Edinburgh’s Museum of Childhood recently reopened after a five-month refurbishment of its ground floor. Set up in 1955, it was the first museum in the world to be dedicated to the history of childhood, and this renovation is the first major change to have taken place in the building for more than 30 years. The redevelopment has been heralded in the press as a proactive step in engaging with young audiences and a major highlight in the Scottish government’s Year of Young People 2018. With two excited children in tow, I headed to the museum with high expectations for a fun family visit.
Through the ages
The objects, with their concisely written yet informative labels, form an important contextual and visual core in a refreshingly varied palette of media approaches. Text panels, photographs, audio recordings, film footage and opportunities for hands-on play combine to provide a multi-sensory experience that caters for different age groups. Young visitors are engaged, but so are the young at heart, who are inspired to take a trip down memory lane.
The exhibition text is concise and well layered, allowing visitors to skim for the gist of the information or read in more depth. Numerous quotations complement the content. These are taken from a range of sources and include familiar names, such as the comedian David Walliams, the physicist Albert Einstein and the broadcaster David Attenborough, as well as words of advice from past and present specialists.
“Treat them as though they are young adults,” writes the US psychologist John Watson in his 1928 book, Psychological Care of Infant and Child. “Never hug and kiss them,” he warns. The quotations speak for themselves and are effective at provoking a personal response.
I have long been a fan of constructivist theory, the movement formed as a reaction to the traditional approach of information overload. Constructivists such as George Hein advise creating opportunities for meaning-making by presenting familiar concepts to facilitate reminiscence and social interaction. A museum of childhood is surely the perfect testbed for this theory. Questions posed in the exhibition provide perfect opportunities for making meaning through reflection and interaction. The question, “What do you remember about your first day at school?”, filled my mind with images of the picture on my coat peg and tray, and meeting my friend Jill for the first time. I asked my eldest son, aged six, what he remembered? “I don’t know,” he answered. “That was ages ago.”
Playful approach
Despite my failed attempt at constructivism in action, both my children actively engaged with the exhibition. A range of attractively and durably designed hands-on interactives offer opportunities for family activities or a welcome distraction for children while their accompanying adults indulge in a dose of nostalgia. Highlights for my two included the opportunity to “Make a Story” and a memory game, simply operated by turning rows of fixed “cards” until the matching pairs are found.
Young visitors are also provided with a large, colourful trail filled with things to spot across the museum. My children immediately ran off and started speed-spotting their way around all three floors. Pleasing as this was to witness, it was a challenge at times to divert them from the trail for long enough to take in everything else on offer.
An A3-sized trail is also, it turns out, a cumbersome size for little hands. Given the accessibility of the subject matter for young audiences, the trail probably doesn’t need to be so extensive. A shorter one would allow them ample time to complete it and have a good play.
The provision of a den, complete with shelves of books and dressing-up costumes inspired by characters from children’s literature, is a welcome treat at the end of the exhibition. This is conveniently placed next to a large feedback station so comments can be left while younger children are kept entertained close by.
Through this first stage of development the museum has successfully fulfilled its aim of offering new ways of engaging with younger visitors, as well as providing an enjoyable experience for the nostalgic and the young at heart. The space given over to evaluation is impressive and sensible, given that this is just the beginning in the venue’s ambitions for growth and developing its outreach. I hope visitors take this opportunity to shape the museum’s future and help it to continue to provide this exemplary approach to visitor-focused displays.
Mary Stones is a freelance interpretation consultant
Main funders Friends of Edinburgh City Art Centre
and Museums; Museums Galleries Scotland
Architect Studioarc
Building contractor Morris & Spottiswood
Structural engineering Will Rudd Davidson
Project management City of Edinburgh Council
Graphic design, tactile interactives and display cases Eastern Exhibition & Display
The new-look ground floor explores three universal themes of childhood – life, learning and play – and these are clearly presented as visitors enter. Remembering the dark, outdated surroundings of the previous incarnation, I was immediately struck by the use of colour and light. This instantly conveys a sense of fun and playfulness that is wholly appropriate given the subject matter. Without reading a word, this visual language speaks of informality and fun, and invites visitors to explore, play and celebrate childhood.
The museum holds a nationally significant collection of more than 60,000 objects, which tell the story of childhood from the 18th century to the present day. Sixty rarely seen items are now on display in a suite of new cases to illustrate the themes. These include contemporary pieces that have the potential to add relevance and meaning for younger visitors. A Buzz Lightyear action figure inspired by the Disney film Toy Story, a copy of a Harry Potter book and a Sophie Giraffe teether, identical to the ones my children gummed to death as babies, join the stalwart collection of dolls and wooden toys. The original versions of iconic Fisher-Price toys dating from the 1970s, including the Chatter telephone, are also on display. Their recent comeback on the 21st-century high street adds a new relevance to these iconic toys.Through the ages
The objects, with their concisely written yet informative labels, form an important contextual and visual core in a refreshingly varied palette of media approaches. Text panels, photographs, audio recordings, film footage and opportunities for hands-on play combine to provide a multi-sensory experience that caters for different age groups. Young visitors are engaged, but so are the young at heart, who are inspired to take a trip down memory lane.
The exhibition text is concise and well layered, allowing visitors to skim for the gist of the information or read in more depth. Numerous quotations complement the content. These are taken from a range of sources and include familiar names, such as the comedian David Walliams, the physicist Albert Einstein and the broadcaster David Attenborough, as well as words of advice from past and present specialists.
“Treat them as though they are young adults,” writes the US psychologist John Watson in his 1928 book, Psychological Care of Infant and Child. “Never hug and kiss them,” he warns. The quotations speak for themselves and are effective at provoking a personal response.
I have long been a fan of constructivist theory, the movement formed as a reaction to the traditional approach of information overload. Constructivists such as George Hein advise creating opportunities for meaning-making by presenting familiar concepts to facilitate reminiscence and social interaction. A museum of childhood is surely the perfect testbed for this theory. Questions posed in the exhibition provide perfect opportunities for making meaning through reflection and interaction. The question, “What do you remember about your first day at school?”, filled my mind with images of the picture on my coat peg and tray, and meeting my friend Jill for the first time. I asked my eldest son, aged six, what he remembered? “I don’t know,” he answered. “That was ages ago.”
Playful approach
Despite my failed attempt at constructivism in action, both my children actively engaged with the exhibition. A range of attractively and durably designed hands-on interactives offer opportunities for family activities or a welcome distraction for children while their accompanying adults indulge in a dose of nostalgia. Highlights for my two included the opportunity to “Make a Story” and a memory game, simply operated by turning rows of fixed “cards” until the matching pairs are found.
Young visitors are also provided with a large, colourful trail filled with things to spot across the museum. My children immediately ran off and started speed-spotting their way around all three floors. Pleasing as this was to witness, it was a challenge at times to divert them from the trail for long enough to take in everything else on offer.
An A3-sized trail is also, it turns out, a cumbersome size for little hands. Given the accessibility of the subject matter for young audiences, the trail probably doesn’t need to be so extensive. A shorter one would allow them ample time to complete it and have a good play.
The provision of a den, complete with shelves of books and dressing-up costumes inspired by characters from children’s literature, is a welcome treat at the end of the exhibition. This is conveniently placed next to a large feedback station so comments can be left while younger children are kept entertained close by.
Through this first stage of development the museum has successfully fulfilled its aim of offering new ways of engaging with younger visitors, as well as providing an enjoyable experience for the nostalgic and the young at heart. The space given over to evaluation is impressive and sensible, given that this is just the beginning in the venue’s ambitions for growth and developing its outreach. I hope visitors take this opportunity to shape the museum’s future and help it to continue to provide this exemplary approach to visitor-focused displays.
Mary Stones is a freelance interpretation consultant
Project data
Cost £200,000Main funders Friends of Edinburgh City Art Centre
and Museums; Museums Galleries Scotland
Architect Studioarc
Building contractor Morris & Spottiswood
Structural engineering Will Rudd Davidson
Project management City of Edinburgh Council
Graphic design, tactile interactives and display cases Eastern Exhibition & Display
Admission Free
