Taylor, Mary Jane and Beth A. Twiss Houting. “Is it Real? Kids and Collections.” (2010)

Collections in history museums are important to visitors of all ages and special collections do not need to be acquired for children. Rather, museum educators need to harness the collections they have in order to create exhibitions and interpretations that are relevant to each family member, including children. It is important for history museums to create experiences that aid in intergenerational learning. History museums offer families a way to connect to the past and to each other so it is important to integrate adults’ experience with that of children through the use of historical objects. The authors list four approaches to family learning in a museum: the environment needs to be developmentally appropriate for all group members, the experience must be social and playful, the museum experience must relate to existing knowledge, and family learning must involve different styles of learning. Learning in history museums is a two-way street, with both adults and children taking the lead on their interests. The authors discuss how collecting is important to most children and list three reasons why children collect: to acquire and own things, to classify what they collect, and as a starting point for exploration and learning. Museums have begun to move away from exhibitions that are founded on adults mediating children’s learning agendas to actual discovery and harnessing the agendas of the children themselves. In order to make history museum exhibitions meaningful to children, the authors list three challenges: to select objects that provide a foundation and positive experience with history, to interpret the objects so they communicate and illustrate messages, and to design exhibition spaces that foster conversations intergenerationally and with objects. It is also important to use light, sound and media to highlight objects in history museums as children often do not, or cannot, read a lot of text.