Welcoming Young Children into the Museum provides all of the information practitioners need to consider when making the decision to engage with this audience and their carers. Meeting the reader where they are, this guide enables professionals to work towards outcomes that fit with their needs. Working methodically from the initial stages of bringing staff on board, through to implementation and evaluation, readers are carefully steered through each phase. Big-picture needs, like adherence to mission, are considered alongside logistical components, like cleaning schedules, to ensure that museums cater to young children in a way that is beneficial to both the visitors and the institution. Drawing on current neurological research and best practices in early childhood education and development, this guide presents case studies from a variety of different institutions around the world that demonstrate that creating interesting, developmentally appropriate opportunities for young children is about much more than just simplifying what is already on offer. Erdman, Nguyen and Middleton demonstrate that the age and needs of the visitors must be taken into careful consideration, as well as the assets and potential obstacles of the institution. Welcoming Young Children into the Museum will be essential reading for professionals working in museums large and small, regardless of type. It will be useful to those who are considering setting up new programmes for early years audiences and those with existing programmes, who would like to improve their offering.

Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" is world renowned, but only Katie--a young museum goer with an amazing ability to step into paintings--would think of it as a good source of seeds for her garden. Full color.

Bringing different cultural perspectives on creativity with them, teachers and children in two early childhood education sites in Aotearoa New Zealand were using museum visits as jumping off places to hone their creative capacity building. As a contribution to Tim Ingold’s discussion of anthropology and/as education, and also finding John Dewey’s writing valuable (specifically his framing of ‘enduring attitudes’), the authors employ a navigation metaphor throughout the discussion. They describe a coming together of four Cultural Anchors (thinking from materials) with four Coordinates (creative capacity builders) to describe ways in which the children were making creative sense of the museum exhibits, while at the same time gathering information about them. They take these travel metaphors from a star cluster in the southern hemisphere night sky, Matariki, which provided early sea-going Māori with guidance as they navigated wide stretches of ocean in their sea-going canoes to reach Aotearoa New Zealand. A Māori immersion early childhood centre and school, and a New Zealand kindergarten provided lively examples of children’s and teachers’ responses to the treasured artefacts (taonga) in their local museums. The book describes an ecosocial framing, from ‘little to big’, and illustrates the different cultural perspectives on creativity. The Mana Tamariki kaiako (teachers) gifted us a title—He taonga, he rerenga arorangi (Where there are treasured objects, the spirit is nurtured and creativity will be inspired).

Museums: filled with mysterious, magical art and curiosities? Or secrets? And what might happen if a boy suddenly became part of one of the mind-bending exhibits? Join the fun in Museum Trip, by Barbara Lehman, the author-illustrator of the Caldecott Honor–winning The Red Book.

International Thinking on Children in Museums introduces current research, theory, and practice about young learners in museums around the world. The book imparts vital knowledge about the nature of childhood and children’s learning that will improve understanding of the very youngest museum-goers. Including contributions from practitioners, scholars, and consultants around the globe, this volume examines museum practices and children’s learning across a range of distinct cultural and geographic locales. The framework of the book is based on research and current thinking in the realm of developmental psychology, sociology, and anthropology, allowing the contributors to examine the evolution of early learning and children’s programs through a sociocultural lens. This broad-based look at international museum practices for children offers a rare view of the field from an important, but oft-neglected perspective: that of society and culture. International Thinking on Children in Museums will broaden understanding of museum practice across cultures and geographic regions and, as such, will be of interest to scholars and students engaged in the study of museum education, museum studies, and early learning. It should also provide a much-needed source of inspiration for museum practitioners working around the world.

What does a museum do with a kindergartner who walks through the door? The growth of interest in young children learning in museums has joined the national conversation on early childhood education. Written by Sharon Shaffer, the founding Executive Director of the innovative Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, this is the first book for museum professionals as well as students offering guidance on planning programming for young children.This groundbreaking book:-Explains the various ways in which children learn-Shows how to use this knowledge to design effective programs using a variety of teaching models-Includes examples of successful programs, tested activities, and a set of best practices

In this one-of-a-kind volume, museum staff and social scientists begin to explore the many facets of the relationship between museums and families. They examine the museum's importance to the family as a source for socialization and learning. At the heart of this exciting book is a concentration on developing programs of experiential learning and knowledge building that will assist families in understanding their history and culture.