The best children's exhibit I've seen in a very long time is the Play
Ball show at the Brooklyn Historical Society, featuring the story of Jackie
Robinson and the Brooklyn
Dodgers baseball team (some of us in Brooklyn think that 'dose Bums' are
still on a long road trip).  There are many physically and emotionally
and intellectually and socially interactive elements in this tiny show,
and it operates very much as Robinson's story and his batting stance and
his way of dancing off third base did when I was a child -- to provide me
with a model for fantasizing and developing the skills to meet life's
challenges.

I don't know whether any of the above will make sense in New Zealand, but
you ought to write to Leslie Bedford at the Brooklyn Historical Society,
128 Pierrepont St., Bklyn NY 11201, and ask her to send you a very fine
article that appeared in the NY Times about the exhibit.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Richard Rabinowitz              <> American History Workshop
[log in to unmask]                  <> 588 Seventh Street
718/499-6500 fax: 718/499-6575  <> Brooklyn, New York 11215-3707



On Fri, 15 Mar 1996, Roger Smith wrote:

> Greetings all Museum-L'ers,
>
> Our museum is embarking on an ambitious programme of children's education and
> a key component of this strategy is the construction of a dedicated children's
> gallery.
>
> I would be interested in receiving information from other colleagues who have
> social history or visual art galleries for children. Of particular interest to
> my curators would be information on content and interactivity.  We wish to
> incorporate a strong sense of discovery into our design.
>
> Any assistance or thoughts you may have would be much appreciated.
> Roger Smith
> Director of the Waikato Museum of Art & History, Te Whare Taonga o Waikato
> Private Bag, Hamilton,  New Zealand.
> Fax 64 7 838 6571   Phone 64 838 6709   email    [log in to unmask]
>