that the open air “Bonnefont” and “Trie” Cloisters could be made very child-friendly and were one of the most attractive features of the Met that made me choose it for my fictitious location (“The Met…”). I also chose the Cloisters because it only has two floors, which from my critical readings I thought would be best for smaller children. I would use the Trie Cafe for refreshments inspired by medieval life, like pastries, stew, and non-alcoholic beverages.
In those open spaces, I would create special events perhaps in collaboration with a local stable and bring in miniature ponies for “fake jousting” or as a petting zoo for curious younger children to educate visitors on animal welfare and medieval transportation. According to Leonardo’s, their “critters” often drew the most interest from children (3-4). For the community at large, I would work with a local artist for a blown glass demonstration using medieval color patterns or pigments to interest both parents and children alike in the “Bonnefont” Cloister due to its close proximity to the Glass Gallery (“The Met…”). Using my inspiration from the Indianapolis Museum, I would make sure signage is in bright and clear scripts with a few instances of stylized calligraphy for visual interest. Overall decorations would consist of colorful cutouts in the shape of knights, dragons, etc. Bearing the ACM’s Standards in mind, all materials will be child-safe with few exceptions made for glass.
-------------------------------------------------------------
My idea for an interactive children’s exhibit would be one based on different mythologies from all around the world. The gallery would showcase famous myths from different nations around the world, and would be titled The Story Tellers exhibition. The exhibit would primarily be geared to the age groups of six through twelve. As a very diverse country, the importance of sharing cultures and stories of our ancestral past with others is very important. The earlier we teach children about other cultures and the importance of sharing lessons with others, the sooner we can create a more tolerant future.
The Story Tellers exhibit would take up the entire first floor, and as visitors entered the exhibition the first room would be designed like a 18th century trading ship with shipping artifacts displayed in glass boxes attached to the walls. An audio recording would talk about how stories and legends were spread along trading routes around the world for many generations. After visitors left the first room they would launch into different rooms based around a famous mythology story, and the walls would be illustrated in different scenes of the story. Lights above each illustration would light up or dim as the audio of the story read in the back ground. Once the story was finished, children would have the opportunity to play games relating to the story.
An example of this would be for the Greek mythology of Psyche. To prove to the goddess Venus that she was worthy of her son’s hand in marriage she completed three impossible tasks. For each of these tasks, a much simpler version would be stationed around the room for the children to complete to aid Psyche in her quest. As they travel the world learning different lessons, they will eventually end in
the gift shop. Inside there will be a journal making workshop where they can write down their own stories to share with others.
“The Concept of a Children’s Museum,” posted by The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis states that, “Active use of artifact collection as opposed to merely displaying it, is a trademark for their museum.” However, I feel that depending on the artifact, that policy may not be the best for the long-term preservation of the artifact. As I stated the only artifacts that would be on display in the Story Tellers exhibition would be the shipping artifacts which would have historical value. For the safety of the objects they would be purely display based, but still highly visible and labeled for the audience enjoyment. However, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis also states that, “Education justifies every object, activity, and event.” That philosophy is something that would be highly enforced within my Story Tellers exhibit.
The prime location for The Story Tellers exhibit would be in a highly diverse demographic of people. As for community involvement, The Story Tellers exhibit would host an event called, Our Local Story Tellers Picnic. The event will be held in late May and local children will submit their stories for a chance to hear their story read aloud during the reception. The top four stories will be picked and illustrated for the viewing pleasure of the picnic guests. Each story would have to demonstrate a life lesson which the author has experienced or a general life lesson they wish to share. The Story Tellers exhibit strives to share culture, wisdom, and values passed down from different cultures around the world. My hope is that the exhibit would not only inspire children to write and share their own stories, but to also inspire them to be more receptive to the stories of others as well.
-------------------------------------------------------------