Museums today are increasingly looking at curating programs and events that engage audiences, and specifically children. Take BDL Museum for instance; their events are to die for! In the past couple of months, they have hosted Mapping Histories, Fossil Workshops and the Kahani Karnival is a regular feature now.
Other Museums too, host events and workshops quite strategically around festivals and occasions making for some very interesting times for school-kids.
So why are we pushing for yet another event? That too, on Children’s Day when most Museums anyway plan fun workshops! [email protected], is different. It is a celebration of children, by the children. This is when Museums get to truly handover the reigns to children, and watch.
However, if you’re still wondering, then I have 10 reasons for you to participate!
10. It’s a way of coming up with new ideas, and allowing children to contribute
9. Letting children and young adults take decisions, lets you develop an understanding of their needs / interests
8. This day is about working with Children’s organizations / schools, and therefore a great way to develop new partnerships and strengthen existing ones.
7. Enabling Children to take decisions and run the museum for a day, develops a feeling of ownership, pride and love – and don’t we all want them to treat the Museum as their Go-To place?
6. YOU make this day what you WANT to. There are no rules on letting children take over. You can have 2 children participate or 20! This isn’t about numbers – but about the experience.
5. Generate the buzz – with media stories through our partners or your own outreach, spread word that you’re a Child-Friendly Museum. We’d also be digitally boosting your Museum’s event.
4. This is also an opportunity to learn from other Museums, and offer your contribution. Learn about the events they are conducting – it might inspire you for future events! Share best practices and gain a fan-following!
3. Because it costs almost nothing. While we support you with collaterals, you can choose which ones you want printed. If you’re on a tight budget, then perhaps just certificates should be great. If you’d like to go all out, then the sky’s the limit!
2. It’s a great way of bringing all your staff and departments together. Internal awareness and appreciation for one another’s work can boost morale like no other. It gets everyone excited – even if they don’t work with children.
- But this is the Number ONE reason : through [email protected], young people become ambassadors for the Museum. We are sure that what they develop as Museum Curators / Education officers will go a long way, but they’ll also pull in family and friends to see what they’ve created. It is today, more than ever that we need our youth to be as involved and in love with Heritage as any other field.