I am a Masters student at the University of Canberra ... and I need
help!!!  I have recently begun work on the thesis component of my degree
and have choosen the topic "Interpreting Historic Houses for Young
Children".  My research will involve (among other things) establishing the
context of a field trip to a house museum, investigating the
expectations of children who attend these field trips and determining
the long and short term impact of the visit.  Following this I hope to
develop a set of guidelines for interpreting historic houses to young
(ages 5 - 8) children.  Eventually I would like to publish this set of
guidelines so that volunteers and employees in house museums who do not
have the advantage of an education officer are still able to provide a
meaningful experience for this particularly challenging age group.

Either fortunately or unfortunately (I haven't decided yet!) this topic
seems to have remained relatively unexplored, hence literature on the
topic is very hard to come by.  My request of all you people out there in
Museum Land is that you let me know about any literature that may be
useful/relevant to my thesis.  I think I have just about exhausted
resources around here and so now need to go further afield to find
information on:
* house museums in general
* interpretation in house museums
* young children learning through objects
* learning theory that can be applied to the museum
* how young children view the past
* interpretation programs catering specifically for young children
* studies that have been conducted on young children learning in museums
that DO NOT focus on exhibitions but rather the whole museum experience;
or anything else that may help me along the way (especially names of
people who have done work in this area).

To reduce the amount of messages we all have to read its probably best to
contact me off-list, unless anyone else wishes to announce their interest!
Thanks in advance - I REALLY appreciate it.

Lisa DeSantis
P.O. Box 69
Millthorpe
N.S.W.  2798
(06) 288 9424
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