It seems to me to be particularly counterproductive for a history museum not
to view children as an important part of our audience.  If we aren't
preserving history for future generations, who are we preserving it for?
Children are also our future donors of money and artifacts.  It would seem
the earlier we establish positive relationships with them the more likely
they will be in the future to be generous with us.  However, this is a
philosophical argument & what you really want is supporting data.  I can't
think of any published studies that address this specifically, but here is
some information we recently gathered from focus groups we conducted as part
of our strategic planning process.

People consistently said that one of the most appealing things about our
museum was that it was child friendly.  About half of the focus group
participants had no children or grown children. These comments suggest that,
in our community at least, there is a feeling that a museum should consider
children & youth in its programs & exhibits.  One person even said
specifically that reaching children "is basic to the continuity of knowledge
in the community, preventing a gap between children and adults".


Edith W. Brady
Curator of Education
High Point Museum
1859 E. Lexington Ave.
High Point, NC  27262
(336) 885-1859
(336) 883-3284 fax
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