In his 1973 book, Reflections on the Human Condition, the philosopher Eric Hoffer wrote: “In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”
What meaning can we find in this when learners are inheriting an earth in crisis, and very few can be equipped to deal with a world that no longer has a stable climate?
Young climate strikers wonder why they should go to school, so is there a role for more responsive and informal kinds of learning? Will museums be less concerned to be neutral as young people (and parents too) expect museums to help them be citizen activists?
Science museums and centres have stepped up their programming with a direct focus on climate. Thinktank, part of Birmingham Museums, has ambitions to introduce a display about the climate crisis, while We The Curious in Bristol has put climate action at the centre of its 2019 programming with an immersive exhibition, hands-on activities and events exploring the positive changes that people can make together.
Lucy Kate Neville, a learning and programmes enabler at National Museums Scotland, says: “Increasingly, families are asking for climate crisis information in museums. Young climate activists say that more people must know the facts of climate change, so they urgently want trusted sources like museums to tell the truth”.
On the 3 April, Culture Declares Emergency was launched – a global community declaring a climate emergency and taking action to respond to it.
Tate and Nottingham Contemporary are among the museums that have declared through the initiative.
The approach of Oxford University Museum of Natural History is to make young people themselves the trusted sources of information. Sarah Lloyd, the museum’s head of education and learning, has devised a series of events this autumn called Let’s Talk About Climate.
Lloyd says the aim is to “instil confidence in young people so that they can use clear language and persuasive arguments to talk to their family, friends, school, local and national government figures about climate change”.
The sessions progress through digging into causes and impacts, linking climate to biodiversity collections and challenging participants to solve problems, until the final session “Lend me your ears, please!” empowers them to speak truth to power.
What if children speak their truth to the power represented by museums? Bristol Museum decided to cover specimens of extinct species with shrouds after children from a local primary school wrote to them demanding the museum tell the true story behind a Bengal tiger exhibit shot dead by King George V, as well as other specimens.
Another project with strong young voices was Future Fossils at Scarborough’s Rotunda Museum, which was created by primary school pupils in collaboration with the arts organisations Crescent Arts and Invisible Dust.
During a two-day event in September, visitors were led by children playing the role of geologists. They led the visitors into a secret space closed to the public to investigate how to protect the future environment of their town.
The museum’s curator, Simon Hedges, says the space where this took place was formerly titled the Shell Gallery because it was sponsored by the oil company.
With that relationship ended, the museum is taking the chance to rethink interpretation. As part of this it is consulting with local audiences and asking children to participate in creative theatre to interpret visitors’ relationship to the local environment.
The experience featured voices of young climate activists and invited visitors to make pledges to combat climate change.
Funding solutions
If you don’t have funding for quick-response projects that communicate issues of concern to young people, what can you do?
One approach is to integrate the communication of environmental policies or values into education provision or displays, perhaps with humour or even shock effect. An example of the latter comes from Rotterdam Natural History Museum in the Netherlands, which displayed a hedgehog that died with its head stuck in a McDonald’s McFlurry ice-cream container.
It can also be done in a gentle way, such as providing recycling facilities in museum learning spaces.
Anna Lowe, the co-founder and director of partnerships at Smartify, an art identification app, and a trustee of Tate Youth Engagement, says that digital teams in museums should employ user-focused design principals to guide visitors into “good” decisions.
“[For example] travel suggestions, letting them know about water-refill stations, signposting recycling initiatives, and rewarding members who access a digital exhibition guide rather than buying the book,” Lowe says.
What if you invited young people to suggest those good decisions?
Digital and social media are a quick and affordable way to start reaching young people and engage them in issues related to the climate crisis. Perhaps the best way to respond to young people’s anxieties about the future is to give them more power to shape culture and to influence media.
It is exciting to think about what museums might become if they respond to the climate emergency and listen to concerns about it.
What meaning can we find in this when learners are inheriting an earth in crisis, and very few can be equipped to deal with a world that no longer has a stable climate?
Young climate strikers wonder why they should go to school, so is there a role for more responsive and informal kinds of learning? Will museums be less concerned to be neutral as young people (and parents too) expect museums to help them be citizen activists?
Science museums and centres have stepped up their programming with a direct focus on climate. Thinktank, part of Birmingham Museums, has ambitions to introduce a display about the climate crisis, while We The Curious in Bristol has put climate action at the centre of its 2019 programming with an immersive exhibition, hands-on activities and events exploring the positive changes that people can make together.
As awareness – and anxiety – about the climate crisis continues to rise, museums may find a role as trusted sources of information. Staff are already picking up signals of anxiety about the future from audiences.
Activist activity
Lucy Kate Neville, a learning and programmes enabler at National Museums Scotland, says: “Increasingly, families are asking for climate crisis information in museums. Young climate activists say that more people must know the facts of climate change, so they urgently want trusted sources like museums to tell the truth”.
On the 3 April, Culture Declares Emergency was launched – a global community declaring a climate emergency and taking action to respond to it.
Tate and Nottingham Contemporary are among the museums that have declared through the initiative.
Nick Merriman, the director of the Horniman Museum and Gardens in London, summed up the role museums can play as part of the museum’s Culture Declares Emergency declaration.
He says: “[Our] main audience is families with young children, and we know that [adults] are worried about the future that these children will inherit. They are also often overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge we all face. We aim to provide scientifically accurate information and engage them in positive actions they can take, which will collectively make a significant difference.”
The approach of Oxford University Museum of Natural History is to make young people themselves the trusted sources of information. Sarah Lloyd, the museum’s head of education and learning, has devised a series of events this autumn called Let’s Talk About Climate.
Lloyd says the aim is to “instil confidence in young people so that they can use clear language and persuasive arguments to talk to their family, friends, school, local and national government figures about climate change”.
The sessions progress through digging into causes and impacts, linking climate to biodiversity collections and challenging participants to solve problems, until the final session “Lend me your ears, please!” empowers them to speak truth to power.
What if children speak their truth to the power represented by museums? Bristol Museum decided to cover specimens of extinct species with shrouds after children from a local primary school wrote to them demanding the museum tell the true story behind a Bengal tiger exhibit shot dead by King George V, as well as other specimens.
Another project with strong young voices was Future Fossils at Scarborough’s Rotunda Museum, which was created by primary school pupils in collaboration with the arts organisations Crescent Arts and Invisible Dust.
During a two-day event in September, visitors were led by children playing the role of geologists. They led the visitors into a secret space closed to the public to investigate how to protect the future environment of their town.
The museum’s curator, Simon Hedges, says the space where this took place was formerly titled the Shell Gallery because it was sponsored by the oil company.
With that relationship ended, the museum is taking the chance to rethink interpretation. As part of this it is consulting with local audiences and asking children to participate in creative theatre to interpret visitors’ relationship to the local environment.
The experience featured voices of young climate activists and invited visitors to make pledges to combat climate change.
Funding solutions
If you don’t have funding for quick-response projects that communicate issues of concern to young people, what can you do?
One approach is to integrate the communication of environmental policies or values into education provision or displays, perhaps with humour or even shock effect. An example of the latter comes from Rotterdam Natural History Museum in the Netherlands, which displayed a hedgehog that died with its head stuck in a McDonald’s McFlurry ice-cream container.
It can also be done in a gentle way, such as providing recycling facilities in museum learning spaces.
Anna Lowe, the co-founder and director of partnerships at Smartify, an art identification app, and a trustee of Tate Youth Engagement, says that digital teams in museums should employ user-focused design principals to guide visitors into “good” decisions.
“[For example] travel suggestions, letting them know about water-refill stations, signposting recycling initiatives, and rewarding members who access a digital exhibition guide rather than buying the book,” Lowe says.
What if you invited young people to suggest those good decisions?
Digital and social media are a quick and affordable way to start reaching young people and engage them in issues related to the climate crisis. Perhaps the best way to respond to young people’s anxieties about the future is to give them more power to shape culture and to influence media.
It is exciting to think about what museums might become if they respond to the climate emergency and listen to concerns about it.
Bridget McKenzie is the founder of the Climate Museum UK and one of the organisers of Culture Declares Emergency
