Museums and Learning The Museum Visit Making the Most of It

There is no magic formula for visiting museums. A spur-of-the-moment trip can be just as rewarding as a planned visit. But if you have the time, some things that you can do before, during, and after the visit may help to enrich the experience. Here are a few tips to help make your visit to any museum an enjoyable learning experience.

Before the Visit

Talking about what they will see in the museum, especially if it's the first visit. This conversation may include some basic information about museums and also how objects get there and why people collect objects in the first place.

Finding out what excites them. If your youngsters are interested in meteors or mummies and your local museum has exhibits on these subjects, you're ready to go! If not, just choose a place that sounds interesting such as a museum in a nearby city. Or look for a museum online.

Relating what's being learned in school to a museum visit. Children can use the visit to do research or to find out more about a subject they're currently studying. Your local museum may have exhibits that will help bring the subject to life.

Reviewing personal safety and behavior rules. Make a safety plan with your children in case you get separated, including the role of museum guards and other staff. Talk with your children about how to behave in the museum by explaining that museums have rules of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. For example, art and history museums generally have a no-touching policy because the items displayed are rare and can't be replaced, but Children's museums are always hands-on.

During the Visit

• Be flexible and follow your child's lead. Don't be surprised if your planned visit to see the dinosaur bones is put on hold because the huge elephant has caught your children's attention. Let them enjoy the exhibit at their own pace. Be ready to discuss any questions they may have. If you don't know the answers, jot down the questions in a notebook.

• Try to relate facts about the exhibit that you're seeing to what your children already know. For example, a knight's suit of armor serves the same purpose as a catcher's mask, a bicycle helmet, or shin guards--to protect the body.

• Ask your children to tell you a story about an object in the exhibit that interests them. "Who do you think wore that suit of armor?" "How did they make it fit?" Encourage them to use their imaginations. If labels or wall text provide more information, include it in your discussion.

Play Museum and Gallery Games

• Postcard Games. Buy some postcards at the museum gift shop. Then turn your children into detectives and ask them to find the pictured items. Not only will they enjoy the hunt, but they'll be thrilled to discover the real thing. Were the colors the same? the details? the textures? the size? Later at home, the cards can be arranged for a home exhibition.

• I Spy.. Have youngsters find an object in an exhibit and describe it to other family members so that each one can take a turn guessing what the object is: "I spy something red and brown with sharp edges" or "I spy something that inches its way along the ground."

• Seek and Find. Ask your child to find paintings that have his or her favorite colors, shapes, or objects in them. This game is not only fun but teaches children to look very closely at each object. Games like this give children a sense of accomplishment when they successfully find or identify everything asked of them.

• Where Is It? Ask your child to find something in the exhibit that is very old ... soft ... hard ... strong ... shiny ... Or something that feels rough ... smooth ... hot ... slippery ... bumpy ... itchy ... Or something that smells yummy ... burnt ... sweet ...

• Tell Me Why or How? Begin the game by saying something like, "If I could ask one question, I'd ask: Tell me the steps in building an Indian tepee?" The answers are usually within the exhibit. This game is fun in any kind of museum.

Visit the Museum Gift Shop

After the Visit

• Use the museum's family guide with ideas for activities at home.

• Relate what your children have seen to things they already know. For example, if your children enjoyed an exhibit on astronauts, then you might talk with them about the first man on the Moon or what we know about the possibility of life on other planets.

• Suggest that your children start a collection of their favorite objects and build their own home museum. A good way to add to the collection is to look for yard sales or flea markets in your neighborhood. If you're lucky, your collectible treasures may be found for as little as 50 cents!
  

• Check television and newspaper listings for shows about auctions or other collectibles. These programs often feature many different objects that are being auctioned, describing their history, value, and context.

• Go online. Many museums maintain web sites that feature information about their exhibits and interactive activities for children. See the resources section for some sites to visit.

• Encourage your children's creativity by suggesting they make a sculpture or mobile of something they saw in the museum from things found at home--newspapers, broken toys, building blocks, or clay. Display it in your home. If you visited a science museum, try some experiments at home with weights and measures, lights and shadows, or mixing acids and bases (soda and vinegar, lemon and milk). Check your library for books of activities and experiments.

• Ask your children to talk to friends and relatives about the visit. What were their favorite things? What didn't they like? And why?

• Check your notebook and examine your children's unanswered questions. Research the answers and talk them over with your children. See if some of the questions relate to their schoolwork.

• Use community resources. Watch for special events, such as festivals and exhibits at your local library, high school, community center, or shopping center. People are resources too--collectors, painters, and backyard naturalists may live in your neighborhood, eager to share their knowledge with children.

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