Hand to Hand - Association of Children`s Museums

Transcription

A S S O C I A T I O N
O F
C H I L D R E N ’ S
M U S E U M S
the MissisI nsippi1994,Children’s
Mu-
After a three-year
search for museum
sites, the board successseum (MCM) began as
fully secured a 100-year
a spark of an idea by
lease and a $2 million
Jackson, Mississippi,
matching grant from
attorney Betty Todd
the Mississippi legislawho, during the course
ture to locate the muof her children’s young
seum in an old National
lives, visited many
Guard Armory on the
children’s
museums
Mississippi State Fairwhile traveling around
grounds. Initially, this
the country. Seeing the
seemed like a win-win
needs of Mississippi’s
prospect: the project
children, she thought
Square One: Emerging Museum Aims High from the Start
would save an historic
that a children’s museA Conversation with Alicen Blanchard and Susan Garrard
building, anchor redeum might be a way to
about the Foundations of the Mississippi Children’s Museum
velopment in the area,
address some of them.
and serve as an innovative use of existing
She had witnessed first-hand the kinds of
A place that ever was lived in is like a fire that never
space. However, after numerous consultatransformative experiences that children’s
tions with museum professionals, architects,
goes out. It flares up, it smolders for a time, it is fanned
museums fostered and realized the positive
exhibit developers, and safety experts, the
educational and economic impact that such
or smothered by circumstance, but its being
dilapidated condition of the building and
a museum could have for Jackson and for
is intact, forever fluttering within it, the result of
the limitations of its space and location ulthe state. She brought together a group of
some original ignition. Sometimes it gives out glory,
timately proved to be insurmountable. In
like-minded individuals to found a board
sometimes its little light must be sought out to be seen,
addition, even though the board had develof directors and to establish the Mississippi
small and tender as a candle flame, but as certain.
oped a solid master plan and development
Children’s Museum as a nonprofit entity in
—Eudora Welty from Some Notes on River Country
strategy, their ongoing efforts to raise the
Jackson, the state’s centrally located capital.
High-Quality Children’s Museums
Volume 28 Number 4
1 Square One:
Emerging Museum
Aims High from
the Start
4
With Aardvarks,
What
Exactly is
High Quality?
What makes a
high-quality
children’s museum?
6
Hand to Hand
The Value of
“High-Quality”
Conversations
Association of Children’s Museums
15
14 Visitor
Experiences
That Stick
Visitors Post
7
3
Winter 2014/2015
Consultants
Speak
Museum Staff
Respond
8 Real People +
Real Experiences
Bring Stories
to Life
Hand to Hand, a journal for children’s museum professionals and others interested in children, families and
informal learning, is published on a quarterly basis
by the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM).
Subscription Information: ACM Members: one free
copy per issue; U.S. Subscribers: $30; International
Subscribers: $50. Opinions expressed in this journal
are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
the position of ACM.
2711 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 600
Arlington, VA 22202
Email [email protected]
Website www.ChildrensMuseums.org
Board of Directors
PRESIDENT
Marilee Jennings
Children’s Discovery
Museum of San Jose
(CA)
VICE PRESIDENTS
Jennifer Farrington
Chicago Children’s
Museum (IL)
Rhonda Kiest
Stepping Stones Museum
for Children
(Norwalk, CT)
Mike Yankovich
Children’s Museum
of Denver (CO)
BOARD MEMBERS
Leslie Bushara
Children’s Museum of
Manhattan (NY)
Susan Garrard
Mississippi Children’s
Museum (Jackson, MS)
Joe Hastings
Explora!
(Albuquerque, NM)
Al Najjar
Clay Center for the Arts &
Sciences of West Virginia
(Charleston, WV)
Jeri Robinson
Boston Children’s
Museum (MA)
TREASURER
Catherine Wilson Horne Michael Shanklin
Discovery Place, Inc.
Kidspace Children’s
(Charlotte, NC)
Museum (Pasadena, CA)
SECRETARY
Tanya Andrews
Tacoma (WA)
PAST PRESIDENT
Jane Werner
Pittsburgh (PA)
Charles Trautmann
Sciencenter (Ithaca, NY)
Mark Thorne
National Children’s
Museum
(National Harbor, MD)
Executive Director
Laura Huerta Migus
Call for Authors
Hand to Hand is written by volunteer authors
including: museum practitioners from all levels,
educators, researchers and other professionals.
Visit www.ChildrensMuseums.org and search
“Editorial Guidelines” to learn how to prepare an
article for print.
Call for Sponsors
Hand to Hand sponsorship opportunities begin at
$1,500. Contact ACM for details.
Editor & Designer
Mary Maher
908 East High Street
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
Phone (434) 295-7603
Fax (434) 295-5045
Email [email protected]
© 2015 Association of Children’s Museums. All rights reserved.
Reproduction without permission prohibited.
Hand to Hand
necessary matching funds stalled.
Blanchard: In the spring of 2003 it
In 2003, after nearly ten years of planwas time for us to sign up for our leaguening, the MCM board realized they needed
required active project placements for the
help and approached the Junior League of
following year. For most people who volunJackson. The league had a proven fundraisteer, there is a desire to make a difference
ing record, having successfully overseen the
in one’s community and to know that you
completion of a capital campaign to build
are actually making an impact. Here was this
the Mississippi Children’s Cancer Clinic.
opportunity to create something from nothInitially, the board sought only a limited
ing, to make something new. It was thrillpartnership but soon discovered that the
ing because it was so tangible. I wanted to
league’s interest was keen enough to take the
be on the exhibit development committee.
project on fully. In August 2003, the MCM
Of course, three years later, when I thought
board passed the torch
I couldn’t sign up again
and the Mississippi
(the league had a rule
You need a good master plan that
Children’s Museum bethat you could only do
came a signature projthe same project twice),
defines the different tasks that
ect of the Junior League
I begged to continue.
need to be accomplished.
of Jackson. This reiYou need collaborative deadlines.
magined venture came
Garrard: I was
You need to set reasonable
with a new set of chala little surprised at the
financial goals which can be
lenges, some of which
enthusiastic response
achieved within realistic
nearly extinguished the
we got from league
entire endeavor. Howmembers. In our gentimeframes. And, you need
ever with persistence,
eral meeting, we had
policies and procedures that
a willingness to learn,
one or two negative
provide checks and balances to
and a solid business
comments but almost
ensure that everything gets done
plan, this passionate,
everyone agreed that
well and on time. In addition, you
dedicated, and wellwe should pick the chilalso need people who are
organized
volunteer
dren’s museum as our
group transformed the
signature project. At a
committed, resourceful,
concept of a children’s
national Junior League
and tenacious.
museum into reality.
leadership meeting I
had attended, I learned
Opening in December
that for an organization of our size (we had
2010, MCM now stands as a beacon for the
about 500 members at the time) it was easy
future of Mississippi’s children.
to become fractured. Having a project of
In the following interview, Susan Garthe scope of the children’s museum gave us
rard, MCM president and CEO of the
something to focus on and galvanized our
Mississippi Children’s Museum, and Aliefforts.
cen Blanchard, MCM’s recently retired but
long-serving director of education, reveal
What standards guided you from the bewhat led them to the museum project in the
ginning?
first place and inspired their never-ending
pursuit of quality.
Garrard: We started the museum with
the idea that we wanted to be excellent in
How did you become involved with the
everything that we did. We sought the best
Mississippi Children’s Museum project?
design and the best consultants, which reGarrard: I was the Junior League
quired securing the best funding to make all
president in 2002. At that time, we were
of those things possible. Marnie Maxwell,
among the fifteen largest Junior Leagues in
Paul Richards, and Tom Kramer, along with
the U.S. and had been recognized nationally
local architects, formed our core consultfor our work. We had been successfully raising group for exhibit design. They worked
ing money but not for any one specific purtogether to integrate these designs into an
pose. Determined to better harness that enoverall museum plan.
ergy and success, we sought proposals, and
You need a good master plan that defines
the children’s museum became one of two
the different tasks that need to be accomprojects that made it to final consideration.
plished. You need collaborative deadlines.
At the time, I wasn’t entirely in favor of it
You need to set reasonable financial goals
because I thought, “Who’s going to run it, if
which can be achieved within realistic timewe take this on?” (Ha! Famous last words...)
continues on page 12
What quality looks like in real time, with real families, with real space limitations, and real budgets will vary in every museum.
Still, the discussion can ground individual decisions in a set of core institutional values, get employees talking across barriers of department
or rank, and fuel passion for what’s possible for children’s museums.
gets at the core of what we value as a society, as a community of children’s museums,
and as individuals going to work every day.
Distracted by the multitude of hour-tohour tasks that make up a workday, it’s easy
to push big, complicated questions like this
to the back of your mind. The question is
worth asking, however, not just for the answers, but because the discussion process
can energize a museum team, prioritize how
they use their resources, and focus the individual efforts that drive the culture and
success of the institution. A look at how
the staff at KidsQuest Children’s Museum
in Bellevue, Washington, approaches this
question illustrates the benefits of ongoing
conversations.
KidsQuest is a small (5,000 square
feet of exhibit space; 9,500 square feet total), relatively young (nine years old), and
very busy museum (serving over 180,000
people annually). Like most nonprofit organizations, resources are stretched thin, but
staff still takes the time to engage in steady
dialog about what they value as an institution. Email conversations about industry
publications, practices at other children’s
museums, and trends in the nonprofit and
education fields are common and take place
across departments and among all levels of
seniority—a marketing assistant might share
a new education study; a director of education might comment on a social media post.
These informal email chats allow staff members to participate as much as they are interested and able. As KidsQuest President and
CEO Putter Bert says, “I am constantly talking and sharing with
my staff. It builds trust. I deeply
trust my staff and the decisions
they make for our organization.
It’s not just about sharing information; it’s about sharing values
and making sure that the entire
team is working toward a similar
vision for the organization.”
Additionally, the KidsQuest
leadership team prioritizes keeping the staff informed about
the children’s museum industry.
Staff members are encouraged to
attend conferences and professional development opportuniHand to Hand
The Value of “High-Quality”
Conversations
Alison Luk
KidsQuest Children’s Museum
ties. Managers regularly speak with their
peers to stay apprised of industry trends and
visit other institutions. Not just the leadership team but floor staff schedule visits, giving a wide variety of employees the chance
to compare notes with their counterparts
at other organizations and with each other.
This provides opportunities to gain new
perspectives on their work and to analyze
what they saw as “high quality” in another
museum environment.
Finally, museum staff value scientific research and incorporate it into practice whenever possible. In 2014 KidsQuest concluded
a multi-year project in conjunction with
two other children’s museums to help answer the question “What are parents thinking about their children’s play and their role
in supporting it while they visit a children’s
museum?” This long-term research project
helped the staff learn to approach large,
daunting questions like those around “quality” and provided them with information to
apply in real-world situations.
KidsQuest, like any institution, is evolving. Staff constantly reevaluate their daily
work within the framework of the larger institutional philosophy. KidsQuest’s vision of
what makes a “high-quality” children’s museum is the result of many discussions over
the life of the organization. As a result, the
staff adheres to the following standards in a
list developed over time.
At KidsQuest, a “high-quality” children’s
museum:
• is accessible to all children and their
families regardless of income, learning
styles, special needs, race, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, etc.);
• provides a safe and accepting community space for families members to interact
with each other and with other families;
• promotes learning through play;
• supports parents and caregivers through
education, a compassionate staff, and thoughtful programs that respond to their needs;
• views children as highly capable and strives
to challenge and support the whole child;
• inspires a continued love of learning
even after the visit is over;
• grows with the family/child;
• invests in staff, volunteers, and community members to promote learning and
well-being in the wider community;
• reflects the community it serves;
• supports new research in the field of
child development and education;
• shares best practices, tools, and techniques to further in-house staff education
and the children’s museum field;
• respects the aesthetic sense of children
and their connection to nature;
• balances unique experiences and opportunities with inspiring play scenarios
that can be recreated at home;
• listens to its community and expands
its reach beyond its own walls (to schools,
markets, parks, etc.); and
• is a place where being and learning are a joy!
This is not a startling list; most children’s
museums share these values, but each acts
on them in different ways. The team at KidsQuest has met the challenge of
implementing that elusive quality
of “quality” as evidenced by the
following examples.
Valuing accessibility prompted the development team to focus
its fundraising efforts and join
the Museums for All initiative
and offer more free programs,
including monthly Low Sensory
Evenings, which provide families
with children with autism a positive and comfortable museum experience. Other values guide decisions about how the museum’s
Merrill Images
hat makes a high quality children’s
“W
museum?” This huge question is
both multifaceted and deeply personal. It
Hand to Hand
3
Great exhibitions delight and are memorable. They inspire more exploration and learning, and at their best they transform us so that we see the
world a little differently after the experience. A trip to a theme park is also fun and memorable. But it rarely inspires more exploration and learning.
With Aardvarks, What Exactly is High Quality?
Gail Ringel
part of the Reimagining Children’s
A sMuseums
project, the Association of
Children’s Museums’ board recommitted
to ensuring that all families have access to
“high-quality children’s museum experiences.” Exhibits form the backbone of any
children’s museum, so it occurred to us to
ask, what is a high-quality exhibit? How do
we create them? And what’s the secret sauce
that keeps them fresh for all our visitors year
after year?
Close your eyes and visualize a great exhibit. According to Reach Advisors’ recent
survey of thousands of museum visitors, the
public basically wants two things: a place
for learning and a place that is fun. My colleagues in the design field value open-ended
experiences that support lots of role-play;
exhibits that support group experiences
and conversations between adults and children; details that are unexpected, maybe
even a little risky; exhibits that are simple,
durable, and make us laugh; things that are
special—that can’t be done at home. Or
something that can be done at home—like
play with LEGO® blocks—only way bigger
with thousands of pieces and a dozen new
friends all working on something together.
An exhibit that creates a sense of place—not
just a copy of something we saw at another
museum. All good points, but with our eyes
closed, I’m guessing we all see different pictures.
Fundamentally, that’s okay because highquality exhibits are all different. But if we
were going to start with a blank slate how
would we describe the qualities of high quality? Are there things we should always do,
or never dare to do? What follows is an attempt to set out some general design principles and talk about some things that did
not work—and some things that did, much
to our surprise. Along the way we’ll consider
our favorite things about exhibits and some
of the best—and worst—advice we’ve ever
heard. And finally we’ll consider some signs
that our exhibits are indeed, high quality.
Are We Not Museums?
I came to my first job at a children’s
museum after a decade of planning interpretive exhibitions for the general public.
As I walked over the bridge towards Boston
Children’s Museum I noticed a giant inflat4
Hand to Hand
able aardvark looming over the museum entry; it was Arthur, a popular character from
books and cartoons. “Great! So now I work
in a building with a fifteen-foot-tall aardvark
on the roof. Is this a real museum?” I wondered. In some ways, I spent the next ten
years trying to figure that out. In the end,
I’ve concluded that children’s museums are
indeed museums, provided they do things to
differentiate themselves from other “indoor
play destinations.” Are we entertaining? You
bet, because play is generally entertaining.
But entertainment is not our mission; it is a
method we employ to engage our audience.
The feeling of being entertained is a pleasant
outcome of the visit, but as museums our
goals generally include higher aspirations.
We offer a range of experiences in the sciences, humanities, and the arts that open
new worlds, help us learn about ourselves
and others, engage our intellects and our
emotions. If it’s fun, that’s because learning
is fun. If it looks like play, that’s because as
esteemed Italian educator Maria Montessori
said, “Play is the work of the child.”
Some General Design Principles
Designing great exhibits might be like
other pursuits in life: imagining your destination at the start can help you figure out
if/when you actually arrive. It’s good to have
goals, and it’s also good to leave room for
serendipity. But if we evaluate the quality of
exhibits only by whether they “achieve their
goals” we may be missing something.
Great exhibitions are not random. They
are not a collection of unrelated images, activities, and things. You cannot create a great
exhibition by simply pouring all the best
ideas you’ve ever seen into one exhibit space
and pretending it’s a coherent experience.
Every choice in exhibition design, whether
it’s a color palette, construction materials, an
illustration style, a choice to include original
art or refer to classic motifs, has the potential to reinforce exhibit goals and intentions.
Everything you put your hands on, that you
sense with your eyes, your ears, your body,
every label, every activity and game that you
play can move things forward, or simply occupy people until they get bored and move
onto the next thing. Exhibit elements have
the potential to build on each other. Subtle
repetitions, juxtapositions, inclusions, and
omissions can have an additive effect so that
the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Or not.
Great children’s museum exhibitions
encourage collaborative play, independent
exploration, adults talking with and listening to kids (otherwise known as family
learning). Great exhibitions delight and are
memorable. They inspire more exploration
and learning, and at their best they transform us so that we see the world a little
differently after the experience. A trip to a
theme park is also fun and memorable. But
it rarely inspires more exploration and learning.
Design should clarify, not obfuscate.
Design should engage learners who have
different strengths and approaches to learning.
Design should create an environment
where all visitors, whatever their capacities
or backgrounds, can be comfortable. Sometimes, design aims at a little discomfort, just
to stimulate our thinking.
Design should be about something, but
not about itself.
Design should foster community while
catering to individuals; it should not isolate.
Design at children’s museums should
recognize that adults are roughly 50 percent
of the audience.
Decades of cognitive and brain research
suggest that spaces with minimal visual cues
may be the best in which to learn; a visually cluttered environment is not a recipe for
exhibit success. If there were two lessons we
should learn from cognitive scientists they
would be: Keep it Simple and Use Repetition and Redundancy. Visual clutter actually
suppresses the brain’s responsiveness. It’s as
if the more we show them, the less they see.
Recent studies at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology show that rats running through
mazes for the first time require a significant
amount of brain activity to navigate successfully. The more trips they make, the less
brain activity is required to find their way.
We can easily imagine that visitors to our
exhibits will spend some brain energy just
navigating and making decisions about what
to do next. The easier it is to make decisions,
the more brainpower our visitors can devote
to interacting and learning. When exhibits
are carefully designed so that their operation
is intuitive, that reserves more brain power
for learning. When exhibit text and instructions are located in predictable spots and we
don’t need to search for prompts or cues,
we get less tired. When we’re not dealing
with visual entropy, our gaze goes right to
the heart of the matter. Some designers render child-friendly environments as messy,
disorganized, even frenetic. They may be
concerned that there’s not enough “interest”
or creativity. But the most inviting places
are the ones where clarity makes it easy for
learners to locate their favorite activity. The
kids bring their own creativity with them.
Great exhibitions respect the intelligence
and the nimble imaginations of children.
When we design simple, beautiful spaces
for children we express the degree to which
we value childhood. When we bring the
intentionality of thoughtful design to the
organization of museums for children, we
avoid creating noisy hyperactive environments that foster noisy, hyperactive behavior. Despite their popularity, the “race to
the bottom” mentality of vapid television
programs for children is not something children’s museums should emulate. But the
creative, thoughtful approach of some programming for children can be a model. We
should not be trying to force feed education
in a way that makes children’s museums feel
like schools. One colleague points out that
“schools have done a good job of killing the
excitement of learning. Let’s not follow their
lead.”
Above all, we should embrace the paradox that although we have all been children,
none of us can reconstruct the social, emotional, and intellectual landscapes of our
childhoods. If we want to design great exhibits and great environments for children,
we have to watch them and listen to them
as carefully as we would any “clients.” We
should engage in a perpetual “anthropology
of childhood” in which we try to discover
what is meaningful to children and what are
their needs and interests. What are the characteristics of spaces that foster a full range
of engagement, exploration, and discovery
behaviors—including places for group play
and places for quiet solitary effort, places
for focused investigation and places that encourage joyful noise?
Some Good Advice
If it’s good not to assume that you know
everything, is it even better not to assume
that you know anything? My colleagues in
the field are unanimous in this piece of advice: prototype. It takes time, effort, and a
bit of money. It even requires us to be humble and accept our failures. But in the long
run prototyping is the best friend of exhibit
design. If you aren’t in the habit of doing
this, then you can’t imagine how much fun
it really is. The world of exhibit design is
full of prototype gurus (Paul Orselli comes
to mind). So if you haven’t jumped on this
particular bandwagon or are having trouble
convincing museum management or your
direct reports that it’s necessary, just trust
me—or talk to a guru. Your exhibits will be
better, and your visitors will love the chance
to weigh in on exhibit design.
And speaking of listening to visitors,
here’s another good piece of advice. One colleague strongly suggests that we not “ask visitors what they want to know about” when
planning new exhibits. If we are trying to
gauge interest or experience in a topic before
developing an exhibit, if we want to know
what preconceptions our visitors may have,
their responses are all valuable information.
But visitors depend on us to create compelling museum experiences. That’s why they
are the visitors and we are the museum
professionals. When you succeed in putting together a capable exhibit design team,
the next step is to get out of the way and let
them do their work.
Some Bad Advice or,
“Don’t lose the lobster!”
Not long after I joined Boston Children’s Museum we faced a difficult choice.
We could clear away an old exhibit to make
room for temporary installations, but it required removing a giant lobster. The lobster
was really big—large enough for an adult to
stand under and almost fifteen feet long. At
some point its claws could be manipulated
but it had long since subsided into the quiet
life of an inert but sacred cow. The museum’s
director was beside himself with concern,
“You can’t get rid of the lobster! Visitors will
miss it, they will wonder where it’s gone!”
Where could we put it? Outdoors? It wasn’t
built to survive New England weather. In the
lobby? This space was already overcrowded.
As the day for removal approached, the hand
wringing increased and as head of exhibits,
I was faced with disappointing thousands of
people every week that would come to the
museum looking for the imposing creature.
We carefully removed the lobster. It went to
temporary storage until we could find it a
new home. We installed the first of many
temporary exhibitions in the lobster’s old
space, and museum attendance improved.
In the next eight years I never heard of a single visitor who missed the lobster. Looking
back, I wonder, why was the director so attached to the lobster? Was it his idea? Had it
cost a lot of money? Letting go of what is in
favor of what could be is always a little scary.
On the other hand, during the museum’s renovation we removed an exhibit full
of dusty old dollhouses. The consensus was
that this exhibit space was “always empty”
—visitors were not interested in the miniatures. But the houses were valuable, so they
were carefully packed and put into storage.
When the museum reopened after a massive renovation including many new and
refreshed exhibits our attendance increased
by 30 percent and kept on growing. But
so did the questions about the dollhouses.
Visitors missed them; they wondered where
they had gone. Not a week went by without
a comment in our visitor’s book about the
exhibit. “When are you bringing back the
dollhouses?” So eventually, we did.
The moral of this story is that we are
always right about some things and wrong
about others. One of the great things about
designing exhibits is that it’s not brain surgery; you can make mistakes and nobody
dies. One secret to making high quality exhibits is to listen to visitors. We don’t always
agree with their suggestions, but they should
always help define the problem.
The Ubiquitous Grocery Store or,
Measuring Success
Is there a rule that says you’re not a children’s museum if there’s no grocery store?
They are almost everywhere, a cliché really,
so a perfect place to examine what makes exhibits “high quality.” Because some of these
Designing great exhibits might be like other pursuits in life: imagining your destination at the start can help you figure out if/when you actually
arrive. It’s good to have goals, and it’s also good to leave room for serendipity. But if we evaluate the quality of exhibits only by whether
they “achieve their goals” we may be missing something.
Hand to Hand
5
Visitors Post
Jen Alexander, executive director of Kidcity Children’s Museum (Middletown, CT), posted a version of the basic question—what
makes a high-quality children’s museum?—on the museum’s Facebook page. Floored by the number of immediate responses
detailing their “best children’s museum experiences,” some at Kidcity and some at other museums around the country, Alexander
summed it up, “The two things that stood out are 1) cleanliness and convenience are high on everyone’s list and 2) people like
things that get their kids to play.”
Below are selected excerpts from the responses received from parents, primarily mothers.
What makes a high-quality children’s museum? Tell us about your best (and worst) children’s museum experiences.
• The most important things to us when visiting a children’s museum are 1) cleanliness and
2) the variety of activities.
• My older daughter has special needs...Every
time I visit different children’s museums I think
of ways they could make certain exhibits and
areas more appealing to all kids with special
needs.
• The difference at Kidcity is the cleanliness, and the attention to detail—it is truly
centered around the kids-and-family aspect
of the visit. Places for parents to sit or places
to participate, extra diapers in kid-friendly
bathrooms, and a great kid-friendly picnic eating area. Visiting [other] museums, too often
there are too many grungy or broken exhibits
and no one around to fix them. No place
to sit, no place to feed a younger sibling, and
no staff around to ask questions if the need
arises (except at a far away desk at the very
entrance of the museum).
changes in the bathrooms—a brilliant idea. I
also appreciate that most of the exhibits have
one main entrance/exit. As a mother with
four kids under six, this is huge.
• Appreciate the thoughtful design that encourages cooperation and also the complete
lack of screens. My kid tends to get sucked in
by them and when I take her out it’s nice to
avoid that fight.
• My kids are a few years apart so I really
look for a place that can entertain both kiddos!
• Climbing and crawling through/over/under
is a favorite activity for my son.
• Awesome theming makes a huge difference
to me. When all of the details “fit.”
• Most important aspect: everything is
clean and in good repair. If we pay to visit a
museum and things only half-work, are out of
commission, or damaged, we don’t go back.
• As a parent of a special needs child, Kidcity
is a place where we can go and my son is just
like any other child. It was like the museum
was designed just for him!
• ...my husband did say that if we were ever to
lose a child, Kidcity would be the best place
because someone will find them and keep
them safe.
• [Kidcity] is play-based and not “trying to
teach you about something or another”-based
(like brushing your teeth, etc). Not once do I
need to say “don’t touch that.” There is such
thought and consideration that goes into every single inch of the design. The “emergency”
• …everything is just so well thought out at
the museum. It is soft where it needs to be
soft, and fingers are protected. I once saw a
kid bump his head and start crying and literally within three minutes there was a staff person standing there with an ice pack. They can
exhibits are not only derivative, they are boring and exist only to satisfy the strategic philanthropy goals of local chain stores. Some
of them, on the other hand, offer a range of
experiences launching conversations about
nutrition and math, cultural food ways and
how businesses depend on different skills
and collaboration. The first time I looked
at a children’s museum’s grocery store it was
after hours and I saw a sad little set of shelves
with tired food packages and unappetizing,
beat-up plastic chickens. Alive with kids,
however, it was transformed as they gleefully
filled shopping baskets and took turns at the
cash register.
What was happening? I realized that
young children often accompany adults to
grocery stores but are rarely allowed to decide what goes into the basket. Here, at last,
they were in control; they knew about shopping and now they experienced agency—
“the capacity, condition or state of acting or
exerting power.” And it was magical. Exhibits that invite children to make decisions are
good, but with additional layers of activities
they are even better. Designing an environment that children will recognize is a start,
and role-play is appealing.
But high-quality exhibits offer more;
their developers are always asking, “What
will people do here?” Some high-quality
exhibits focus on math and science; others may emphasize art or different cultures.
But they all aspire to provide engaging and
transformative experiences with different
“ways in” for different kinds of learners and
ways of extending or stretching the experience beyond the initial encounter. In these
6
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also be seen in the germier winter months
roaming with cleaner to wipe things down.
Those are signs of a well-run museum to me!
• It is fun when a museum rotates exhibits,
or the toys within the rooms. Kids love
when they come to a favorite place and find
something new to check out. But then there
are definitely favorites that should be left as
is. Also, I appreciate the museums that offer
coffee and tea for parents.
• Too many children’s museums do too much
“talking” in exhibits—too many words, too
much to read, too much teaching, lecturing.
At Kidcity, my kids learn by playing. They learn
“if I turn this crank, something happens!”
Creative, collaborative play, where children
discover on THEIR OWN!
• It’s disappointing when exhibits are broken,
don’t work, or don’t have enough supplies to
keep several children entertained.
• A well-organized venue with exhibits that all
ages can appreciate. I’ve been in overcrowded
museums occasionally, and I never went back.
A place for parents to sit occasionally.
• Lots of hands-on activities that get the
child (and parent!) thinking, but in a fun way.
Coming away from a museum with your child
excited about what they learned and saw is an
awesome experience!
welcoming public spaces, museums have the
potential to take kids outside their familiar
territory and provide safe places for exploring the unknown with other children and
families. When we understand the full challenge and opportunity that children’s museums provide, then we are on the road to
high quality.
Special thanks to the following colleagues
for their input: Greg DeFrances, Michael Joyce,
Tevere MacFadyen, Mary Maher, Chris Sullivan,
and Susie Wilkening.
Gail Ringel is an independent museum professional specializing in strategic and interpretive
planning. She was vice president of exhibits & production at Boston Children’s Museum from 2002
–2012 and currently serves as director for the Freeman Foundation Asian Culture Exhibit Series, an
initiative of the Association of Children’s Museums.
Consultants Speak
Working along with the legions of children’s museum staff who work to develop “high-quality children’s museum experiences” are independent museum professionals, consultants who use their expertise to boost the design, content, and
operations of museums worldwide. Through both short- and long-term projects with a wide range of museums, consultants are often able to develop a more independent perspective on how their clients—and all museums—can increase the
bottom line of better museums and better visitor experiences for everyone.
We posed the following questions to a small sample of consultants. What follows are their responses.
—ed.
If a client comes to you and says, “We’re looking to improve the quality of our museum,” what is your initial response? Where do you start
the process that results in improvement? What’s the number one feature you zero in on as a means to boost the quality of the museum visit?
Aligning Goals and Improving Flow
Penny J. Sander
Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc.
Penny J. Sander is an associate principal at Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc.
(C7A), an international firm of architects
and exhibit designers, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sander is the project manager for the exhibits Cambridge
Seven has designed at the new Hohhot
Children’s Discovery Museum (Hohhot,
China), scheduled to open in 2017, and at
the Knock Knock Children’s Museum (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) scheduled to open
in 2016.
recall a single instance where a
Iwantcannot
museum client has merely said that they
to “improve the quality of their museum.” Most of our clients have already
recognized some or most of their museum’s
shortcomings, and they’ve speculated about
how the visitor experience might be improved before they call us. In calling C7A,
they have taken a step towards wrestling
with their issues.
One client came to us with many years
of visitor surveys that said that their museum was too confusing, too dark, and too
static (“nothing ever seemed to change”).
To address these three perceived problems,
we designed a new, visitor-friendly box office, removing a long, solid wall that created black-box exhibits and replacing it with
windows to the nearby river; we are converting part of the lobby into a new exhibit experience.
Our design for the expansion of the
Boston Children’s Museum started after a
retreat, during which their board adopted
a new vision and seventeen goals. During
the early days of this project, we met several
times with the board, interviewing board
members and staff individually to make sure
that their stated goals were shared by all. We
also brought in consultants from other muHand to Hand
seums to help facilitate some of the planning
sessions.
The museum board and staff were brave
enough to break some of the rules that they
had always followed, which in turn, allowed
us to develop design solutions that met their
new goals. While visitor circulation patterns
had previously been contained within each
exhibit gallery, we added a new bridge between the new lobby and the old warehouse
building, so that each gallery would have its
own front door. We consolidated the exhibits down from four floors to two; we moved
the location of vertical circulation (the main
stairs) to the center of the building, so visitors would better know where they were in
the building; and we made major changes
to the front entry and lobby, so visitors felt
more welcomed and better taken care of.
While the new designs increased the size
of the museum by only 10 percent, they increased the maximum capacity of the museum by 40 percent. People no longer got
lost or had to backtrack through spaces, and
they are much happier with their overall
visitor experience.
Safety, Cleanliness, and Great Staff
Ray Giang
Management Resources
Ray Giang, vice president at Management Resources, a California-based consulting company, manages projects ranging
from commercial attractions like locationbased entertainment/recreational facilities
to not-for-profit institutions like museums
and aquariums. He assists in developing
business plans, operational plans, financial
pro formas, capacity studies, and other
types of analysis for the planning of new
developments and the growth of existing
organizations. In addition to commercial
theme parks and attractions, Giang has
worked with the American Museum of
Natural History (New York) and the Delaware Children’s Museum (Wilmington).
the quality of a museum reI mproving
quires a multifaceted approach. It’s not
just about the exhibits or the building, but
the entire experience, from the moment
someone drives into the parking lot to the
moment they leave.
To improve the quality of a museum,
the first step is to observe the entire visitor
experience and identify things that would
make it better. There will likely be some
easy changes and some more challenging/
long term changes. Here are some things we
always look for in evaluating the quality of a
museum and the guest experience:
• Safety: Is the facility safe, and does it
look safe and inviting to guests?
• Guest Service: Are the staff members courteous, helpful, kind, engaging, and
happy?
• Cleanliness: Is the facility clean? Are
the exhibits, restrooms, and common areas
clean and working?
• Capacity: Are there enough exhibits,
programs, and activities for guests to enjoy
their visit? Is it too crowded or understaffed?
Although the museums that we work
with do offer a safe, clean, and a well-maintained environment, there are always things
that could be improved. The one feature
that we typically focus on is the quality of
the guest service and experience. Ensuring
that staff have the proper training and resources to offer an unforgettable experience
is vital.
As an example, many children’s museums have a supermarket exhibit. What
makes one supermarket exhibit better than
another? It’s the staff and the level and quality of their engagement with children and
families. Staff can make the experience and
the play so much more engaging and fun.
A staff member who just says hi to the kids
and then picks up all the loose items and restocks the shelves is just okay. A staff member who engages in supermarket play, asking
kids to help with restocking, finding items,
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7
Charles Beeker
E
ducators and exhibit staff at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis look for
ways to engage visitors in hands-on, intergenerational learning that brings children
and families closer together. Among efforts
to reach these goals, nothing matches the
impact of an encounter with a real-life content expert. Over the last decade, the museum has engaged a selection of recognized
authorities in their fields to spend time with
visitors and share their real-life experiences
through immersive programs, authentic artifacts, personal stories, and imagery. Real
people bring facts and stories to life in ways
nothing else can.
Real Scientists Share Scientific
Principles in Hands-on Ways
Providing richer and deeper experiences
in science, technology, engineering, and
math may also inspire children to develop
interests in STEM careers. In addition to
presenting science content in exhibits, the
museum has incorporated internationally
renowned scientists into day-to-day programming. Scientists-in-Residence, part of
the museum staff, share relevant and exciting
research, including their years of knowledge and
adventures, directly with children and families.
This approach is particularly successful
in engaging visitors with content that is be
extremely complex. Creating detailed learning plans within each content area ensures
that the expert presents key personal stories
while effectively showcasing authentic artifacts. Experts chosen to work in the museum
must be able to explain complex scientific
concepts in ways people of all backgrounds
can understand.
Former astronaut Dr. David Wolf has
been actively involved as Scientist-in-Residence for two years. Wolf served as chief of
the team that assembled much of the Inter8
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David Wolf
Real People + Real Experiences
Bring Stories to Life
Jennifer Pace Robinson
and Kimberly Harms
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
national Space Station (ISS), and during his
time with NASA, logged 168 days in space
over four separate missions and conducted
seven space walks. At the museum, Dr. Wolf
works directly with visitors through public
events, presentations, and science camps.
Through programs about topics such as
cell growth, electronics, the impact of zero
gravity, and how GPS navigation works, Dr.
Wolf helps young people conduct handson science experiments designed to develop
critical problem-solving skills. Sharing his
personal experience of being trapped outside
the Space Station due to an airlock hatch
failure in 1997, Wolf talks about robotic
arms and the problem-solving skills he believes saved his life.
In addition to fascinating presentations
in which he shares his own home videos
of life on the ISS, Dr. Wolf helped create
STEM camp programming and then visited with attendees asking them questions
to see how well they comprehended the experiments and outcomes. He showed campers how to build a robotic space arm out
of cardboard and then explained the basic
principles of how it works. “It was really
cool,” said ten-year-old Cole Robinson. “If
he can make cool stuff that flies in space, I
can too. My friends can’t believe I know a
real astronaut.” Wolf strongly believes that
sharing his passion in person can help motivate young people to pursue a career in
space. “Inspiration ignites young people to
pursue success and know they can accomplish great things in all aspects of science,”
said Dr. Wolf.
From deep space to deep sea, the museum’s Underwater Archaeologist-in-Residence, Dr. Charles Beeker, works directly
with the Dominican Republic, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Eli Lilly and
Company Foundation, and Indiana University to search for, conserve, and preserve
shipwrecks in the Caribbean—including
the only pirate shipwreck ever discovered in
that body of water (Captain William Kidd’s
Lost Fleets of Columbus). He and members
of his dive team visit the museum regularly
to display and talk about what they’ve recovered from shipwrecks. During public
presentations in the museum’s archaeological wet lab, visitors are able to touch real
artifacts and watch and listen as Dr. Beeker
and his team of researchers along with museum conservators explain conservation
techniques such as electrolytic reduction in
which electricity is used to break off concretions. As the concretions fall, items are
uncovered that many times lead to artifact
identification such as a cannon marked by
its manufacturer and year it was made.
“As director of the Office of Underwater
Science at Indiana University, I recognize
the value of the long-term collaboration
with The Children’s Museum in science
education,” said Dr. Charles Beeker. “Our
establishment of the Archaeology Laboratory at the museum provides a unique opportunity for science outreach to people of all
ages. This laboratory utilizes modern conservation technology that allows the public
to directly experience scientific investigation
and preservation of historical shipwreck artifacts from ongoing international underwater archaeology research projects.”
Through Dr. Beeker, visitors also learn
that not all expeditions lead to a discovery.
Members of the museum’s curatorial and
collections staff join him to explain the science and history behind searching for clues
Jeanne White Ginder
Ruby Bridges
and the process used to uncover what was
not discovered, including techniques used
to take a search in unanticipated directions.
For example, while Captain Kidd’s shipwreck was never found in the river where
it was thought to have sunk, researchers
turned their attention to the river currents
by watching debris as it was carried to the
ocean. They then discovered the ship, which
had been set on fire in the river and then
floated to the open ocean where it sunk. Stories of personal experiences add adventure
and excitement to explanations of complex
scientific processes.
The most significant challenge in bringing content experts on staff is that scientists
are often actively engaged in research in locations around the globe and aren’t able to
be in the museum full-time. To overcome
periodic absences, museum staff film experts
in their labs or on expeditions to show them
in action. When necessary, programs led by
interpretation and curatorial staff introduce
the expert, explain his/her area of expertise
in relation to what is seen in the museum
exhibits, and then play the video.
Real Lessons in Empathy: Walk in
Someone Else’s Shoes
In addition to STEM learning, the museum focuses on the humanities and other
cultures with a goal of fostering awareness,
acceptance, and respect for all people and
their traditions through the discovery of
common needs and concerns. Subject matter experts who have survived tragic and lifechanging experiences are invaluable voices
in conveying these messages.
The Power of Children shows the impact
children have had and will continue to have
in shaping history. This exhibit creates an
environment in which visitors are encouraged to examine and discuss issues related
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to prejudice and discrimination. Through
the featured stories of Anne Frank (child of
the Holocaust), Ruby Bridges (Civil Rights
icon), and Ryan White (AIDS activist), visitors can benefit from the wisdom and experiences of those who have overcome tremendous obstacles.
Real-life content experts who frequently
visit the museum articulate their deeply personal stories and lessons learned along the
way. Jeanne White Ginder, the mother of
Ryan White who died twenty-five years ago
from HIV/AIDS complications, feels the
pain of those who have been misunderstood
and ostracized due to a medical condition.
White Ginder shares Ryan’s story to help
visitors deal with some of the issues—harsh
words, mean-spirited taunting, and bullying—her son faced daily. Recently, a twelveyear-old visitor confided in White Ginder
that she had been picked on because of the
terrible scars inflicted on her by her own
father currently in prison for intentionally
scalding her with hot water. Ginder hopes
that her visits help children such as this
young girl gain strength to live happier lives.
In creating the Civil Rights portion of
The Power of Children, staff interviewed
Ruby Bridges, who as a six-year-old made
history by becoming the first African-American student to attend an all-white school
in the then-segregated American South.
The team documented her specific memories of walking to school as a first grader in
the height of the desegregation movement
in New Orleans. Although most of Bridges belongings were destroyed in a fire and
what remained was destroyed in Hurricane
Katrina, recreating small memories (such as
seeing a black baby doll in a coffin carried
by an angry protester) brings her powerful
story to life in a vivid and personal ways.
Bridges visits the museum multiple times
a year and actively shares her story with chil-
dren. Pointing to different parts of her classroom, replicated in the exhibit, to explain
their historical significance, she encourages
children to believe in themselves regardless
of what hatred may surround them. Bridges’
personal stories woven into the larger historic context help foster empathy among
visitors and hopefully inspire meaningful
conversations with their own friends and
families about their personal beliefs.
Bridges’ stories are supplemented with
live theatrical performances, in which visitors step into Bridges’ classroom replica and
interact with a federal marshal, played by an
actor. The actor conveys what life was like
in the early 1960s, immersing visitors in a
realistic situation to help them understand
and feel what it was like to be in that particular place in time. Bridges says, “Being in
that setting makes it a lot easier for me to tell
my story. Through little behind-the-scenes
details they take away a much clearer view
of the story and how it unfolded. I think we
need to do whatever we can to make kids
feel safe. It’s hard to grow up not feeling safe
in your own school.”
In recorded videos played in the exhibit,
Bridges answers commonly asked questions
when she is unable to be at the museum.
She also works with museum educators to
develop professional development programs
for teachers to learn best practices in dealing
with racism and bullying.
The words and stories of these real-life
experts increase visitor engagement in the
same way as the Scientist- or Archaeologistin-Residence programs do, albeit in more
emotional ways. The museum regularly receives feedback that these encounters touch
families in ways that no text or picture can.
To help build cultural awareness, the
museum creates exhibits that present relevant perspectives from people living in
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9
Person to Person
In developing both exhibits, museum
staff carefully researched topics to ensure
that the voices (and memories) of the real
people featured in them are heard in clear,
balanced ways. The presence of real-life
global experts in science and humanities
along with object-based learning has significantly elevated The Children’s Museum’s
efforts to explain scientific principles and
help foster better understanding of cultural
issues in genuine and personal ways while
helping visitors create their own memories
and extend learning beyond a single visit to
a museum.
Jennifer Pace Robinson is vice president of experience development and family learning at The
Children’s Museum of Indianapolis; Kimberly
Harms is the director of media and public relations.
10
Hand to Hand
The Value of High-Quality Conversations
continued from page 3
Merrill Images
countries whose cultures are very different from our own. The museum’s Take Me
There: China exhibit presents the spaces and
places in which a range of contemporary
Chinese people live and work—one person
or a single socio-economic status does not
represent an entire nation. Visitors explore
daily life and the celebrations of Chinese
families through art, music, food, tea culture, calligraphy, ancient Chinese medicine,
and the preservation of giant pandas.
What sets the exhibit apart is the presence of two experts from China brought to
Indianapolis with the help of the Confucius Institute, a nonprofit organization that
promotes the teaching of Chinese language
and culture in the United States. The Chinese Teachers-in-Residence, chosen from a
pool of applicants who met academic and
arts-based criteria, work full-time at the
museum. Both teachers attend Sun Yat-Sen
University majoring in English as a second
language and were interested in English immersion programs in which they could share
their culture while learning more about
American culture. Chinese Musician-inResidence Ms. Ma Lan’s specialities include
traditional musical instruments, songs, and
dances. Chinese Calligrapher-in-Residence
Ms. Chen Lin’s specialties include calligraphy, paper-cutting, cooking, and knots.
Through thousands of real-time conversations, these two teachers have helped visitors understand what life is really like from
people who grew up in China.
single classroom space is used, balancing
programs that best serves visitors of many
ages, needs, and interests. These ideals guide
program structure and content. Museum
educators safely incorporate real tools like
microscopes, hammers, or silkscreens into
curricula whenever possible, because even
the youngest children are viewed as highly
capable. Balancing unique museum experiences with activities that encourage the
learning to continue at home, a staff member might facilitate play with the museum’s
custom building sticks in the morning and
then show families how to use a salad spinner to create art in the afternoon.
Articulated values support quality internal experiences as well. The multi-year
research project mentioned earlier led to a
new vision for floor staff: increased staffing
levels and educational training supported
play, rather than tidying up, as their key
focus. Operations Manager Sarah Spencer
explains, “It’s easy to see the effect on children immediately. We all have hundreds of
stories of what we call ‘magical moments,’
when you can see and feel how you have
galvanized the curiosity, imagination, and
discovery in a child. The satisfaction expressed by caregivers with [the staff ] further
enhances the positive, welcoming environment of the museum. Everyone comes to a
children’s museum hoping to enrich their
child’s development and have fun. Our staff
makes sure this happens from start to finish,
despite the stresses that come with working
with small children.” Museum guests noticed the change. Staff received emails and
comment cards with messages such as “The
staff member with the long red hair did an
AWESOME job engaging a group of three
boys at the ball wall. She asked great questions and got them EXCITED! Thanks!”
and “Hannah is so incredible and wonderful. I was so grateful to have a moment to
sit with my sleeping baby while she engaged
my older daughter.”
As staff members undertake a move into
a new, larger building, the transition has
forced a re-evaluation of their approach to
guest services, donor relations, programming, and staffing structure. The education
team has worked to prioritize which current
programs would most benefit from having
their own space. Museum staff worked with
the exhibit design team to include a dedicated art studio, a self-contained “make space”
to facilitate the safe use of tools like saws and
hot glue guns, and a multiuse performance
space for dance workshops and familyfriendly concerts in the new building design. Using these same values as a guideline,
some ideas didn’t make the cut. The original
exhibit plans included a truck stop dinerthemed pretend play area. But, the theme,
however appealing, did not reflect the culture of the community, so it was scrapped.
Initial plans also featured a two-story climbing structure, but in keeping with the value
of respecting children’s aesthetic sense, the
original construction crane design was revised to become an abstract sculptural
climbing structure that would serve as both
an exhibit and a work of art.
The question “What makes a high quality children’s museum?” may never be neatly
answered by an accepted, industry-wide set
of standards. But delving into discussions
about quality is still important and exciting, and making efforts to apply those ideals is even more so. What quality looks like
in real time, with real families, with real
space limitations, and real budgets will vary
in every museum. Still, the discussion can
ground individual decisions in a set of core
institutional values, get employees talking
across barriers of department or rank, and
fuel passion for what’s possible for children’s
museums. Sarah Spencer finds that these
conversations give her work focus, “We have
been able to get back to the basics and ask
ourselves important questions like why our
field exists, why we chose to devote our lives
to informal education, and why we applied
to work here in the first place!”
Alison Luk is the associate director of education
& ExploreStore manager at KidsQuest Children’s
Museum. Alison joined the KidsQuest Children’s
Museum team in 2007.
Consultants Speak
or conducting price checks can make the
kids’ experience so much better.
So listen to your staff, watch how they
engage guests, and encourage and reward
staff for the excellent job that they do. It’s
not just about the exhibits and the building; it’s about how staff use these physical
assets to make the experience unforgettable
for kids and their families.
Personality with Purpose:
Designing a Relationship with Visitors
Kathy Gustafson-Hilton
Hands On! Inc.
Kathy Gustafson-Hilton, senior developer at Hands On! Inc., uses facilitation
skills honed through dozens of projects
to help clients craft goals, ideas, and exhibit content. Together with Lyn Wood,
president of Hands On!, Gustafson-Hilton
works with museums to define meaningful relationships with visitors that create
high quality learning experiences.
M helping them launch a new initiative,
typically an exhibition. We start by explor-
useums often ask us to partner in
ing how the museum’s mission and this new
initiative coincide. How can we design a
high-quality exhibition that best reflects the
museum’s highest aspiration?
A key part of the process is understanding the museum’s “personality”—the vibe
that exists between museum and visitor.
This involves describing the personality
the museum currently projects to its visitors, and then articulating the facets of the
personality they want to project in the new
exhibition. Through a collaborative method
staff as well as stakeholders engage in a process that is vigorous, collegial, team-building, and revelatory; when we collectively hit
upon the personality that will provide the
team with clear guidance for the exhibition
design work ahead, everyone immediately
knows it—it feels right.
Since exhibitions are social experiences
where people interact with each other, with
objects, and with architecture, the design of
the environment and the experience directly
affects the quality of that interaction. The
more we understand the personal relationship that the museum wishes to achieve with
visitors in a particular exhibition, the more
we can design an exhibition that supports it.
Articulating a personality means creating
a face, a voice, a recognizable identity that
embodies the museum’s mission and the way
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they want to relate that mission to visitors.
This isn’t an actual character that the museum will present to the public but, rather, a
behind-the-scenes sensibility that underlies
all aspects of the exhibition design.
One organization chose to model the
personality of their new exhibition on environmentalist Rachel Carson—encouraging, amazed, inquisitive—because, like her,
they wanted to inspire people to discover a
sense of wonder and awe about the physical
world. This personality concept led us to design exhibits and an environment that were,
like Carson, elegantly eccentric, enigmatic
and graceful. The exhibition helped visitors
create unusual connections and used striking graphics that encouraged questions and
inspired experimentation.
Another museum invented “Coach
Buddy,” an energetic, positive mentor who
inspires visitors to have fun inventing ways
to lead active and healthy lives. The qualities
they assigned to this personality—creative,
responsible, trustworthy, and fun—became
key words that drove the development of the
exhibition content, its design, the encouraging voice of its messaging, and the graphic
design that communicated those messages
to visitors.
Articulating an exhibition’s personality
provides something tangible from which to
design exhibits and environments that express this personality in appealing, sophisticated, imaginative ways that attract kids and
adults. When museums and exhibit designers convey a personality on purpose, they
create an intangible specialness that visitors
can feel. The space sings with the excitement
of discovery and engagement that are the
hallmarks of a high-quality experience.
High Quality = Internal Capacity
Paul Orselli
Paul Orselli Workshop
Paul Orselli is president and chief Instigator of POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop).
Orselli has held director-level positions at
the Discovery Museums in Acton, MA, the
Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum (MI), and
the Long Island Children’s Museum (NY).
He has consulted on museum projects including the New York Hall of Science, the
Exploratorium, and the National Science
Foundation. In addition, Paul has also been
the editor and originator of the three
best-selling Exhibit Cheapbooks, published
by Association of Science-Technology
Centers, and has served on the board of
NAME (National Association for Museum
Exhibition).
igh quality” to me means something
“H
of lasting value, something special
that is meaningful over time and across
generations. And children’s museums—any
museums, really—that can be described
consistently as high quality are quite uncommon.
As a practical matter, the way to develop
a truly high-quality children’s museum experience means having a clear sense of what
you want your museum to look like two,
three or more years in the future—not just
two months after opening! That means investing for the long-term in thoughtful experiences, materials, staff, and expertise.
In my exhibit design and development
practice, I ask museum collaborators two
simple questions: How will you (the staff
inside your museum, not contractors or
consultants) 1) fix things that break or don’t
work? and 2) transform great new ideas into
real exhibits and programs? If you can’t come
up with credible answers to both questions,
I’m afraid that not only will you be constantly racing to “put out fires” in the form
of problems that could have been anticipated (as opposed to the many un-anticipated
ones you’ll encounter) but your bright,
shiny museum will soon become dingy and
boring, not only physically, but in its intellectual and emotional spirit as well.
Creating a strong institutional culture
of internal capacity is the key difference
between a great museum and a mediocre
one. Building and investing in this strong
institutional capacity doesn’t mean that you
work in isolation. On the contrary, carefully
understanding the strengths and weaknesses
across your institution makes it clear when
and where you need to invest time and resources. Those investments in time and/or
resources can involve seeking out expertise
in your local communities, sending staff
to national or regional conferences or local
professional development opportunities, or
(gasp!) bringing in consultants to help build
up internal capacity in other areas of institutional need. There are many choices.
What is not a choice is doing nothing.
Because doing nothing will surely begin the
slide from “high quality” to “who cares?”
And is that the kind of museum you want
to be part of?
Hand to Hand
11
Square One
frames. And, you need policies and procedures that provide checks and balances to
ensure that everything gets done well and on
time. In addition, you also need people who
are committed, resourceful, and tenacious.
Organizationally, the Junior League of
Jackson was well structured to shepherd this
project and had the financial resources to
back it. At the time, the league was raising a
little less than $1 million annually and had
well-established financial accountability and
stewardship practices. In addition, we had
professional expertise, like accountants, lawyers, and educators, within our membership
who could bring their experience to the table. Because of the way the league organizes
its volunteer placement, we essentially had a
job fair and distributed skills and knowledge
to aspects of the project where they were
needed most. This also helped us realize just
what we didn’t know.
We knew how to raise money, but for a
project this big, we needed to hire a fundraising consultant. Initially, it was estimated
that we’d have to raise $10 million but in
the end, it became $26.6 million, which was
significantly more than the $2 million we’d
raised to build the Mississippi Children’s
Cancer Clinic.
In addition, we also realized that we
didn’t know the first thing about starting
or sustaining a museum. We immediately
set out to familiarize ourselves with industry standards and joined the Association of
Children’s Museums, the Association of Science–Technology Centers, and the American Alliance of Museums.
Blanchard: I had been an educator,
so for me it was about keeping the child
at the center of the project and asking the
question, “What does this child want or
need?” In Mississippi, we have such serious
educational, socio-economic, and geographical disparities, that it was a real challenge
to create a statewide museum that would
be able to appeal to and serve such a diverse
population. You have to know your audience. That is why we started soliciting community input early on. We conducted focus
groups around the state and asked our different constituencies questions about what
they wanted to see in a children’s museum.
From the beginning, we decided that
we didn’t want to be “just any children’s
museum.” We wanted something that was
uniquely Mississippi, that would give a sense
of the people and of the place. We travelled
to other children’s museums throughout the
12
Hand to Hand
Susan Garrard, left, currently president and
CEO of the Mississippi Children’s Museum,
served as a member and later president of the
Mississippi Children’s Museum board of directors. She was the first president of the museum’s support group, MCM Partners, which has
over 500 members statewide.
Civically involved in the Jackson community
since 1984, Garrard has served on the board of
the Junior League of Jackson for several terms
where she also held several officer positions
including president in 2002-03.
She is a graduate of Mississippi State University and the Fashion Institute of Technology,
State University of New York in New York City.
Garrard has worked as a consultant with the
Mississippi Museum of Art, Cellular South, and
other Mississippi nonprofits and businesses.
Alicen Blanchard, recently retired director of education for the Mississippi Children’s
Museum, focused primarily on the strategic
planning, management, and growth of MCM
exhibits.
With a degree in education from the University of Mississippi, Blanchard taught high
school English for nine years. She served as
a member of the Junior League of Jackson’s
Museum Development Committee in exhibit
development for seven years and chaired the
Development Committee in 2010, the year
that MCM opened to the public.
Blanchard is a sustaining member of the
Junior League of Jackson, a member of the
Mississippi Museum of Art Gallery Guild and
member of the Jackson Symphony League. She
has volunteered extensively for several local
schools and nonprofit organizations.
Maurine Jackson, interviewer, is the director of external affairs for the Mississippi Children’s Museum. She is the former director
of education at the Eudora Welty House and
Garden.
southeast to research ideas.
We visited the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga and fell in love with their
water table. We wanted a water feature too
and, in the end, used the same fabricators.
But, we didn’t want to just replicate theirs. It
had to “fit” us so the water table we designed
represents the Mississippi River, which is so
important to our identity geographically,
historically, and economically. Initially, the
fabricators didn’t quite get it right—they
added hills at the top of the table as they had
in Chattanooga. We insisted they change it
because anyone who knows Mississippi knows
there are no hills in the Delta.
This focus on making this museum “us”
resulted in developing proprietary exhibits
that you will not see anywhere else.
How did you determine you were on track
and if and when you went off track, how did
you recognize that you were off track and
what got you back on track?
Garrard: There were definitely challenges that we could not have foreseen. One
of the biggest was Hurricane Katrina. It was
one of the worst natural disasters Mississippi has ever faced. We planned to open
the museum in 2008 and given our original
timeline, we were supposed to kick off our
capital campaign barely two weeks after Katrina hit. We had major conversations about
delaying but, in the end, decided not to. We
realized that more than ever, we needed a
place for families and children. One of the
things that told us that we were “on track”
was that the donors who had already made
commitments to the museum honored their
financial obligations despite the terrible
blow this disaster had taken.
Blanchard: One of the other impacts
from Hurricane Katrina was that construction costs increased by 20 percent. This significantly changed how much we needed
to build the museum. The original plan included a theater, however, it was now going
to cost $2 million extra to build. We had to
make a decision: either delay construction
further to raise the extra money or move forward without it. The theater was cut from
the plan, which, personally, caused me a lot
of heartache.
Another Mother Nature-related setback
occurred after we started construction. We
had just poured the foundation for the
building and then came forty-five straight
days of snow or rain, delaying us even further. For projects like this, you have to expect the unexpected and be able to roll with it.
What is your compass for quality?
Garrard: Earlier, I mentioned our
as time and funding permits.
knowing what we didn’t know. On the one
In our case, we made the decision to do
Garrard: Starting out, we were deterhand, this was helpful because we were uneverything at once because we felt our commined that we were going to make this fabuafraid of taking on challenges. On the other
munity deserved something new, beautiful
lous from top to bottom. Mississippi is last
hand, that lack of experience contributed to
and complete. However, the exhibits weren’t
in so many things, and our children face so
some of the problems we faced.
ready on the same timeline as the building
many challenges. They deserved something
The league had been very successful in
so there was no time to troubleshoot their
beautiful, something that could show them
capital fundraising as we proved with the
operation. We opened in December but it
what they could aspire to be. We were deMississippi Children’s Cancer Clinic. Howwas not until the following August that evtermined that we weren’t going to give them
ever, in the clinic’s case, we didn’t have to
erything worked reliably.
some fiftieth percentile museum.
manage a construction project or transition
We also did not anticipate how enthusiBlanchard: For me, it starts with our
from a capital budget to an operational one.
astic our public would be, so we significantly
mission
statement to provide unparalleled
All we had to do was raise the money and
underestimated the number of staff needed.
experiences
that ignite a thirst for discovery,
then turn everything over the University of
Naively sticking too closely to our sustainknowledge,
and learning in all children. We
Mississippi Medical Center to oversee. Not
ability plan, we started out with only five
want
to
be
unparalleled in everything that
so with the Mississippi Children’s Museum.
full-time and a handful of part-time staff.
we
did.
As
we
have gone along, Susan reIn our capital campaign, we had antici(Today, we have forty-five staff, including
minds us to keep the mission
pated and budgeted certain
at the heart of our work.
operational expenses like
This has pushed us to push
the costs of raising money,
ourselves to push the muplanning, and construction.
seum forward.
However, since none of us
We constantly assess
had been through a construcwhere we are, how we are dotion project of this scope, we
ing, and where we are going,
were not familiar with the
whether it is benchmarking
process and underestimated
our numbers operationally,
the timeline. As they say, time
conducting internal, postis money, and the delays were
event surveys, or soliciting
significant. In addition, our
direct feedback from our
fundraising was built around
visitors. In 2012-2013, we
gifts designated by donors
went through an organizafor specific uses—mainly
tional assessment through
for exhibits or building conthe IMLS and AAM Mustruction. We had not built
seum Assessment Program.
in extra, unrestricted funds
When the final report came
to cover operational expensMississippi Children’s Museum’s Water Table, complete with catfish, representing
back, there were only a coues. Fortunately, we had the
a Mississippi industry which is the leading aquaculture in the United States,
ple of points suggested for
“mothership” of the Junior
and a classic landscape feature, a water tower, this one inscribed with the banner
improvement. It is gratifying
League to fall back on.
statement: “Exploring Mississippi, the Magnolia State.
to know we are meeting our
The league provided ofFrom the beginning, we decided that we didn’t want to be “just any children’s
goals, but we also know that
fice space in their headquarmuseum.” We wanted something that was uniquely Mississippi, that would
we can always be better.
ters and was the governing
give a sense of the people and of the place.
Garrard: My ultimate
body for decision making
compass for quality is the
until the year the museum
child’s experience in the museum. One of
opened. In the beginning, they also covered
both full- and part-time employees.) With
my favorite opening memories that will albasic operating costs like phone, copier,
approximately 250,000 visitors that first
ways be with me is that of a little boy, around
staff, etc. The league oversaw the manageyear, we were constantly scrambling just to
six or seven years old, who had come on a
ment details but gradually as staff was hired
keep up with the volume.
scholarship field trip from the Mississippi
these decisions and tasks moved from volunSince most of us did not have prior muDelta, one of the most underserved, impovteer responsibilities to the staff.
seum experience, we had to learn museum
erished places to grow up in our country.
Blanchard: In our research, we found
operations from the ground up. When reI was wearing one of our signature orange
cruiting staff, we sought people with prior
several common strategies used in opening
aprons and asked him if he was enjoying
a children’s museum. Some start as “museeducation or customer service experience.
his visit…he said, “Museum lady, this is the
However, when you are a new entity, you
ums without walls”—beginning with small
best day of my life. This place is awesome.”
pop-up experiences in public spaces, then
don’t know just what you don’t know until
I guess that is the day that I knew that our
transition to bigger exhibits and then, when
you are faced with it. We learned by interactcompass was working and that maybe we
ing with the public and trying to meet their
there is sufficient funding and public suphad arrived somewhere real.
port, grow into a facility. Other museums
expectations every day. Coping with the
day-to-day demands delayed other museum
take existing buildings and renovate them to
purpose. A relatively few others may build a
work like developing field trips, educational
building but phase in galleries and exhibits
resources, and additional programming.
Hand to Hand
Hand to Hand
13
a lot with tape at the Children’s
I work
Museum of Pittsburgh. Visitors and
staff use tape on an almost daily basis. In my master’s thesis, I focused on
the struggles children have using tape.
Anyone who has offered a roll of tape
to a four-year-old knows what I’m talking about. They have trouble tearing,
cutting, and ripping tape. They also
have trouble estimating how much
they need. A child will typically tear off
the longest piece of tape that they possibly can, which results in a wrinkled,
crumpled, useless piece of tape.
What does tape (and the struggles
it provides children) have to do with a
high-quality museum experience?
To provide high-quality museum
experiences you don’t necessarily need
amazing exhibits. Sometimes it is the
little things (like tape) that matter most
in turning a ho-hum visit into a meaningful and memorable one for a kid. The
little struggles that (little) visitors overcome
(learning to hold a pair of scissors correctly
is just as important as actually making a
cardboard dinosaur) became the focus of my
research. The ability to cut a piece of tape
off of a roll may seem like a simple thing
on which to base a thesis—little experiences
are easily overshadowed by the larger, more
dramatic children’s museum experiences
such as climbing a giant net or sliding down
a three-story slide. The big experiences have
their own merits, but I now focus more and
more on the little moments at the museum.
Evolution of a Floor Staff Educator
The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
(CMP), like most children’s museums, has
a dedicated team of museum educators who
staff the exhibits and facilitate visitor experiences. Several years ago, I began volunteering as floor staff through the Americorps
program. Initially I worked primarily with
the education department, but soon began
helping out with the exhibits and marketing
departments as well. Once my Americorps
year was finished, I transitioned to a parttime museum employee, but that time spent
with different departments helped me better understand how a museum really works and broadened my experience as member of the floor staff.
During several years as a museum educator, I came to understand why floor staff are
14
Hand to Hand
The author ‘sticks”
around to help kids in
the MakeShop.
Visitor Experiences that Stick
Kevin Goodwin
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
referred to as the “front lines” of a museum:
they are the people with whom visitors directly interact. A more accurate term for this
group might be the “faces of the museum.”
Initially, as floor staff, I inhabited many
roles—playmate, janitor, security guard, etc.
It took me a couple of years to start seeing
myself as an educator. Under the tutelage of
staff teachers and mentors, I learned how to
teach in an informal environment. Instead
of simply watching over the exhibits I began
treating them as a classroom. Just because
we teach in an informal environment does
not mean that we should not address learning in a deliberate manner.
This change in attitude began as a result of working more directly with schools
and teachers. Attending conferences like the
Math and Science Collaborative introduced
me to local teachers and school administrators. I began co-teaching more focused
workshops and helping with long-term
school partnerships, digging deeper and
deeper into the world of education, which
led to my return to school for a master’s degree in education.
The next step in my educator evolution
came from working on a team to create the
Curiosity Lab, a learning space where both
visitors and staff were invited to inquire and
explore various phenomena (magnets,
sound, light). Staff were not only given the freedom to design and prototype exhibit pieces, but they also were
given time to brainstorm, build, facilitate, and reflect on their experience.
This process expanded and evolved
into what is now MAKESHOP. Fulltime MAKESHOP staff, known as
Teaching Artists, are afforded the opportunity to take ownership of the
space. Like other workshops or tinkering spaces, MAKESHOP allows
staff to engage in more long-term interactions with visitors, which in turn
lead to higher quality experiences for
visitors. People are invited to spend as
much time as they like with MAKESHOP activities. Just giving visitors a
place to sit and invest time in an activity makes a huge difference. Staff get
to know the visitor personally and can
tailor the experience towards the visitor’s capabilities, questions, goals, etc.
Back to Little Sticky Things
A children’s museum can be many
things: a daycare, a playground, a craft center, a birthday party space, a destination, a
tourist attraction, etc. As a floor staff educator, I think of the museum as an informal
learning space where I focus on the little
things that help people discover. On any
given day children and adults are learning
new things, discovering new capabilities,
asking new questions, and obtaining new
answers. My early childhood program thesis
project centered on adhesive tape as a metaphor for the importance of learning through
struggles and mistakes.
In the MAKESHOP, for example, many
different things happen, often simultaneously. The youngest visitors enjoy simple
activities, especially pushing the stools and
chairs around. Older children interact and
use the tools and materials provided to create their own projects. Adults—parents and
teachers—frequently ask how they can extend their experience beyond the museum
(how can I do this at home?), and floor staff
respond with resources, opinions, critiques,
and project ideas.
Learning moments happen all the time
in museums everywhere. Floor staff are
Museum Staff Respond
In a recent survey, ACM members were asked to respond to the following question: Asked to describe a “high-quality”
children’s museum, what would you say? What follows are edited excerpts from more than 180 responses.
If someone asked you to describe a “high-quality” children’s museum, what would you say?
Education-based; well designed and built exhibits;
hands-on gallery staff; exciting and unique
programming; clear-eyed vision of where that
museum is going.
David Hutchman, associate director of performance, Please Touch Museum (Philadelphia, PA)
Thoughtful and intentional about how to engage
children in exhibitions and programs that foster
curiosity and new skills; reflects on its work,
constantly finds ways to improve and renew, and
has clear goals and vision.
Rebecca Shulman Hertz, executive director,
Peoria Playhouse Children’s Museum (IL)
Has an excellent guest experience (clean bathrooms, good food, working exhibits, friendly and
knowledgeable staff), is financially stable, and is
valued and supported by the community.
Michael Shanklin, CEO, Kidspace Children’s
Museum (Pasadena, CA)
High quality? Defined by whom? The term is
too subjective, but the best children’s museums reflect their community; offer an array of
educational experiences for children and their
caregivers, and insure access for all; understand
who they are as defined by their mission and
program with that in mind.
Putter Bert, president & CEO, KidsQuest Children’s
Museum (Bellevue,WA)
More than an indoor playground; offers a variety
of well-researched and designed exhibits featuring content of great interest to children zero to
twelve, their families, and caregivers.
Jeri Robinson, vice president, early learning
initiatives, Boston Children’s Museum (MA)
Puts as much emphasis on process as it does
on outcome; engages guests of all ages/learning
styles and solicits feedback to produce a culture
of continual improvement and growth.
Michael Long, executive director, Great Lakes
Children’s Museum (Traverse City, MI)
Experiences that are thoughtful, unique, and safe,
using cleanable, durable, beautiful materials. A
full-family approach to design, considering the
needs of multiple generations and varying sizes
and diverse makeups of families.
Margaret Middleton, exhibit designer,
Boston Children’s Museum (MA)
A museum that lives and breathes the organizational mission and is able to avoid “mission drift”;
isn’t as concerned about communicating what
they do or how they do it, but focuses on why
they do it.
Adam Woolworth, executive director,
Children’s Museum of Oak Lawn (IL)
Evidence of professional standards in exhibits,
educational programs, staff, facility.
Catherine Wilson Horne, president,
Discovery Place, Inc. (Charlotte, NC)
Hand to Hand
Playful experiences in the sweet spot of fun
and learning (“edutainment”) with exceptional
customer service.
Dianne Krizan, President,
Minnesota Children’s Museum (St. Paul)
Thoughtfully designed, locally inspired and created, whimsical, open-ended, beautifully crafted,
playful, authentic materials, environmental
stewardship and social responsibility at the organization’s core, bold and original ideas, putting
kids first in every decision, a committed board,
staff and leadership, and beloved by the local
community.
Brenda Baker, director of exhibits, Madison
Children’s Museum (WI)
An environment focused on raising healthy children and families; not just “the fun place” but an
integral part of the educational ecosystem.
Susie Burdick, executive director, Kids Discovery
Museum (Bainbridge Island,WA)
Supports enjoyable mastery rather than performance-driven learning; experiences encourage a
sense of competence and autonomy
Peter Crabbe, education and exhibits director,
Kidspace Children’s Museum (Pasadena, CA)
A playful, comfortable, enjoyable place for
families.
Dan Spock, director, Minnesota History
Center Museum (St. Paul)
You can feel the excitement. Children’s eyes light
up as they walk in the door. They can’t wait to
see what’s around the next corner, to get their
hands dirty, to build, to explore, to create.
Tori Guidry, board president,
Children’s Museum of Acadiana (LA)
In touch with community needs and working
to address them; not afraid to push the broad
understanding of what children are capable of or
to innovate in order to have impact.
Karyn Flynn, CEO, Bay Area Discovery Museum
(Sausalito, CA)
Feels like it is of/from its locale; doesn’t look
cookie cutter; includes unexpected “wow” experiences; visitors see/know that the museum is
offering new, interactive approaches to learning.
Emily Timmel, lead exhibition developer,
Bronx Children’s Museum (NY)
Galleries/exhibits/environments have a high
aesthetic (beautiful, durable, natural, and authentic materials); provide intrinsically engaging,
age-appropriate activities, layered for a variety of
ages as well as solo/parallel/cooperative play. Advocates for the power of play in the early learning community and delivers outreach programs
to meet the needs of children and families.
Kimberly McKenney, grants & assessment director,
Children’s Museum of Tacoma (WA)
Universally designed in program and architecture that creates an inclusive environment for
children of all abilities—all the time.
Denise Liebel, CEO, United Services for Children,
(Saint Peters, MO)
Superb customer service: energetic, warm floor
staff, smiling, eager and ready to engage with
visitors.
Prince Baron, public program and exhibits
supervisor, Children’s Museum of Manhattan (NY)
An organization that focuses on delivering exhibits and program that address the specific learning
needs of children in its community...and all
delivered through ROI—Relentless Operational
Innovation—to maximize resources to ensure
the best outcomes.
Tammi Kahn, executive director,
Children’s Museum of Houston (TX)
Activates curiosity at every turn, engages mind
and body, and embraces play in beyond-the-usual
experiences.
Barry van Deman, president & CEO,
Museum of Life &Science (Durham, NC)
Shows originality and attention to detail throughout the environment, taking pride in an advanced
aesthetic through quality exhibits and programming.
Tom Dreyer, exhibits project manager,
Madison Children’s Museum (WI)
Develops most or all of their own programs and
exhibits; doesn’t fill their space with mostly offthe-shelf toys; professionally staffed.
Amy Spar, associate vice president, museum
planning, Chicago Children’s Museum (IL)
Fun, educational, safe, clean, attractive, appealing,
well-staffed with helpful, smart staff or volunteers; unexpected or unique experiences; socially
conscious about community and world (not full
of corporate sponsors trying to teach kids in
an “educational exhibit” to be consumers, for
example)
Amy Carr, publications manager, ¡Explora!
(Albuquerque, NM)
Offers a well-rounded, hands-on experience to
engage the minds, muscles, and imaginations of
visitors.
Betsy Ferman, director of visitor experience,
Children’s Museum of Phoenix (AZ)
A museum that respects the child and provides
authentic, meaningful and reflective experiences
that support intergenerational learning with their
families.
Chip Lindsey, executive director, ScienceWorks
Hands-On Museum (Ashland, OR)
15
Nonprofit Org.
U. S. Postage PAID
Permit No. 123
Arlington, VA
2711 Jefferson Davis Highway
Suite 600
Arlington, VA 22202
High-Quality
Children’s
Museums
Visitor Experiences That Stick
uniquely positioned to notice, expand, and
scaffold these learning experiences to give
visitors more high-quality experiences. As
part of my research, I developed and facilitated a toddler program in MAKESHOP
where parents and children spent a lot of
time exploring and playing with tape. I
taught kids how tape works and modeled
behaviors that I had seen in other children
who could use tape well, including a great
technique for cutting tape I learned from
group of preschool students at Carnegie
Mellon University’s CYERT Center (email
me and I’ll let you in on the secret). Another
learning moment occurred when I invited
a teenage visitor to help me construct a
large cardboard dragon during a Medievalthemed month. Over the course of a couple
hours working together on the dragon, using cardboard to construct the body parts
and tape, brass brads, string, and glue to
hold all of the pieces together, we talked
about a lot of things—from high school to
video games. At one point he confessed to
me that he had expected to have no fun at all
during his visit to the museum. He felt that
he was far too old for a children’s museum.
16
Hand to Hand
But he quickly changed his mind once he
was invited to help with the dragon project.
Moments when you can have a real conversation with a visitor or teach someone a new
skill are what differentiate a good visit from
a stellar one.
Investing in the Front Lines
A high-quality museum experience starts
with floor staff that actively foster inquiry
and exploration. Good floor staff will become even better when given opportunities
to grow as learners and educators. My work
at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh has
given me a better understanding of how
children and adults learn in informal spaces,
and encouraged me to push my understandings further. Former staff member Missy
Steele taught me to respect the position of
museum educator and to embrace both the
good and bad parts of the job. She helped
me learn new things, like how fix a screen
printing frame and how to develop a more
organized, professional attitude. Local kindergarten teacher Melissa Butler helped me
realize my potential as a teacher in an informal environment by turning an exhibit or
an installation into a formalized lesson using
the many resources in the museum. When
her students visited the museum, they didn’t
simply play with the exhibits. Instead,
we explored and noticed every little detail
about pieces in the exhibits together—from
observing the colors and patterns in a large
scale exhibit piece like Dick Esterle’s More
Light to simply understanding how a nut
and bolt fit together in MAKESHOP.
The floor staff of any museum can take
a person’s visit to another level. To evolve
from an exhibit overseer to a true steward
of the museum, start simple and focus on
the little moments that happen. The process snowballs. Soon you can start to form
your own learning philosophies and create
engaging experiences for both yourself and
the visitors you serve. Look for opportunities to learn from mistakes and at the same
time try to involve visitors and colleagues in
the solution to the problem. Sometimes the
fix for something that is broken is simply a
piece of tape.
Kevin Goodwin has worked at the Children’s
Museum of Pittsburgh for the past several years. He
has worked in both traditional classroom settings as
well as informal learning environments. Kevin has
a Master’s in Early Childhood Education from Carlow University.

Hand to Hand - Association of Children`s Museums

Transcription

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