This, although I would add to the thought that I believe the research
stipulates that it is children who visit museums outside of school
time are far more likely to visit as adults.

Eli Purchase, MSc
Conservation Technician
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre,
Yellowknife, NT
Phone 867.873.7664

Liz Maurer brought up a good point.  Research demonstrates that those
who visit museums during childhood are far more likely to become
museum visitors in their adult years.  How many of you remember
a positive museum experience from your childhood that inspired you
to eventually pursue a career in the museum field?
 
Many have brought up the issue of engagement.  I think this is only
one small component of children/family groups in museums.  I work in
a museum education position at a university and obviously believe
that education plays an important role in the vitality of the
organization.  However, I do not think that every museum visitor or
child needs to have an educational experience.  If you force someone
to engage in an exhibition it can be off-putting and discourage
future visits.  What's wrong with going to a museum and simply
enjoying the experience?
 
I think the organization needs to take a look at what it's doing to
accommodate the basic needs of their visitors, kids in particular in
this situation.  Maybe a child is acting up because he's hungry and
there's nothing to eat in the cafe that is kid-friendly.  If
strollers are not allowed in the gallery and a child has been walking
around all day, it's understandable that he might cry.
 
If you visit a museum with your child for the first time, you may not
be aware of the "rules" or "appropriate museum behavior."  I know not
to touch anything when I go to a museum because I grew up going with
my mother, who also works in a museum.  Believe it or not, not
everyone knows that we don't like when people touch works of art.  I
think there's an appropriate way of handling this situation without
posting rules.  I can't think of anything more unwelcoming and cold
than a list of things you CAN'T do during your visit. 
 
Yes, it can be annoying when children whine in museums, but I'm just
happy the parents brought them there in the first place. 
 
Dorothy Witter

 
On Thu, Jul 7, 2011 at 10:33 AM, Keith MacKay <[
mailto:[log in to unmask] ][log in to unmask]> wrote:






This has been a popular conversation topic of late.  
  
I think it opens an interesting and much broader point about museums
needing to find/create an audience (or niche or community) and strive
to serve/attract that group. A museum can not be all things to all
people.   
  
Secondly, I think we need to broaden our understanding of museum
education beyond thinking that "education = children".  There are
numerous museums, both art and historic sites, fulfilling their
educational and inspiration missions through programs and events for
adults: teens, senior citizens, young professionals, or etc.   
My two cents –  
  
Keith D MacKay  

--- On Thu, 7/7/11, Carol Ely <[ mailto:[log in to unmask]
][log in to unmask]> wrote:


From: Carol Ely <[ mailto:[log in to unmask] ][log in to unmask]> 

Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Children in Museums

To: [ mailto:[log in to unmask]
][log in to unmask]

Date: Thursday, July 7, 2011, 10:40 AM 



Another solution is to have specific family days with extra staff on
hand where you take time to greet people and explain the rules in a
friendly way. We have one summer event with a very low admission
price which seems to be the gateway experience for a lot of young
families who hesitate to take children to museums because they don’t
know if the children will be welcome and if they’ll enjoy it. Because
the price is low, it’s low risk for the parents, and because we know
in advance that we’re going to be dealing with young kids and with
inexperienced museum-goers, we have enough personnel to guide the
experience. We hope they’ll enjoy it and come back and tell their
friends. 


 


Carol Ely 
Locust Grove 
Louisville

----------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link:
[ http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1
]http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&a=1 



























----------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link:
[ http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1
]http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&a=1 




----------------------------------------------------------------------


To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link:
[ http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1
]http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&a=1 

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).