I fear I'm a grouchy old woman.  I think we place way too much emphasis on
the whys and wherefores, and the fact of the matter is there are rules...not
everywhere is an interactive fun zone (which incidentally have rules also!).
Can't we just tell them no?  Does everything have to be clarified?  I
wonder -- do we feel guilty about having to say no, that they won't like us
because we say no?
I am from the sit down and shut up school of parenting...so you can ignore
me...(I should add that I do have extraordinarily well behaved respectful
teen boys, so something can be said for that!)
Candace Perry

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Erin Gerrity
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 11:56 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Positive ways to say "Do not touch"?


I usually ask kids to put their hands in their pockets or hold them behind
their backs to help remind them not to touch and tell them I know it can be
hard not to touch but it's really important because... And then I bring up a
story of something bad that really did happen, for example, a long time ago
some kids accidentally knocked over a giant mannequin (literally the KY
Giant Jim Porter) and busted his hands off. It seems that when you bring up
a specific incident like that, they tend to remember why not to touch. Good
Luck!

Erin Gerrity
Portland Museum
Louisville, KY

On 5/1/07 10:48 AM, "Laurel Spencer-Forsythe" <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> A group of educators working in collaboration with museum staff to develop
> curriculum materials objected to the negative approach to traditional
museum
> rules like "don't touch" and "no running." While it was easy enough to put
a
> positive spin on "no running" and turn it into "walk"-- we are having more
> trouble coming up with a positive way of communicating "don't touch"
clearly
> in written form (this is in a PowerPoint presentation that serves as a
field
> trip orientation).
>
> One teacher suggested stating the ways that touching damages works of art
> and artifacts, which is a method I've often seen used effectively, BUT we
> need a pretty basic directive not an explication of conservation
theory.....
> The "museum rules" slide is the last slide after a pretty lengthy
> presentation (about 80 slides), so the message needs to be brief.
>
> Any great ideas out there you can share?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Laurel Spencer Forsythe
> Executive Director
> Ruthmere
> 302 E. Beardsley Ave.
> Elkhart, IN 46514
> (574) 264-0330
>
> www.ruthmere.org
>
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