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August 31st, 2007 at 10:47 am
On holiday in the Lake District I visited the Dock Museum in Barrow http://www.dockmuseum.org.uk/ with my two children (5 & 2) and my parents. It was great! Loads of ship models that are of inexplicable fascination to my son, an amazing setting in a disused dock, so you keep going down and down through the displays, and a top-notch playground outside. It was only afterwards I realised that there was hardly an interactive in the place, yet it had held our interest really well.
September 3rd, 2007 at 8:19 am
We went to the National Portrait Gallery and were just in time for their children’s activity (which basically just involves handing out paper and crayons and talking to the children about paintings, then getting them to create their own version – in this case a self-portrait with a patterned background). The staff were brilliant – ie they directed us towards the person who was running the activity, which we wouldn’t have known about otherwise. Being sprawled out colouring on the gallery floor did help the children feel at home and welcome in the gallery.
September 24th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
I think the ‘kids in Musuems’ Award is FANTASTIC! I work for EXPLORE At Bristol, which is a science centre in Bristol designed as a hands-on, educational -but most importantly FUN- museum for Kids and BIG kids! This Award and the ‘kids in musuem’ manifesto are SO INSPIRING! It really makes you look more closely are how we treat, keep and look after our family visitors. I have to say that, I feel we opitomise the ethos of the awards and it makes me feel really proud to be working for a charity that really makes a difference to families. For example we have a new exhibtion at the moment called ‘fossils and funnybones’ which has a mixture of hands on activities (a giant dinosaur dig pit, costumes to try on, microscopes etc) as well as using things like story telling to bring ideas alive- we have toddler time events on friday afternoons which give families a chance to play together as well meeting new friends. Over the course of the next 2 months we have more exhibitions coming in, but these ones are aimed at older children, like ‘LoveSport’ and ‘Inside DNA’. Sorry this isn’t supposed to be an advert; I just feel very passionately that we are an attraction for everyone! I’d be really keen to hear from visitors and other attractions to find out what we could do better and how to enthuse and be inspired to do more! H
September 28th, 2007 at 6:25 am
I come from Bristol so was interested to read Hannah Broadway’s comments above. [Yes, it was an advert Hannah!]. I was wondering if EXPLORE is linking their fossil exhibition with the other excellent collections and work going on in Bristol? Bristol’s Museum & Art Gallery have fantastic collections (kids love it and it’s FREE) and the University’s Earth Sciences Dept are doing great work with schools on the Bristol dinosaur and their DINOBASE website. I’d love to see more co-operation going on for marketing and special events etc in Bristol. If your child develops a passion for something like fossils you want it to be easy to find out what’s there locally. Sorry, this is a bit off topic!
November 7th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
I’d be really interested in any feedback from visitors to museums as to what interpretation they feel works best for children/family visits Do museum text panels spoon-feed and remove the opportunity for you and your children to think creatively, question and discuss themes, opinions etc? What good examples of brilliantly engaging text/interpretation have you encountered?
All thoughts welcome!
Many thanks.
November 28th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
In Barcelona where I live, I find that many of the museums and galleries are geared towards children. They have regular workshops and activities – sometimes for even very young children. As well as organised activities that run alongside the permanent exhibits, they often have fun and interactive activities coinciding with many of the temporary exhibits. When I go along with friends, who like myself have toddlers, we are typically made to feel very welcome by museum staff. The MNAC (Museum of National Art of Catalunya), as part of their Surrealism season, currently has a Surrealist workshop for children 3 yrs and over with props and materials to allow kids to experiment creatively. The CaixaForum has permanent rooms attached to the exhibition rooms which run artistic workshops (ages 6yrs and over) related to the works being exhibited. The Museum of Natural Science and Zoology gives visitors a free pack for under 12′s when you enter with a drawing pad, plastic animals, photographs and guessing games to make the visit more stimulating for younger children. I am not very aware of the situation in the UK, however, since having a young child here, I have been amazed by how so much of what is available for children takes place in the museums or other cultural settings. I have recently created a website http://www.kidsinbarcelona.com that highlights some of the child-appropriate museums in Barcelona and cultural activities for resident kids as well as visitors with children to the city.
March 25th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Today, 25th March 2008, is the 20th anniversary of an amazing day at Bristol’s City Museum & Art Gallery. On Friday 25th March 1988 members of WHAM! (Women, Heritage & Museums) and staff at this local authority museum organised “Open House” – an activity day for the under fives. This was long before toddlers were really made welcome in museums and Dea Birkett kick-started Kids in Museums, but I like to think a small seed was sown in Bristol that day. It was an unforgettable experience, exhausting but lots of fun. The organisers expected about 400 people – over 3,000 turned up.
Some women wept as volunteers carried their buggies up the stairs into the museum! No lifts in those days, so this wasn’t what they were used to. The toddlers took it all in their stride of course and behaved brilliantly because so much was geared to their needs.
The organisers were mostly young women professionals, and the odd volunteer like myself. Some had young families. They really impressed me with the energy, intelligence and commitment they put into this day – nothing was impossible for this team. I think most of them are still working in museums today, some in very senior jobs. I like to think that day influenced their attitude to kids and families in museums and I sometimes wonder if the toddlers who came along, who are now in their twenties, have any memory of that extraordinary day. Most of the papers and photos from the day ended up with me and I intend to deposit them soon in Bristol’s City Record Office, if they will accept them.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
We (Me, Partner and 6 kids) visited Natural History Museum and Royal Albert Hall during the Easter Hols (2 hour journey each way). The Museum is always great except for queues and lack of benches. The Royal Albert Hall was a pre-booked show by the RPO and offered a reportoire that appealed to children, with a ticket price to match. A day out for 2 adults and 6 kids is always dictated by budget. The kids loved it, as did we. These special events are hard to find but well worth the effort.
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
If anyone is visiting the US, a worthy (but not flawless) museum is the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts (about 30 minutes from Boston). They have great kids programming every weekend (yesterday a sculptor coached our five year old on how to make a polar bear). They have a whole section of the museum devoted to kids, with drawers to open & activity boxes to play with. You can spend hours just in that room alone.
But the guards always manage to give us a hard time. It’s as if someone hasn’t told them that children are truly welcome there.
Any advice on working to make a museum friendlier would be welcome.
More of our museum adventures (Boston, San Francisco, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York) can be found here -
http://leojames.wordpress.com/category/kids-in-museums/page/3/
Thanks for the great web site and taking on this campaign!
October 27th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Hi
We went to the National Rail Museum in York yesterday which was great for my 2 year old son who is train mad. There are lifts and ramps for buggies and lots of parking nearby. Baby changing in both the ladies and gents as well as a picnic area. Unfortunately it didn’t have a cloakroom to leave buggies, as we were planning on walking round York we’d take ours but wanted to let our son walk around the museum himself.
The Scottish Museum is also good in Edinburgh though is limited for toddlers with only one interactive room, they often have live music though and the fish pond is always popular.
The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester has lots for children and is the location of the first passenger train service, there are picnic areas and toilets and cafes.
All of the above are free as well.
February 5th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Someone needs to send a copy of your manifesto to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight where they have the least accommodating and least welcoming attendants for school groups. Passing by a huge oak table, one of my wife’s charges, aged 10, gently touched the table. No more than a casual unthinking touch. You would think he had attempted to destroy the priceless relic with an axe. An attendant standing nearby immediately radioed to the rest … “Unruly school party coming round.”
Hearing that, my wife immediately gathered the children together in a nearby alcove and, yet again, made it clear they were not to touch anything in the house. Another attendant immediately came over and told her they were not allowed to stop under any circumstance – the house was almost empty. She told him that she WAS going to talk to the group and asked what was he going to do about it! On another occasion, the cafe had run out of change so they chose to overcharge the children deliberately for drinks! This was only refunded when we complained formally to the house manager.
We now no longer visit the house itself but still take school groups every year to the gardens and the Swiss Cottage and Children’s Museum where the attendants seem completely different.
February 8th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
How I cheered when I read the Guardian article “Museum Staff told:Stop shushung”
It is something I feel very strongly about. Some years ago my 2 year old granddaughter was told to be quiet at the New York Museum of Modern Art. The woman then proceeded to discuss how awful it was that a child so small should be allowed to disrupt their viewing. I go to art museums frequently with all my grandchildren and make sure they are not restricted in how they express themselves. I stopped my Royal Academy membership some time ago, because I find it too stuffy.
In my retirement have studied a BA in History of Art, an MA in Museum Studies and a PhD in Museum Architecture. I have written freqently about museums being treated like temples and cathedrals where visitors are encouraged to talk in hushed tones.
All the best
Shirley Haines -Cooke
June 25th, 2009 at 4:41 am
thanks for your article..very important dan helpfull for me.
August 21st, 2009 at 5:09 pm
I visited the Handcock Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne today with my partner & my 3 children aged 5, 4 and 7 months, i was really impressed with the time and effort that has been put into the museum for disabled access. We began to walk around & were really enjoying the visit until my baby girl cried for a feed we looked around for a breastfeeding facility but were unable to find one. My partner approched a man serving in the gift shop & asked were i could feed & to my horror he suggested the disabled toilet to which my partner said “WOULD YOU EAT YOUR LUNCH IN THE TOILET?” I am a breast feeding peer support worker & i find the negative attitude towards breastfeeding appoiling. They say they are “family friendly” but my baby is my family & they were not “family friendly” towards her needs.
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:49 pm
We took 50 primary aged children to the Aztecs at the British Museum last week following there schools promotion. I thought the exhibition was dull and dry. Labels were written in adult language and were brief, and did not link in with the classroon work we had done in advance. The staff were aloof and not very welcoming. We travelled 3 hours from the Midlands, many children had never visited London and although the Museum itself wowed the exhibition had little in it that could be approached by 9 and 10 year olds. There was a great 3D model on Tenochtitlan but few explanatory labels.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:15 pm
In response to Helen’s comment above.
I was so sorry to hear that your visit to Moctezuma was disappointing. British Museum exhibitions are designed to cater for a wide range of audiences by providing lots of different forms of information in addition to the exhibition text. In addition to the free access to the exhibition itself, the Moctezuma offer for schools has included a preview evening for teachers, workshops for pupils lead by our education team and Aztec subject specialist educators and teacher’s notes and activities specifically to help to integrate classroom and Museum based work. These are available for download at http://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/MoctezumaTeacherResource09.pdf and http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/future_exhibitions/moctezuma/for_schools_and_teachers.aspx
We are always keen to receive feedback so that we can keep improving our offers for school and family visitors, so please do get in touch with me if you would like to discuss this further.
Susan Raikes – Head of Learning Programmes, The British Museum
February 19th, 2010 at 12:36 am
My family (partner, 3/7 and 9 year old) recently visited Beningbrough Hall & Gardens which is a National Trust property in North Yorkshire. When we arrived we were greeted by very pleasant and lively staff. One of the women at the reception desk was particularly friendly and engaged with all of my children instantly, resulting in big grins and laughter…and that was before we got to the wilderness playground (which was fantastic!). This was our first visit to Beningbrough so we were unsure of what to expect before we arrived. I was however, surprised to find that the property regularly runs art sessions for children…and they are FREE!! This is something I have not come across before now.
So we ventured up to the Learning Centre (which was filled with lots of portraits created by budding artists) to see what was on offer. It was fantastic! For anyone who has never been to Beningbrough Hall, I would definitely recommend it, if only for the childrens art workshops. The two girls who were running it were young, friendly, good with the children and very helpful – which is quite rare these days. Nothing was a bother. They sat with my children and helped them with the activity which was ‘Wilderness Mask Making’, as well as engaging them in conversation. My son, aged 7, at one point made a comment about how funny the accent was of the young lady who was helping him. My partner and I just looked at each other – kids have a way of totally embarrassing you when you’re not expecting it. Anyway, this young lady laughed it off and explained she was not from York but from a bit further North and people from different places often speak differently. This struck up further conversation. The way in which she handled the conversation was very professional and I myself was impressed with the way in which she came right down to his level. I don’t know what she did when she wasn’t volunteering but she certainly had a way with children. So much so, she was talked about on the way home!
They were also full of positive praise when my children had completed the activity. Both myself and my partner were very impressed with the activity and the way in which we were made to feel welcome. My children absolutely loved it and as a result we will definitely be returning in the near future.
For me, this property should be visited by all and in my opinion is definitely a ‘family friendly’ museum and one which i recommend to parents with children of all ages.
March 15th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
I discovered this website after seeing an article about it in the national paper and thought I would have a mooch about to see what was on here. I think this aspect of the site is very good, it’s lovely to read about people’s experiences in different places and it helps to decide where to take the kids.
This weekend just gone, my children and I took a trip up north to visit my family for Mother’s Day (We are originally from Denton Manchester). We were looking for things to do and after reading the comments on this page, I thought Beningbrough may be a nice place to visit as it appeared to cater for both adults (of varying ages) and children and it was located not far from my mums.
Sunday was a beautiful day so we decided to go to Beningbrough for a picnic. It is very much out of the way, set back from the A19 and not well signposted, but nevertheless once you manage to get there it is very beautiful. We were welcomed at reception by lovely ladies who were more than helpful. We received a map and information about what was happening on site. We proceeded out into the gardens to settle down for our picnic. The Gardens, found not far from the reception area, were filled with both adults and children who seemed to be having a lovely time. The first thing which surprised me were the people playing ball games on the grass. This was a lovely sight! I don’t think I have been to a Trust place that have openly allowed people to touch the grassy areas let alone play games on them. The gardens are well kept and lovely – I imagine they are amazing in the summer when everything is in bloom.
After lunch and a lot of running around, the children wanted to have a go at the art that was happening on site. With it being a specific ocassion (Mother’s Day) I did expect the activity to have a cost, but as Chris stated in his write up it was free! The activity was ‘funky flower making’. The children were welcomed by a lovely young lady who explained what they had to do. We found a seat and got started. The table was filled with various materials – which was fantastic. Considering the activity was free, there were lots of things to use to make very colourful and creative flowers. I imagine the activity took a lot of thought and setting up as we had everything we could have wanted at our fingertips! Of course, once we sat down and the children had rummaged through the tray of wonderful things, they had indeed forgotten what they had been shown.
Another young lady had obviously noticed we were struggling somewhat and came over to offer us help…thank goodness! I am useless when it comes to arty crafty things! She went through what they needed to do step by step and double checked they knew what to do. She was very friendly and was taking the time to check that other parents and children were ok. I also liked the way she then explained exactly the same activity to me so that I was able to help my children. It was the encouragement given by this young lady that made me realise just how much of a family activity it is. The idea of the workshops, in my opinion, is not for parents to have a half hour break but to get involved in helping their children make something creative. It is opportunity such as that that we were given on Sunday that makes the fondest memories.
Once my children had finished, we handed over one flower which was planted in a rather cute plant pot in the corner of the room. Our flower was planted, using soil…yes real soil by a older lady. The young lady who had taken the time to help us out, commented on how lovely the flowers were and the children enjoyed being praised for the time they had put in. It was nice that the effort was made to comment on the end result even though the room was packed full of people. It was good to see a mix of young and old running the workshop. It was brilliant and I ended up with two wonderful flowers at the end of it.
We then headed up to the mansion. WOW. Very impressive. We were greeted at door and had a brief input on the history. We leisurely walked around the house. I am a bit of a geek when it comes to history so i always have questions. All of the guides i had contact with seemed very knowledgable and those who could not answer my questions, did their very best to find the answers. My children have been brought up to behave in places such as Beningbrough Hall but usually those who man museums often give them the eye or tell them not to touch or to be quiet even when they are not doing anything. The guides at Beningbrough did engage with my children but in a very positive way and not once were they told to be quiet or not to touch.
They thoroughly enjoyed the computer room on the top floor. We now have several emails of their heads super imposed on national gallery portraits! They are genius! My children had a fantastic day and so did us adults!
I am really glad I found this discussion as we had a fantastic day at Beningbrough! My mum and I really enjoyed seeing the kids getting stuck in and enjoying themselves while we were able to enjoy the surroundings and the history of the property. It is undoubtly a place for people of all ages and very family orientated. It is lovely!
Julie
February 12th, 2011 at 11:20 pm
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