Museum education

A student group at Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France.

Educational exhibition on "Materials & Meanings" at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Museum education is an important part of the role of museums.

Introduction

A museum's collection can be used to support education in a variety of ways. For example, many museums produce teaching kits to aid school teachers in using their education resources, often in association with a school trip to the museum. In supports of its educational activities, a museum may have an education officer,^[1] an education department (e.g., see^[2]), or even an education center, depending on its size the importance attached to its educational role.

Publications

The Journal of Museum Education (JME)^[3] is a journal covering the theory, training, and practice of the museum education field from the Museum Education Roundtable.^[4] Articles are written by museum, education, and research professionals.

Examples

The Smithsonian Institution in the USA provides extensive educational facilities, aimed at educators, families, and students.^[5]

Schools

New York City Museum School, USA.

A major part of museum attendance is through organised school trips to a museum where a structured visit with be used to augment and enhance the curriculum, under the direction of a school teacher, often with the help of museum staff. Typically there is some preparation for the visit beforehand and school work building on the trip afterwards.

Some schools have a special affiliation with museums, for example the New York City Museum School in the USA and The Langley Academy in the UK.

The Museum Institute for Teaching Science (MITS), based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, was founded in 1983. It provides resources to K-8 school teachers of engineering, mathematics, science, and technology. MITS initiates and sponsors innovative science teaching methods at both public and private schools in cooperation with educators at science and natural history museums.

Guided tours

Many larger museums provide guided tours, possibly in several languages. Audio tours are also available in many museums, using a hand-held listening device. This has been generalized to the concept of a multimedia electronic museum guide. Cell phone tours are possible if the pricing in a particular country is suitable for extensive cell phone usage.

See also

• Museology

References

1. ^ Museum education officer: Job description and activities, Prospects, UK.
2. ^ Learning (education) department, Natural History Museum, London, UK.
3. ^ JME: The Journal of Museum Education. Museum Education Roundtable. ISSN 1059-8650.
4. ^ Museum Education Roundtable website.
5. ^ Smithsonian Education, Smithsonian Institution, USA.

External links

• Museum Education Monitor monthly e-newsletter on Facebook