The learning power of museums : a vision for museum education / Department for Culture, Media and Sport ; Department for Education and Employment.

  • Great Britain. Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Date:
2000
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: The learning power of museums : a vision for museum education / Department for Culture, Media and Sport ; Department for Education and Employment. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    However, at present the provision of educational services by museums is patchy, ranging from the outstanding to the mediocre. There is no apparent justification for this arbitrary pattern of distribution. Good provision enables teachers to use cultural resources to enrich the curriculum. Sadly, museum education, where it is provided, is too often seen by teachers as an optional extra and is not integrated into the wider learning process. However, there is a will to do more and to do better. Within the world of education, as well as that of museums, there is a strong desire for museums to play a key part in the learning society of this new century. Harnessing the capacity of museums to enhance learning means developing relevant and interesting programmes that will attract audiences from both the formal educational community and the public at large. local schoolchildren to develop a web exhibition. Children in Class 7H1 from Westgate Community College in Benwell were asked to choose objects for the exhibition and write about their reasons for picking them. They then developed their ICT skills by preparing material about the objects they had chosen for display on the Internet. Three councillors from Newcastle City Council who had been involved from the start wrote an introduction that put the exhibition in its social context. The museum staff produced the final display and, in association with the County Archaeologist, added further information about the sites and objects. The project has produced a resource that not only is a teaching aid for present and future schoolchildren of the locality, but also brings the history of a small suburb to the attention of a much wider audience. All To do this effectively and fully means putting education at the heart of every museum, whatever its size, origin and ethos. This will inevitably have a significant impact on museums’ outlook, priorities, planning, presentation and facilities. All these need to reflect the importance of learning, and education needs to feature prominently in mission statements, strategies and forward plans. Stewardship, care and access will continue to be priorities for museums, but this does not mean a choice can be made between stewardship and education. The goal must be stewardship in order to enable present and future generations to appreciate and learn from the objects in museums’ care. The Government has pledged to raise educational standards across the board. The DCMS includes among its objectives the development of the educational the participants gained a sense of connection with the history of their area, and were introduced to ways in which a museum collection can bring the past to life. Contact: Andrew Parkin, Education Officer, Museum of Antiquities, University of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU. Telephone: 0191 222 8996. The Benwell Centre of the Universe site is accessible through the Museum of Antiquities website http://www.ncl.ac.uk/antiquities/