Museum Learning Program Examples
Below are documents of two learning programs I created for a house museum in the Los Angeles-area. Both are family programs designed for groups with adults and children; one is self-guided, the other a guided activity (by staff member or volunteer) using artworks within the house that tell the story of the historic Bison hunt.
Over time, I’ll be adding additional programs to this section.
Design Philosophy
My approach to developing museum learning programs differs from strategies I use for developing curriculum for higher education or K-12 programming. Museum-specific programs need to be more adaptable and flexible to accommodate the unique motivations, needs and aims of museum visitors. Rigid, structured programs won’t work; I’ve found that traditional ‘school’ approaches create barriers to engagement.
Yet museum programs still need a framework to guide learning and provide focus to encourage participation and engagement. Ideally, we (museum program designers) work with the premise that the museum is a source of knowledge and experience—a platform for visitors to create meaning and relevance on their own terms, not ours. This mindset shapes the program result.
Below are documents of two learning programs I created for a house museum in the Los Angeles-area. Both are family programs designed for groups with adults and children; one is self-guided, the other a guided activity (by staff member or volunteer) using artworks within the house that tell the story of the historic Bison hunt.
Over time, I’ll be adding additional programs to this section.
Design Philosophy
My approach to developing museum learning programs differs from strategies I use for developing curriculum for higher education or K-12 programming. Museum-specific programs need to be more adaptable and flexible to accommodate the unique motivations, needs and aims of museum visitors. Rigid, structured programs won’t work; I’ve found that traditional ‘school’ approaches create barriers to engagement.
Yet museum programs still need a framework to guide learning and provide focus to encourage participation and engagement. Ideally, we (museum program designers) work with the premise that the museum is a source of knowledge and experience—a platform for visitors to create meaning and relevance on their own terms, not ours. This mindset shapes the program result.
Design Strategies
As I described in the Museum Learning Program Design section, I consider the nine design strategies from engagefamilies.org when approaching museum programming. I aim to include three core strategies from the nine, encourage conversation, make it relevant, and create multi-outcome experiences, in each program. I apply other strategies depending upon the program type.
I describe my design strategies for each program below.
Guided Gallery Activity – “Art Detective: Where Did the Bison Go?”
Following is the facilitator guide created for a volunteer or staff member leading the activity in the house museum. It’s a 20-minute activity designed to be offered two to three times during monthly open houses (11 am to 4 pm) using art works to tell the history of the bison in North America.
Design Strategies Used
Strategies from engagefamilies.org include: encourage conversation with use of questions; focus on relevance by asking questions that highlight the value of history, and storytelling as method to learn about culture and history including within one’s own family; encourage multi-outcomes by visitors' discussing family traditions, and by visitors creating a unique mini-sculpture. It’s also multi-modal, using activities that engage the different senses (sound, touch, vision), and multi-sided where visitors are active and interact with each other.
As I described in the Museum Learning Program Design section, I consider the nine design strategies from engagefamilies.org when approaching museum programming. I aim to include three core strategies from the nine, encourage conversation, make it relevant, and create multi-outcome experiences, in each program. I apply other strategies depending upon the program type.
I describe my design strategies for each program below.
Guided Gallery Activity – “Art Detective: Where Did the Bison Go?”
Following is the facilitator guide created for a volunteer or staff member leading the activity in the house museum. It’s a 20-minute activity designed to be offered two to three times during monthly open houses (11 am to 4 pm) using art works to tell the history of the bison in North America.
Design Strategies Used
Strategies from engagefamilies.org include: encourage conversation with use of questions; focus on relevance by asking questions that highlight the value of history, and storytelling as method to learn about culture and history including within one’s own family; encourage multi-outcomes by visitors' discussing family traditions, and by visitors creating a unique mini-sculpture. It’s also multi-modal, using activities that engage the different senses (sound, touch, vision), and multi-sided where visitors are active and interact with each other.
Self-Guided: “Family Discovery Guide: Blueprint Activity” and "Activity Guidelines for Support Facilitators"
This self-guided activity for use within a house museum, includes, 1) a facilitator support guide that describes the logistics of setting up the activity and a description for staff and volunteers on how they can support families during the activity, and 2) the Discovery Guidefor families to use (when completing the activity in the house museum.
The activity guidelines are a key component in setting up the activity for success; it’s designed to educate the museum staff and volunteers about the purpose, logistics and goals of the activity. It creates an infrastructure that supports (not instructs) the family experience.
Staff and volunteers who know how to support visitors create their own museum experiences, help them construct a more meaningful visit. Volunteers and staff need to be trained how they can be facilitators of self-guided activities, otherwise learning opportunities and positive experiences for visitors can be missed.
Design Strategies Used
The activity: encourages conversation by posing questions that guide families to discuss concepts on their terms, and incorporates questions to encourage deeper thinking that explore family values; supports relevancy by demonstrating how the design process applies to everyday objects, e.g. houses, bicycles, electronics, from conceptualization to 2D [blueprint] plans, and 3D outcomes, and encourages development of spatial skills; it also encourages multi-outcomes by incorporating discussion (that will be unique to each family), and prompts constructive thinking with discussion questions about building a dream home or personal space.
Another consideration is the learning happens after the museum visit, the rationale for including a Keep Exploring section on the last page of the Discovery Guide.
Implementation Notes
The Family Discovery activity was available to families and groups who visited during an open house event, but few participated even with an exhibit table that promoted the activity. It could have been due to the perceived time commitment (30 minutes), and/or the various motivations families had for visiting, e.g. for recreation or social reasons, that may not have included an interactive experience. We're rethinking the approach and marketing going forward.