Consulting Young Children: Experiences from a Museum #TBT

For this #throwbackthursday post I’m revisiting a study conducted at the Australian Museum with very young audiences and a published paper resulting from this. The reason? A new project I’m working on which I’ll talk more about soon…

CITATION

Dockett, S., Main, S. and Kelly, L. (2011). Consulting Young Children: Experiences from a Museum. Visitor Studies, 14(1), pp.13-33.

ABSTRACT

Since 1999, the Australian Museum has provided a designated play/learning space for young children aged 0–5 years. A recent redevelopment and redesign of the museum provided a valuable opportunity for a team of museum staff and university researchers to consult with young children about their experiences and expectations about this play space and the museum generally. This article reports the processes of consultation; methods used to consult with children; issues identified by the children involved; and the ways in which children’s perspectives influenced the design of the new Kidspace. In particular, the authors noted the importance of children’s journals as both a means of constructing data and as a means for reflection on the importance of social spaces in research with children. Underpinning the project was a commitment to recognizing young children as competent social actors, with the right to be consulted on matters that are important to them.

The full article can be downloaded from this link.

OTHER POSTS

These are worth re-visiting:

• Advocating for our youngest visitors

• How can you create an exhibition for children if you are not one?