I think Elizabeth, and others, have hit on it: basic rules do have to be stated in writing. We've been blessed to have well-behaved children/ families at our 1840 historic house....adults are another story. "Can't I just walk through the house on my own? I don't want a tour. It's okay, I live with antiques." And the cell phones. "Hi! Oh, I'm on a tour - what are you doing?" We can't assume folks know what a museum is, why we do what we do, or how to take a group tour.

As a parent of a former toddler, what makes me crazy is the modern family-oriented museums (in newly designed & constructed buildings) that can't accommodate their audience - no curb cuts, narrow doorways (even for an umbrella stroller, the Hyundia of toddler vehicles), and no auto-door openers. And the building I'm thinking of won numerous awards for its visionary architecture. My wife's been back, but I'm boycotting.

John Marks
Curator of Collections & Exhibits
Geneva (NY) Historical Society

On 7/7/2011 8:19 AM, Elizabeth Walton wrote:
[log in to unmask]" type="cite">I work in museum education some of the time right now, and some children really fail at basic behavior (throwing rocks at historic light fixtures), while most behave quite well. The one similarity we have seen in the monsters is that the parents refuse to tell them no, or let them wander off so far that they do not see the behavior. Some even blame us when their kids misbehave (he wouldn't throw sand at the animals if you did not have things that look like sandboxes) Also, during education programming kids have teachers there and other students, it is a different dynamic than when they are only with their parents. 

Museums that are made for children give them spaces they can wiggle and run in, adult museums need the adults to teach them how to behave in public adult spheres. I think basic rules do have to be stated in writing, because many people are clueless and you need to be able to point to something that was there for them to read when you kick them out. 

and OMG those strollers are insane. You should not need 6 foot wide doorways to roll a couple of toddlers around. 

On Thu, Jul 7, 2011 at 7:12 AM, jerry.symonds <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hi Jim,

 

Fully appreciating that you are passing on these thoughts, which are not your own:

 

I am amazed we haven’t yet (?) had those involved in museum education coming forward to argue the case the other way here?

 

If we actually believe that “the average child - for whatever reasons - doesn't get anything out of the experience” then we might as well pack up Museum Education altogether!

 

This kind of statement which tends to generalize without hard evidence e.g. is “often spoiled”, “the average child”, “several encounters” is statistically meaningless and is not really a very useful basis for discussion.

 

Perhaps those of you who have some serious research statistics which they would be happy to share on the evaluation of museum education programs and the response of museum visitors to museums being “child inclusive”, we could debate this further?

 

It is an important issue but I think some hard evidence would be helpful.

 

The other point, as always, is that “it all depends” e.g.

 

Does the museum have an education program?

Does the museum hold collections which will be of specific interest to children?

Do the people raising the concerns have children themselves?

 

An interesting debate, for sure!

 

Regards,

 

Jerry Symonds Snr Internal Auditor

Historic Royal Palaces

Surrey

England

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of James Schulte
Sent: 07 July 2011 00:35
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Children in Museums

 

A close friend of mine (married, childless I should add) brought the following to the attention of another list serve . I thought I would share it and see how others deal with this or don’t. Let the controversy begin..

 

My wife and I visit historic sites, museums and events. It seems that the experience is often spoiled by the unruly behavior of children - from babies crying to adolescents being...well...adolescent!

 

The concept of exposing children to historic and cultural things seems wonderful in theory. Indeed, many sources for funding insist institutions include kid-friendly components as a requisite for consideration. But I have to wonder if in practice that the average child - for whatever reasons - doesn't get anything out of the experience and often only ruins it for the adults who actually appreciate the opportunity.

 

I know not every child is like this - I was always a history geek, even when I was little. But several encounters with both individual families and school groups at events and exhibits have made me question how we approach this.

 

Now don’t shoot the messenger, I have my thoughts as both an educator and museum professional. I wanted to see what others think or do. Then ill post mine in a few days

Peace

Jim


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