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 [log in to unmask]