Sorry, but I couldn't resist rewriting this one.
'Don't touch!' is never enough
Kids tell parents - be positive when you speak to us! Stop telling us off. Say things like, 'Isn't that a great boiling kettle. Let's look at it together from further back.'
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nick Poole
Sent: 11 January 2010 13:11
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Kids in Museums press release - families want less in-gallery IT and more hands-on experiences
Dear Museum Computer Group,
I thought that some of you would be interested in the press release
issued today by Kids in Museums. The information has been provided by
real visitors submitting hundreds of feedback forms and letters, and I
think it makes sobering reading for those of involved in online
collections!
I have a feeling that this is going to become an emerging theme in the
next 2 years as the excitement of Digital recedes and leaves in its wake
something better-integrated which makes best use of technology to inform
people about and lead them to real, physical and meaningful interactions
with collections - we're likely to see more 'back to basics' rhetoric as
the Public Sector Recession bites deeper and there are fewer
opportunities for speculative digital projects. Kids in Museums are keen
to encourage a debate around these themes, and I'd be interested to hear
any reactions on-list.
All best,
Nick
LAUNCH OF 2010 KIDS IN MUSEUMS MANIFESTO THURSDAY 14th JANUARY
Sitting at a computer screen or fingering a fossil? Families want less
technology and more simple hands-on experiences in museums.
The new 2010 Kids in Museums Manifesto is being launched, compiled
entirely from visitors' comments. And this year families have made it
clear - they don't want 'hands on' to mean passively pushing buttons.
They want hands on to mean just that - handling real things,
dressing-up, getting messy. They want a bit of bone to handle or a
replica of a Tudor costume to pull on. Families can sit in front of a
computer screen or play on a Wii at home. Museums should be different.
They have the thrill of the real.
'I remember my first visit to the British Museum with my father at the
age of eight. I was fascinated by the Rosetta Stone. I was thrilled to
be able to touch it - it was uncovered at the time - and physically
connect with history,' says Neil MacGregor, Director, British Museum.
'Of the thousands of visitors' suggestions we received for the 2010
Manifesto, hardly any mentioned technology and gadgets. Families talked
about making paper planes in a gallery like Leonardo da Vinci, or
shining a torch into a dark corner of a glass cabinet as if they were
discovering something for the first time. There's nothing hi tech about
that,' says Dea Birkett, Director, Kids in Museums. 'Museums need to
listen to families, and provide sensual experiences, not clean and
clinical ones.'
The demand for better hands-on, interactive exhibits is just one point
in the 2010 Kids in Museums Manifesto - 20 ways to make a museum family
friendly - being launched at the British Museum on 14th January. The
British Museum is a signatory to the Kids in Museums Manifesto and a
place families have always enjoyed.
Other new points in the 2010 Manifesto include:
Provide a place to leave prams
Families are fed up of being told there's nowhere to store their prams
and pushchairs in museums. Museums and galleries should provide a place
for families to leave all their baggage, so they're free enjoy Picasso,
ancient pottery or prehistoric artefacts without being encumbered by
buggies stuffed with changing bags and piles of winter coats. And if the
galleries weren't crowded with unwanted prams, visitors without kids
would have a better time, too.
'Don't touch!' is never enough
Families tell museum staff - be positive when you speak to us! Stop
telling us off. Say things like, 'Isn't that a great painting. Let's
look at it together from further back.'
Have flexible family tickets
Don't dictate the size of a family. Families come in all shapes and
sizes. We want a family ticket even if we have three kids, or are a lone
parent family with a grandparent too.
Kids in Museums - a Brief History
In 2003, writer Dea Birkett was thrown out of the Royal Academy's Aztec
exhibition when her youngest son, aged two, shouted 'Monster!' at a
statue of Eagle Man who looked rather like - well - a monster. Four days
later, Dea wrote a piece about her family's expulsion in the Guardian.
By the end of that day, hundreds of families emailed to say they were
fed up being treated badly in Britain's museums, and wanted to see
change. Kids in Museums was born, a voice for every family visitor.
Today Kids in Museums is an independent charity, working with museums to
make them more welcoming to families, in particular those who have never
had the opportunity to visit before. Kids in Museums believes in
changing museums, we can change lives, giving opportunities and
experiences to new families.
Further details, interviews and copies of the 2010 Kids in Museums
Manifesto contact:
Telephone 020 7022 1888
Email [log in to unmask]
Website www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk
Images and Quentin Blake illustrations available for press use.
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