Work

What American children's museum mission statements say about Lifelong Competencies

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Children's museums are a distinct type of museum—one particularly poised to engage and support the development of Lifelong Competencies that will help children live into their own successful and fulfilling futures. Understudied in the children's museum, which one(s) they prioritize is largely unknown, and, thus, so is their optimization. This work draws upon the important communication tool of institutional mission statements. Frequency analysis of the terms in 321 American children's museum mission statements (Study A) identified that children's museums prioritize the Lifelong Competencies of creativity and curiosity. Thematic analysis of the 119 mission statements that included these terms (Study B) indicated that children's museums' intended practice for achieving creativity and curiosity is through experiences, environments, and play with a focus on hands‐on and interactive elements, family‐friendly features, eliciting a positive affect, and experiences that are educational and innovative. Furthermore, creativity and curiosity are primarily valued as mediators toward learning.

Source: Curator The Museum Journal

DOI: 10.1111/cura.12615

Author: Kathleen Kupiec

Institution: University of Oxford

Language: English

Topic: Museums and Cultural Heritage

Subfield: Museology

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,760