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Victorian exhibition at the Sir Duncan Rice Library, 2020.

Many methods were used to involve visitors: costumes, social media and a visitors’ book. Several objects were very engaging, for instance, visitors could observe the reflection of two pictures if they were standing in the right place.

It was a small exhibition but very interesting, I went with my friends and we had a good time.

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Dolphin Fest

We are going through an unpredictable and unbelievable time. Because of the Covid-19 outbreak, everything has been canceled. The Dolphin Fest which was supposed to take place on the 14th of April, won’t. Moreover, meetings are forbidden and many students — myself included — went back home in their country.

The Dolphin Fest team decided to organize an online event instead on the 14th of April. We, the students, imagined several activities that could be carried at home and with very simple supplies. Chloe and I worked on a DIY activity: we designed easy-to-make headbands on the maritime theme. Hopefully children will enjoy making these and then their parents can take pictures of their children wearing their creations and post them on social media. I am disappointed the festival does not take place, but I think this situation makes me realise how much professional world can be complicated as there are unexpected challenges to face. It is also a good way to learn something new to me: how to adapt when something goes wrong. Even if it is not the same, instead of cancelling the event, the team decided to do something online because it is still a way to advert the Zoology museum and the Dolphin Fest which will hopefully take place next year. It would also have been a shame to waste so much work.

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WEEK 9 - 16/03 Museums as Places of Social Transformation

For this ninth week, the various documents look at museums as places of social transformation.

Museums, the Public, and Public Value

To be honest, I found this fist reading quite difficult, I struggled to fully understand and analyse all the pieces of information, probably because English is not my first language. I also find the notion ‘public value’ quite complex. The document compares the various options on the topic, highlighting the main paradox: the ones who are not the public (politics and directors) decide what will be offered to the public. If I am not mistaking, what makes public value in the end is the interaction between this “the authorising environment” (politics, support, funding), the ”operational capacity" (the institution’s assets) and the public. Some people think that the public should have a stronger engagement and make more decisions.

Carol Scott introduces three approaches to the role of public: the traditional would be the one of ‘recipient’, people are at the end of the chain and consume what politics and leaders design for them. The ‘informant’ role is more balanced, the ones who make the decisions are advised by specialists in order to adapt what they offer to the public according to trends. The last one is the ‘authorizer’ role, the public is more involved and all the actors have common and defined goals. ‘Co-production’ is key in this last approach, the whole process is value driven. I specially like this last term ‘value driven’, unfortunately, too many projects are led by more materialistic goals. I like the idea of consulting visitors, however I do not think that it is the only thing missing when projects fail to satisfy the public’s satisfaction. It is also because the organisers lose sight of their institution’s values.

Carol Scott adds that we should apply marketing to museums as they are now leisure places. I understand this idea can bother some people as it is taboo to associate art to money and marketing. However, I quite agree with the reading. As discussed through many readings, museums want to attract new audiences, the ones who are probably more used to go to more ‘market driven’ cultural places such as cinemas. If museums want to be seen as leisure places, they have to accept the ‘codes’ of this world.

According to Carol Scott, we need to “use models for engagement based on collaboration and co-production, and recognize and respect the expertise that the public can bring to a collective conversation”. The word ‘respect’ is important, institutions should listen to their audiences and value their opinion. It is the only way to offer the public what they want, and therefore attract them.

Methods for Measuring Social Impact

This website gives an insight to the tools which allow museums to measure ‘social impact’. It is very methodic, there is a great variety of methods. That might sound too ‘scientific’ but I am sure it helps many institutions.

https://vimeo.com/89903145 The Open Museum initiative is very interesting as museums try to be as much inclusive as possible. The program offers all types of audiences the possibility to handle objects for museums collections but out of the museums. Their objective is to “facilitate free access to the collections for those who don’t, won’t or can’t visit museums.” They create ‘handling kits’ and ‘travelling displays’, they also organize projects which bring communities together. It is a wonderful initiative which highlights the role that museums can play in favor of “social equality, literacy, arts, and positive mental health initiatives.”

Museum experiences that change visitors

This reading focuses on several museum projects which changed visitors. The main issue is that it is complicated to measure transformation, it is quite subjective and there is no scientific way to do that. “If some sort of ‘transformation’ happens, does it happen in the museum or afterward?” Barbara Soren mentions several searchers and professors who worked on the topic, I specially found that Gardner had an interesting approach: when learning process is done through “transformative ways”, visitors are offered the opportunity “to invent knowledge, transform what they have encountered in the past, and perhaps eventually contribute to new ideas and concepts.” This is linked to the importance of active learning that we discussed during the first weeks of class. Through their museum experience, visitors will remember and understand better things that they can link to their past or their identity in general.

The first case study gives an interesting insight to the transformation issue. It is a project lead at the Royal Ontario Museum. Among a great variety of workshops and events, the activity lead by the drama group was amazing as it was a powerful experience for most visitors. The role-playing activity lead people to reflect about the importance of graveyards in our society: What if the government decided to remove all the graves? During the same activity, the visual art group encouraged people to get involved by making something  all together. I think that it is when museums make people think about important issues that their role is fully realised. Grieving our ancestors is key in every civilisation, and by imagining a society without graves, we realize how important it is for us.

The reading also mentions the ‘Bridges that Unite’, which is a traveling exhibition dealing with “Canada’s role in international development”. Many tools mentioned by the museum association were used to collect people’s opinions on the project, such as online evaluation or writing questions on comment cards. I have the feeling that — like the role-playing activity — this project is more about making people reflect on societal issues than making them experience something.

Both projects triggered changes in visitors, probably because everyone feels concerned by controversial topics and will strongly get involved. This type of issues give rise to deep emotions and people are likely to use their knowledge to support their point.

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Barbara J. Soren (2009) Museum experiences that change visitors, Museum Management and Curatorship, 24:3, 233-251, DOI:10.1080/09647770903073060

Carol Scott (2010) Museums, the Public, and Public Value, Journal of Museum Education, 35:1, 33-42, DOI:10.1080/10598650.2010.11510648

Museums Association, Methods for Measuring Social Impact. Available: https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-change-lives/measuring-socially-engaged-practice/19032018-methods-for-measuring-social-impact [2020, 03/24].

The Open Museum - BSL (2014), Vimeo.

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Embroidered t-shirt, Tate Modern inspiration.

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Inspiration

I go to museums because they inspire me. I think that is it, I am not into history, I know very few things about famous artists or artistic movements. For years, I have been struggling to answer the question: ‘Why do you go to museums?’ Well they inspire me, I definitely feel something special when I am surrounded by works of art. I also enjoy watching the other visitors, the conversations, the ones who take notes, the ones who take pictures, the parents who give explanations to their children, the ones who spend time in front of each artwork, the others who enjoy a more broad vision of the exhibition. The quiet atmosphere is great too, I like how the whispers break silence, I like even more the sound of the slow footsteps on the floor of these large and empty rooms. I definitely feel inspired in these places, maybe it is because I am surrounded by artworks which are the achievements of incredible and creative processes. Probably because they also come from ambitious people who dared to do what I have been dreaming of for years: take time to create, show my work, be proud of what I want to express.

If I had to give one example of how museums inspire me, that would be that one: In December 2019, I went to London with a friend and visited the Tate Modern. After the visit, we spent a lot of time in the gift shop which is vast and wonderful! My friend particularly enjoyed the work of one creator who designed several objects with famous artists on them. The style was quite graphic, colorful and inspired by the pop art exhibition. I like to make things for my relatives for Christmas, and I embroidered one of the creator’s design on a t-shirt for my friend. I spend so much time on that one, but I love the t-shirt, it reminds me of our London trip and I find it very unique.

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WEEK 8 - 09/03 Digital Museums

To be completely honest, I struggled to read the documents from an objective perspective, as I am quite skeptical when it comes to the use of digital devices in museums. I am not against it, I just think we tend to over use them or to assume that offering a digital experience will attract young visitors. I think it is more complicate, digital devices can be meaningful and useful when they add another facet to the visitors’ experience and stay in line with the exhibitions and the museums’ values.

An experiential view to children learning in museums with Augmented Reality

The first document tackles a study which tested the use of Augmented Reality in museums and more precisely how it might modify children’ s experience. Digital technologies are more and more used to complete visitors’ ‘Experiential Learning Cycle’. This research focuses on the effectiveness of AR in children’s experience in museums. “Lifelong learning, museums, and digital technologies share many of the same attributes because they emphasise learning from objects, rather than about objects, and on strategies for discovering information, rather than the information itself”. I find that comparison between technological devices and cultural places interesting as I sometimes find the technologies used inappropriate. Studying them more and within the frame of the museum’s values and goals is key.

AR solicits people’s senses, therefor, it might be useful if we want visitors to have a complete experience. Moreover, many studies have shown that technology has become “a facilitator” in museums. The reading uses “Kolb’s experiential learning cycle” to support this point: in a nutshell, individuals learn better if the process involves their environment and becomes a true experience. The actual research lead with a school class in a museum reveals the success of AR.

The fact that children were able to choose “individual preferred learning style” is essential to me. Technological devices can be of great use for museums that want to adapt to different audiences.

Families and mobile devices in museums: designing for integrated experiences

It was nice to read a study about the ‘Cité de l’Espace’ as I visited it with school when I was 12. I have a vague memory, it was a nice experience, but as it was in 2010, the exhibitions must be different now. This research is more about how family members interact with each other when given an iPad during their visit, and the various ways they use the screen.

I do not think it is interesting to describe in detail the study outcome, in some families the children were leading the interaction, it was the parent in some other, and certain children interacted much more between themselves than with their parents. The study also tackles the variety of programs that can be proposed, the iPad could be used as a mean of facilitation as well as a way to deliver a full narrative which encourages visitors to get involved all through their museum experience.

I especially found interesting the part on the problems which were highlighted by the study. For instance, most days are very sunny in the South of France and visitors were struggling to see on the screen when they were outside. Also, people need to know how to use the iPad, which is not the case for everyone, this is why certain children lead the tour, they knew better how to use the touch screen.

I think the use of iPads in the ‘Cité de l’Espace’ makes sense as the main topic of this place is science. They also already have many exhibitions designed for young visitors, the latter are more luckily to enjoy the use of touch screens during their visit.

Museums Unplugged Exploring the Impact of Removing Access to Mobile Communication Devices on Chinese Students' Museum Experience

I was pleased to read a study which compares visitors’ behavior and appreciation of an exhibition with or without technological devices. The premises are pretty much the same than in the previous two readings: young people “are often labeled digital natives” and many museums add technology to their exhibitions because they are convinced it is a good facilitator and that it attracts younger generations. Also, opinions are divided on the topic, as many specialists say technology is a good way for people to interact with the world, whereas many others say technology can lead to addictive behaviors and isolation.

Here, the experiment was lead “with 94 Chinese students studying at a university” in Australia, they attended an exhibition, half of them had their phones, the other half did not. The results could not show any obvious difference as students spend more or less the same time in the museum and enjoyed their visit. However, the ones who did not have their phones said they struggled with ‘technical’ issues, such as translating, searching further information, sharing or taking pictures to remember better.

I understand many museums are afraid of letting people have their phones as they can take pictures and record things. It is giving visitors more ‘power’, it puts pressure on curators’ shoulders. However, I do not think they should be scared of it, I am skeptical about the overuse of touch screens and other ‘shared’ devices in museums but not personal phones. First, it seems complicated to forbid people to use their cellphones, it is a bit authoritarian. Moreover, as the reading explains it, phones are wonderful tools, I use mine to translate things a lot, take pictures and look up for information. I see museums as crossing points, places where people can meet and share an experience. Phones are essential in this case, as they allow people to stay in touch and organise meetings. It is also a good way to promote cultural places, visitors can share on social media, it is free advertisement in a sense. Technological devices are quite recent and I understand their use in museums might scare some people, but smartphoes should be seen as a good opportunity to reinvent exhibitions.

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Moorhouse, N., Dieck, C., & Jung, T. (2019) An experiential view to children learning in museums with Augmented Reality, Museum Management and Curatorship, 34:4, 402-418, DOI: 10.1080/09647775.2019.1578991.

Moscardo , G., Hughes, K., (2016) Museums Unplugged Exploring the Impact of Removing Access to Mobile Communication Devices on Chinese Students’ Museum Experiences. Journal of Leisure Research 2016, Vol. 48, No. 5, pp. 395–412

Rennick-Egglestone,s., Brundell, P., Koleva, B., Benford, S., Roussou, M., Chaffardon. C. 2016. Families and mobile devices in museums: Designing for integrated experiences. J. Comput. Cult. Herit. 9, 2, Article 11 (May 2016), 13 pages.

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Aberdeen Art Gallery 07/02

Even though I have already been to Aberdeen Art Gallery, it was great to go  back and do the visit from another perspective. Indeed, one of the curator explained her job and all the new things that have been happening in the gallery since its reopening. It has been a success, there have been as many visitors in 10 months as in 12 months before the reopening. There are more activities and arrangements for children and people who usually are not into contemporary art. Rooms are connected and visitors can choose to follow the route they want, it applies the constructivist theory which I previously mentioned about the reading Museums and Lifelong Learning.

Thanks to better facilities, disabled people can now fully enjoy the gallery. I was impressed to hear that they do visual description tours, British sign language events and a dementia friendly series. They tend to do activities which are much more based on sharing than on teaching in order to engage people on a deeper level.

There is a great variety of programs available such as a ceilidh for families, a tea dance for the elderly, a baby boogie and lunch-break concerts on Thursdays. Some workshops are free whereas some others are not, the drop-by ones are meant to encourage people to come back. The idea is to make people confident in going to the gallery no matter their age, interests or cultural and social background. In order to make everyone feel welcomed in the gallery, organisation is key. This is why Mondays afternoons are quiet whereas Thursdays and Fridays tend to be a bit noisy as there are school group visits.

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Koons, J. (1992) Puppy.

And a postcard from the museum giftshop, in my bedroom.

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Memorable Artworks

Jeff Koons (1992), Puppy.

I was quite small for an 8 year old and Puppy was gigantic. Imagine being in front of this 40-foot-tall flower sculpture shaped like a dog, you cannot forget that. And you do not even have to go inside the Guggenheim museum, it is outside facing passers-by. There is something provocative, I mean, you cannot avoid it, Puppy shows itself to everyone. The sculpture is made of flowers which adds a ‘living’ feature to the artwork, it evolves over the seasons with the changing petals’ colours. As a child, I was intrigued by the artwork’s technicality, I remember asking my parents: How are all the flowers watered? What happens if some of them die? Do the flowers’ colours follow an established pattern? All these questions helped me understanding the sensibility that lies at the core of this work. Puppy gives us a sense of the time that flies, we cannot see the sculpture changing but we know it is. Flowers are growing at their own pace but Puppy looks still. It gives us a sense of powerlessness over time and nature, the artwork is out of control, no one can know what is it going to look like tomorrow.

Edward Kienholz (1961), Roxy’s.

I loved the exhibition ‘In Praise of Doubt’ (2011-2012) at the Pinault museum in Venice, it was filled with striking pieces of contemporary art. I have a vivid memory of one of the artworks: Roxy’s by Edward Kienholz. At first, it looks like a closed room, you walk around and discover the few open windows. The scene is surrealistic: dismembered models — with animal skull heads or wooden limbs — comfortably sitting on sofas. The furniture is old, looks like from the 1960s, the gramophone is playing music from the same era and you can smell the cigarets ends freshly piled up in the ashtray. I now realise that the artwork was made in the 1960s and this ‘vintage style’ is probably not intentional, it was just how things were at the time. However, I think it adds a ‘ghostly’ feature. The dichotomy between a comfortable living room and the creepy figures who live in it creates an uncanny atmosphere. I could have spend hours looking at this artwork, there were so many details and the whole thing was mesmerizing.

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WEEK 7 - 02/03 Difficult Histories

Telling My Story: Experience of Homelessness among Older African American Women

As I previously discussed it through Bourdieu’s theories, creativity and the arts in general can help understanding sociological issues. The project ‘Telling My Story’ shows how — unlike traditional social science — the humanities allow to focus on lived experiences and on individuals in order to study a broader social issue. From that perspective, any type of creation can be understood as ‘tools for knowledge’ as they are a way for people to express themselves.

‘The Leaving Homelessness Intervention Research’ uses methods from the arts and humanities to tell the stories of homeless African American women.  The aim was to involve the public, introduce new programs to help homeless people and make the whole community aware of the challenges these women were facing. “Without public or community understanding, the voices of these women may go unheard and unheeded.” Eight women were selected, they used the arts as a media to tell their stories to the public. As mentioned several times in this blog, for instance with the reading Museums and Education Purpose, Pedagogy, Performance from week 2, if you want to have an impact on your audience, it is important to trigger their emotions. This is why the eight women also wrote a narrative from the first person perspective. Holding an event was a way to make noise and hopefully to lead people to take part in the project. In the exhibition, people could see photographs taken by the eight women, portraits of the protagonists, and performances such as poetry or gospel songs.

It is not only about making people aware of homelessness, it is a way for the eight women to feel empowered, to be the protagonists of their own life. The arts are such a good message vehicle for this type of project which brings communities together.

Teaching Emotive and Controversial History

I then read the document Teaching Emotive and Controversial History, for this project, five teachers were hired in order to “write a report which will be distributed to all members of the Historical Association (2007)”. The main aim was to come up with a definition of what is “an emotive or sensitive issue in history”. Here is the definition they came up with: “the study of history can be emotive and controversial where there is actual or perceived unfairness to people by another individual or group in the past. This may also be the case where there are disparities between what is taught in school history, family/ community histories and other histories. Such issues and disparities create a strong resonance with students in particular educational settings.”

I was surprised to see that controversial and sensitive topics will now be taught in history class in the United Kingdom. Historical events are still debated and can trigger vivid emotions because they echo to our contemporary society. This document goes through all the challenges and difficulties that teachers may face teaching such courses. It is not only about history, themes such as personal identity will be studied. A large bank of ressources will be provided to teachers in order to support them, as well as some trainings to show them how to respond to students’ reactions. A good organisation is key, in order to find the right balance between historical facts and more sensitive topics.

I thought I had been taught about ‘sensitive’ historical events in school, such as the Holocaust or slave trade. However this document made me doubt: “black history has a growing presence in the curriculum, but how many history lessons deal explicitly with gay and lesbian issues?” Of course black history still triggers vivid emotions, but I do not think it can lead to debate anymore. I completely understand that subjects such as LGBT history can make teachers uncomfortable but I am glad the curriculum encourages teachers not to avoid such topics. As explained in the document, it is important to study and “understand students’ misconceptions” to foretell how they could respond to the course.

It was an interesting reading, specially after having visited the Gordon Highlanders Museum. For school groups, teachers and curators try to trigger children’s curiosity and interest by a more ‘sensitive’ storytelling. Indeed, a WW2 soldier comes to the museum every Tuesday and talks to the children. They tend to identify with him and that makes what they study in history class more ‘realistic’. There is a model house in the museum, visitors can observe several soldier figurines going through the destroyed building. During school groups visits, the guide asks children to pick one of the soldier and then to think about what the soldier sees and how he must be feeling. It is a great exercise that leads young visitors to understand that real human beings went through the war and underwent terrible situations. Even though WW2 is not a debatable historical period, it can still be taught in a sensitive way in order to understand it better and from a more ‘individual’ perspective.

To finish with the topic of teaching history, I had a look to two museums websites: The International museum of slavery in Liverpool and the Apartheid museum in Johannesburg. There was very few information in the first one, however one page was interesting: ‘Challenging histories: Collecting new artworks’. From what I understood, they gather artworks from new artists in order to create an exhibition dealing with historical events. The point is to “create (through the art) a richer and more challenging way in which visitors and students can engage with and learn about this history and its legacies.”

About the Apartheid museum, I just think that this historical topic can easily found resonance in our contemporary society as racism and women’ rights still hit the headlines.

Writing about this, I could not stop thinking about the film Django Unchained by Tarantino. It is a great example of how through the arts, history can be told in a more contemporary way and attract today’s audiences’ attention.

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Apartheid Museum. (2020) Available: https://www.apartheidmuseum.org/ [2020, 02/03].

International Museums Liverpool 2020-last update, International Slavery Museum. Available: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/international-slavery-museum [2020, 02/03].

The Historical Association. (2007) Teaching emotive and controversial history 3-19.

Washington, O G M, & Moxley D P, (2008) Telling My Story From Narrative to Exhibit in Illuminating the Lived Experience of Homelessness among Older African American Women. Journal of Health Psychology, Vol 13(2) 154–165 DOI: 10.1177/1359105307086702

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WEEK 6 - 24/02

We visited the Zoology Museum and started to work on the Dolphin Fest Event as we have to come up with several activites. I am not worried about being creative, but much more about how to organise the activites as the museum is quite small and there is very few room available to set the activites on the event day. Each group of students still have to gather and discuss the activites that  will be presented to the staff that organises the event. Also we will have a second session about the Dolphin Fest Event on the 16th of March. Thus, I will write a bit later about the activites we agreed upon with my group.

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Gordon Highlanders Museum

Photos from:

Aberdeenshire Scotland, Gordon Highlanders Museum. Available: https://www.visitabdn.com/listing/the-gordon-highlanders-museum [2020, 04/20].

School P6 Room 16, (2016) Gordon Highlanders Museum. Available: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ac/broomhillp6r162015/2016/06/23/gordon-highlanders-museum/ [2020, 04/20].

St Peter’s School, (2016) May news from Primary 5. Available: https://st-peters.aberdeen.sch.uk/?p=4838 [2020, 04/20].

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WEEK 5 - 17/02 Visit to the Gordon Highlanders Museum

On the 17th of February, we went to The Gordon Highlanders Museum. Before the visit, we watched a short film about the Gordon Highlanders regiment’s history. Honestly, I found it a bit boring. I understand the point of introducing the context of the museum’s topic, however, I tend to dislike historic documentaries. I am not the right visitor for that, maybe that is the reason. I tried to focus and remember what the voice over was saying but I quickly lost track.

Mercifully, the rest of the visit was much more exciting. The museum recounts the regiment’s history from 1784 to 1994. It is interesting to see how things have evolved through the period. I enjoyed the anecdote of soliders who were given three months wages and a kiss by the Duchess of Gordon if they joined the regiment.

The museum has some really good assets such as the soldier from World War 2 who got shot three times and is still alive today and comes to the museum to talk to school groups every Tuesday. The exhibition’s design is interactive with small doors with a sign “what’s hidden here?” on them which encourages children to open them. There are also lego men among the museum’s objects, children can look for them, it is a fun treasure hunt. The model of a house during war time, with soldiers on a mission in it, is useful. Curators and teachers ask children to pick a soldier and think about what he would feel in his current situation. There are also war-time style coats for children to wear when they go outside. By the way, the trench model is amazing, it makes you realise how hard life was for soldiers at the time. The museum also has primary sources — such as postcards or photos — that children can handle in order to trace a soldier’s life.

I like how the museum puts the emphasis on the ‘sensitive’ aspect of war, how people’s lives were affected. I guess that in class, children do not often get to reflect on what soldiers were feeling or the type of things they would write to their families. The coats children can wear and the trench model adds a ‘fun’ aspect to the visit, it alleviates the tone.

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WEEK 4 - 10/02 National Policies for Museums

 There were many readings this week, I chose to focus on a few ones.

First, Museums change lives

The title caught my attention, it is quite ambitious. I like how the tone is ‘passionate’: “(Museums) enrich the lives of individuals, contribute to strong and resilient communities, and help create a fair and just society. Museums in turn are immensely enriched by the skills and creativity of their public.” The words are positive and empowering, I think the aim is to give strength to museums, for them to realise their potential.

Cultural places have a social impact by welcoming all types of audience and by encouraging critical thinking. They can choose to tackle any topic and, by doing so, lead to social debate. I grew up in Perpignan, a small town in the very South of France and there is a famous photography festival there— called ‘Visa pour l’image’ — which takes place every year in September. The various exhibitions mostly tackle controversial topics such as war, religion, environment, press freedom or women rights. I remember going to the event with school, as a child it was quite impressive to look at these difficult scenes. However, it sure made me aware of the challenges the world is facing.

The document points at the social responsibility that hangs over museums as they can introduce new ideas to children. “They promote social justice and human rights, challenge prejudice and champion fairness and equality.” Thanks to school, children in countires such as the UK or France visit museums no matter their social background. One of the examples given is the exhibition ‘Kutmaan’ at the Leighton House Museum. I guess most visitors were familiar with the subject:  ‘LGBT people who have been forced into exile because of their sexuality or gender identity’. However, being confronted to it is different, it makes visitors reflect about their own condition and how things can be different around the world.

The example of the Colchester and Ipswich Museums that organised an event which involved “people who had experienced homelessness” illustrates well how any type of audience can be part of a museum’s project.

I also enjoyed how the role of audiences is pointed out: visitors are “creators as well as consumers of knowledge”. Putting visitors in the center is key, especially if museums want them to experience active learning.

GOING FURTHER, The ­­­National­ Strategy­ for­ Scotland’s ­Museums ­and ­Galleries

Even though I selected a few readings from this week’s list, it would be too long to be as detailed as I just did with Museums Changes Lives I will try to be more succinct in order to avoid repetition as the ideas tend to echo each others.

The Going Further document develops The National Strategy for Scotland’s Museums and Galleries. The main idea is to ‘bring cohesion and a shared framework’. These cultural places must be non-profit organisations, opened to everyone and exhibit heritage for “purposes of education, study and enjoyment.” I was pleased to find the mention “enable participation at different levels” as it is something new for many museums. This point was raised by the chapter 3 “Museums and Education Purpose, Pedagogy, Performance” from the first week’s readings and the chapter 5 “Museums and Lifelong Learning” from the second week’s readings. The National Strategy also puts an emphasis on the importance for museums to welcome any type of audience and to do their best to improve their visitors’ wellbeing. The National Strategy also underlines the great variety of ressources — such as collections in universities — which are too often unknown to the public.

Creativity Across Learning 3-18

The Creative Across Learning document focuses on the space of creativity in schools’ curriculum. As explained by Lynn Dierking during her lecture, adding creativity to the learning process helps children to be more motivated and ambitious, to earn new skills, to be more confident and to work in team. Creative projects are also a good way to introduce topics such as technology or environment. Be creative is not that easy, specially if you have never been used to practice your creative skills as a child. The curriculum for creativity leads teachers to organise many activities with ‘personnalisation’ and ‘open-ended enquiry’. It makes me think of the ‘idealist’ approach in museums mentioned in the second week’s documents as this type of exhibition encourages visitors to follow the route they want and to interpret in their very own way the artworks. The curriculum also points at the importance of ‘collaboration’ and discussion, this is why many museums now add spaces with sittings were people can chat and share their thoughts.

I remember making a cartoon in school, we made all the characters with modeling clay, the voice over and the storyline. We also learned how editing works. It was good fun and I was so proud to show the final results to my parents. I now realise how much work that must have been for my teachers and all the people who took part in the project.

What is creativity?

In the What is Creativity document, the part on how Scotland was planning to support artists caught my attention. It is difficult for most artists to get started in their professional life as fundings are often missing. It is wonderful that these people can find support in Scotland!

My Primary School is at the Museum

This video shows how in practice things go with children doing a creative project. It seems to be rewarding for the children as well as for the museum. Many children made incredible progress thanks to the project My Primary School is at the Museum. During our visit to the Maritime Museum, Lyndsey -- the curator -- told us how she enjoyed guiding children through the museum, she finds it gratifying, specially when they come back with their families and show them around.  

In Class

In class, Liz presented us the Curriculum for excellence which is used in Scotland. It gives guidance to teachers and cultural places, but nothing is set, specially for primary schools. There is still free choice left to each teacher or curator. However, in secondary school, teachers have to stick to a program as pupils have a national exam at the end.

Several words can be used to describe the learning process and understand the plurality of facets it involves: identity, contestation, places, personal, memories, challenge, meaning-making, objects, social. Unfortunately, I do not think these words are part of every learning process that is taught nowadays. For instance, 'contestation’ refers to critical thinking which was almost nonexistent in my schooldays (in France). Places may refer to trips, indeed, coming upon the great variety and complexity of your own culture as well as discovering other cultures is fulfilling. I have always been very lucky as my parents took me on many trips from a very young age. Because not every child travels with his own family, it is important that children go on school trips, even if it is only for one day and in their region. Indeed, outdoor learning can be found in the Curriculum for Excellence as it has social and cultural benefits and improves students’ wellbeing. Finally, the words ‘identity’, ’personal’ and ‘memories’ refer to the learner himself, we remember better when what we learn echoes our past experiences and our interests. I then found interesting how the Curriculum for Excellence emphasises the inseparability of pedagogy and epistemology. The ‘how’ in learning is as important as the ‘what’. I remember struggling with my lessons in school as they were hard to swallow, it was only about the knowledge and the pedagogy was missing.

Then, Liz mentioned several initiatives which illustrate well the Curriculum for Excellence’s objectives. I specially liked the intergenerational project which gathered children and elderly people. The latter tend to be scared of teenagers, this is why children had to ask old people questions about their childhood. This activity got rid of the stigma around young people and led the community to band together.

We also did a group activity. We had to ‘organise’ important elements of the learning process in museums, among five Generic Learning Outcomes categories. It was a good way to understand the complexity of creating programs for visitors, curators (and any other involved person) have to think about many issues. The exercises also highlight how much learning in museums can be fulfilling, visitors do not get ‘one single type’ of knowledge.

Visit at the Toolbooth Museum

On Friday the 14th of February, we went to the Tolbooth Museum. We followed a school tour through the museum. It was interesting to see how the curator adapted her language and what she said so children could understand. I enjoyed watching her work, however I did not really liked the museum. I was pretty excited to go as I thought I would enjoy going to an old jail and learn about its history, however I found the organisation a bit ‘old-fashioned’. The fake man talking in the top room honestly scared me, the curator explained many people and most children feel uncomfortable in that room as the prisoner model is quite disturbing. I was surprised to see smoething so special and which ‘divides’ people. I wonder if the museum thought about removing the model. I guess they did not as there is a lot of work behind it and that it is interesting from an historical perspective. But I do not know enough on the subject to assume anything.

Also, the inclusive issue is quite complex in this museum. Because of the building’s architecture, it is impossible to add an elevator and the stairs are numerous and dangerous. The museum offers the possibility to watch a movie -- which shows the upstairs exhibition -- on the ground floor. I completely understand it is impossible for the museum to find a better answer here. It is great they thought about a solution, I just think this must be quite disappointing to stay on the ground floor and watch a movie. I cannot criticize this ‘plan B’ as I cannot think about a better way to allow disabled people to visit the museum. I am just pointing at this problem, which is often raised by old buildings, and unfortunately, there is not always a solution. 

Visit at the Maritime Museum

On the same day, we visited the Maritime Museum. The curator Lyndsey gave us a short talk about her work and how she welcomes children in the museum. She explained that some museums hire enablers to adapt visits according to people’s disabilities, difficulties or particularities. However this position does not exist in any of Aberdeen’s museums so curators have to work on that themselves.

As mentioned several times through this blog, it is essential that museums are free and public in order to welcome any type of visitor. The curator emphasised how rewarding was to have school groups over because children come from a great variety of social backgrounds. It is important to make them feel welcomed in cultural and public places from an early age so they will not feel excluded from this places as adults. It is a way to assert people’ citizenship and make them feel part of society. I think this makes sense in Scotland as most museums are free, however, in France this is rarely the case. Cultural places are free or cheap for children and students, but they tend to be very expensive for adults.

Among other topics, the curator also talked about the activities based on active learning that are available for children in the Maritime Museum (self-guided tours, object handling, quizz sheets or treasure hunts). She mentioned the challenges of having school groups over: mostly security and money issues. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the museum adapts its collections according to the audience’s requests, for instance, a collection of objects on the Titanic theme. 

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Creative Scotland. (2013) What Is Creativity.

Education Scotland. (2013) Creativity Across Learning 3-18.

King’s College London. (2016) My Primary School is at the Museum.

Museums Association. (2013) Museums Change Lives.

Museums Galleries Scotland. (2012) Going Further: The ­­­National­ Strategy­ for­ Scotland’s ­Museums ­and ­Galleries.

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Object Handling Activity - University of Aberdeen

And the drawing activity, thanks to which I noticed many details on the embroidered chopstick case.

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WEEK 3 - 03/02 Object Handling

From Living to Virtual: Learning from Museum Objects

This first reading introduces a topic that I have not discussed before: authenticity. I am surprised the previous readings did not mention it as the current development of new technologies leads cultural places to redefine the world ‘authenticity’. I asked myself: what matters the most? Seeing the original work or learning about it?

The first thing that comes to my mind is: “the original work obviously”. But going through the reading I questioned the space authenticity had in my past experience as a visitor. I mostly visited ‘traditional’ art exhibitions, of course I was expecting to see the original artworks. However, I do not think you need to see the real thing to feel connected to it. I mean, that is what fiction stories are about. Most stories we read or hear about are not even real, but they can still trigger strong emotions in us. I guess the answer to the authenticity issue lies in the exhibition’s purpose. If a museum wants its visitors to learn or understand something, authenticity ismaybe not so important. If the exhibition’s purpose is more about aesthetics, inspiration, exeriencing deep emotions, I guess authenticity takes on its full meaning.

 In the research tackled in the reading, visitors understood better the pollination process by observing the model and virtual plants than the real one. Indeed, by making a ‘fake’ object, it is possible to emphasize certain features or to slow down a process so visitors can observe it more easily. However, if the exhibition is more about contemplation, aestheticism, it seems more logical to exhibit original works. Specially for ‘recharger visitors’ who are looking for a contemplative experience.

Staying Essential Articulating the Value of Object Based Learning

This reading deals with how object handling can help patients with dementia. Nowadays, it is very common for hospitals to offer art programs or music therapy to their patients. This document questions object handling in order to see if this activity should be added to hospitals’ curriculum. The research results are promising as the patients’ wellbeing was improved.

In my opinion, it is more than a health matter topic. It is a good way to break down barriers between social classes as the project involves people who usually do not feel concerned by the arts. By allowing people to touch objects — that can usually be found in museums — the physical barrier does not exist anymore. It is a way to counter the ‘condescending’ image of the arts. Art is for everyone.

In Class

This week we had the opportunity to explore object handing and how it can improve visitors’ experience. I realised that I tend to spend very few time on artworks that I cannot touch. I noticed so many details on the objects, it led me to think about he objects’ purpose and history. I felt privileged to have the opportunity to handle these articles, I thought about the people they belonged to and how things were different back then. Many objects were from China so it was also a good way to reflect about cultural specificities.

Allowing visitors to touch objects makes them aware of their responsibilities. I understand some articles are too fragile or precious to be accessible to visitors, however many museums find the right balance and let their visitors touch selected objects while some other are protected behind glass cases. By handling the objects, I felt part of the learning process.

It also made me think about this week’s first reading: why is it interesting to handle authentic objects? Would have it been different if the objects were perfect replicas? We would still have understand their purpose or their historical context. However, I think having access to the original article adds emotion. That might only be me, but when I was touching these objects I was thinking about their owners who touched them too. I always find it incredible when very old objects are still in good shape. Is it silly? No idea but it clearly helped me to feel connected to the objects which actually ‘witnessed’ old times.

In the end, I am a bit disappointed to admit that I do not have the answer to the authenticity issue. I see clearer about why some museums — mostly the science type —chose to work with replicas and others only with original works even though if that means that none of the objects are accessible to the visitors. I wish more museums were in between because that would be a good way for visitors to interact with the artworks no matter their interests or the learning process they feel confortable with.

This is why I enjoy going to the Aberdeen Art Gallery, many paintings are behind a glass, some other works are at hand’s reach — even tough visitors are not allowed to touch them — and there are objects that can be handled. I guess that this is one of the reasons why their audience is diversified: people who are used to ‘classic’ exhibitions can wander though the gallery and observe the artworks, people who like to interact can take part in the activities and children can dress up with the available costumes for instance. This description is a bit cliché but it gives an idea of how the variety of artworks and activities proposed matches the variety of audiences.

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Chatterjee, H. (2007) Staying Essential: Articulating the Value of Object Based Learning.

Eberbach, C, & Cowley K. (2005) From Living to Virtual: Learning from Museum Objects. Curator, 48/3

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Picasso, P. (1937) Guernica.