Should museums be family-friendly?

I imagine that if you've ever read my blog or follow me on twitter then you've probably already decided the sort of article that this is going to be. I make it very clear, I think, that some of my chief concerns in museums are families; family education, especially.

So I think all museums should be family friendly, right?

Well, not exactly. Yes, and no. I'll explain a little better.

Firstly, there are some museums that by their content alone should never be encouraging children into them. I'm not going to go into details, but let's just say that if a museum's collection is primarily of material you'd expect to only see on television after the watershed then I don't think it's really ever going to be a good candidate for a family fun day out.

Having said that, I do think there is a case for museums to try and be accessible for families. But definitely with certain provisos.

My second biggest irritation (I'll get to the first in a minute) with people who immediately start shaking their heads when you mention family friendly museums is that so often they're equating "family friendly museum" with "museum for children" in their head. And that's annoying, because they're really not the same thing at all. Eureka, in Halifax, is a children's museum. It's designed for kids, with them in mind as the exclusive audience. And it's fantastic, in my opinion, anyway. I'm pretty sure someone who likes visiting the Courtauld Gallery to look at paintings once a week probably wouldn't think it was for them, but that's not the point. It's a children's museum. Somewhere like the Herbert, in Coventry, however, is not a children's museum. Its exhibits can appeal to anyone, and it is the interpretation created by the museum staff that make an object more appealing to a particular type of visitor, whether that's an adult or a child.

Just because a museum is 'family friendly' doesn't mean that it suddenly doesn't want visitors that don't come bringing childen with them. I'd hate to see that, just as much as I hate to see a museum excluding people who do bringing children with them. I firmly believe that museums are an excellent place to encourage inquiry in young minds and I hope they will always continue to be. I also hope they'll continue to welcome inquiring minds no matter what age they are.

My biggest gripe (told you I'd get to it in a minute) is that whenever you bring up the issue of family friendly-ness in museums, you inevitably get someone who'll say something along the lines of "don't let museums be over-run with noisy children", "museums are the last quiet space I have to think, it's terrible that you're trying to destroy them" and so on.

This bugs me a lot, and for quite a few reasons, not least the somewhat hypocritical attitude of "museums can't be the way someone else wants them, because they must be the way I want them". It also bothers me that there are people who seem to want to ban all children from museums because they perceive them to be a personal nemesis of some kind, a sort of anti-peace-and-quiet. I've known some wonderfully calm and polite children; should they suffer a museum exile because not all of their peers can behave in such a socially acceptable manner in a museum? And lastly, it bothers me because if someone were advocating against people of a race, or religion, or gender being allowed into a museum we'd be up in arms about it - so why is it less of a problem when people are discriminating against potential visitors because of their age?

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and maybe somewhere in there they have a point. Perhaps we should be trying to hold events that are aimed specifically at the people who want to come and sit in the peace and quiet, to use our spaces to think or get away from the hustle and bustle. Their wish for that use of a museum is just as important as any other user-group, and we should think about providing for it if we don't already. Just not to the point of exclusion of others.

So that's where I stand on the issue, really. But before I sign off, I'd like to leave you with some really good reasons to consider as to why I think all museums should think about being family friendly, even if you're not actually wanting to attract hoardes of children to annoy the naysayers out there.

Think about the height of your displays
Because children aren't the only people who are short. What about people in wheelchairs?

Think about the language you use in interpretation
Because not everyone is an expert in your subject, or has the benefit of an excellent education.

Think about making things engaging and fun
Because everyone likes to enjoy themselves. People engage more with content if they're emotionally invested in it, no matter how old they are.

Explain things in simple ways
Because not everyone shares the same life experiences. The more simple your references, the more of your audience that will be able to identify with them.

Don't make your interpretation panels too long
Because most people don't have the patience to read lots of text at once. Give people information in bite-sized bits so that they can decide whether to just read the highlights or to go in depth.

Provide pictures and hands-on activities
Because not all visitors learn by reading. Lots of people are kinesthetic learners who will understand and remember something much better by trying it out than by just reading it.


And if you start to think about all of these things, I daresay you'll find your museum is well on the way to being family friendly... and a better, more inclusive experience for everyone else, too.