Welcoming Young Children into the Museum: A Practical Guide

by Sarah Erdman, Nhi Nguyen, Margaret Middleton

Overview

Welcoming Young Children into the Museum provides all of the information practitioners need to consider when making the decision to engage with this audience and their carers. Meeting the reader where they are, this guide enables professionals to work toward outcomes that fit with their needs.

Working methodically from the initial stages of bringing staff on board, through to implementation and evaluation, readers are carefully steered through each phase. "Big-picture" needs, like adherence to mission, are considered alongside logistical components, like cleaning schedules, to ensure that museums cater to young children in a way that is beneficial to both the visitors and the institution. Drawing on current neurological research and best practices in early childhood education and development, this guide presents case studies from a variety of different institutions around the world that demonstrate that creating interesting, developmentally appropriate opportunities for young children is about much more than just simplifying what is already on offer. Erdman, Nguyen and Middleton demonstrate that the age and needs of the visitors must be taken into careful consideration, as well as the assets and potential obstacles of the institution.

Welcoming Young Children into the Museum will be essential reading for professionals working in museums large and small, regardless of type. It will be useful to those who are considering setting up new programmes for early years audiences and those with existing programmes, who would like to improve their offering.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367517823
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/30/2021
Series:	Routledge Guides to Practice in Museums, Galleries and Heritage
Pages:	158
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Sarah Erdman is a mom, museum professional and early childhood educator. Her professional practice focuses on how to best serve young children in informal learning settings. She has a MAT in Museum Education and an AAS in Early Childhood Development and has been teaching for over 10 years in formal and informal learning environments.

Nhi Nguyen is an experienced early childhood museum educator based in Philadelphia. She graduated from Haverford College with a degree in Anthropology and received her graduate degree in Museum Education at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Her research focuses on promoting a positive racial identity in young children through museum programming.

Margaret Middleton is an independent exhibit designer currently based in Belfast, Northern Ireland and working at the intersection of design and social justice. Middleton has a degree in industrial design from the Rhode Island School of Design and over 15 years of experience working in the museum field.

Table of Contents

List of figures and resources viii

Contributors x

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: why young children in museums? 1

Introduction 1

Why? 1

Value to children 2

Value to families 2

Value to museums 3

A brief history of museums and young children 3

What does it mean? 5

1 Reflection and research: preparing the ground Sarah Erdman Nhi Nguyen Margaret Middleton 7

Motivation 8

Team effort 8

Elevator pitch 11

Resource analysis 12

Financial 13

Space 13

Human resources 14

Supplies 14

Conclusion 15

2 Early childhood education: Saying the foundation Sarah Erdman Nhi Nguyen Margaret Middleton 16

How children learn 16

Learning theories 23

Why? 30

Family learning 30

Visitors are complex 33

Adults with children 35

Family learning 37

Conclusion 38

3 Physical environment and available information: leveling the floor Sarah Erdman Nhi Nguyen Margaret Middleton 40

Accessibility 41

Information 41

Access 43

Internal considerations 53

Esthetics 54

First impressions 55

Conclusion 57

4 Program planning: framing the walls Sarah Erdman Nhi Nguyen Margaret Middleton 58

Information gathering 58

Program spaces 59

Program framework 61

Anti-bias/anti-racist pedagogy 63

Program types 67

Additional resources 79

Strategies for planning 79

Evaluation 80

Conclusion 85

5 Making exhibits for young children: designing the interior Margaret Middleton 91

Planning 92

Observing visitors 93

Prototyping 93

Advisory committees 94

Writing interpretation 95

Physical space 98

Exhibits 100

Digital components 102

Cleaning and reset 102

Staffing 107

Conclusion 107

6 Staff training: making a house a home Sarah Erdman Nhi Nguyen Margaret Middleton 109

Why? 110

Benefit to visitors 110

Benefit-to staff 111

Structuring staff training 112

Types of staff training 118

Frequency of staff training 120

Conclusion 121

7 Reflection and review: why this is all worth it? Sarah Erdman Nhi Nguyen Margaret Middleton 124

Appendix A Story time resources 128

Reading aloud 129

Appendix B Anti-bias anti-racist learning resources 131

Appendix C Selected resources 132

Bibliography 139

Index 142