AN INVITATION TO RETHINKING EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING SPACES MUSEUMS AS YOUNG LEARNERS’ CLASSROOMS Charissa Ruth INTERCOM Conference October 2015

Museum preschools cultivate these young but large appetites for learning. With changing exhibits that can include skeletons, soundscapes, birds and butterflies, dioramas or platforms for material exploration, museums place an amazing world at children’s fingertips. In preschool- sized portions, young children can explore big exhibits where they might meet a nine- foot polar bear, get to know ants, or sit in a dinosaur’s footprint. (Vergeront, 2011, p. 2)

JOY WONDER LOVE OF LEARNING CURIOSITY

WHAT IS A MUSEUM SCHOOL? A school located either in or adjacent to a museum Children attend at least one day a week regularly without the presence of a parent, family member, or caregiver Students spend time in both the museum (gallery, outside, etc) and the traditional classroom space Object-based learning: students not only visit the museum but the museum and the collection are incorporated within the curriculum

THE IDEA OF A MUSEUM SCHOOL John Dewey in The School and Society

EARLY LEARNERS: PLAY BUILDS BRAINS Developing Language Body Awareness Rely on senses to make sense of the world Children are “natural-born storytellers” (Paley, 2005, p. 16) Fantasy play and silliness Repetition

HOW MUSEUMS ADDRESS YOUNG LEARNERS NEEDS Through stories we learn about human culture and psychology, without the potentially staggering costs of having to gain this experience firsthand.” (Gottschall, 2012, p. 28) Museums tell the stories of objects and people Provide opportunities to engage different learning styles Hands-on, object based learning…constructivist Provides context for learning, multiple contexts Allows for repetition and revisiting

BENEFITS FOR MUSEUM Brings education to the forefront of the institution’s mission AAM calls for museums to orient themselves to place education as the driving force or center of mission Expanding their audience, inviting young learners into museum spaces Creating a stronger bond with the community Students see themselves as part of the microcosm of the museum, creating generations of museum advocates Financial benefits- brings in revenue, can collect grant/donor/government money

CHALLENGES Financial- Short term costs versus long term gains Taking the pulse of the community, is there interest? Space- Where do all those children go? Hiring –Expanding staff Government requirements, standardized education Reorienting existing staff/departments, getting everyone on the bus

REFERENCES American Association of Museums. (2008). Excellence and Equity: Education and the Public Dimension of Museums (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Dewey, J. (1990). The School and Society. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, Ltd. Gottschall, J. (2012). The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Paley, V.G. (2005). A Child’s Play: The Importance of Fantasy Play. Chicago, IN: The University of Chicago Press. Vergeront, J. (2011). Science at Play: Museum Preschools Offer Rich Environments for Science Learning. Hand to Hand, 5(1), Retrieved from hand.html. Wood, C. (2007). Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages Turners Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children.

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