Section 1: Designing for Play Section 2: What is an Exhibit Master Plan? Section 3: Budget Planning Section 4: Glossary of Exhibit Terms

Designing for Play (continued) Not Real, But True One of the most powerful ways to engage children in playful learning is through the imagination, yet it is this kind of play that is least understood as "educational." The spontaneous play of young children is their highest achievement. In their play, children invent the world for themselves and create a place for themselves in it. They are re-creating their pasts and imagining their futures, while grounding themselves in the reality and fantasy of their lives here and now (Jones and Reynolds 1992). The very highest form of play invites and involves imagination. Whether it is one child imagining how to build a bridge from one area to another or a group of children imagining themselves fishing off a trawler as they use magnet- ended down-riggers to pick up soft-sculpture fish with steel grommet eyes, imagination play experiences give children exceptionally strong feelings of competence and confidence. The more we can offer children the experience of feeling in control, of being powerful, the more self-confident they will be. The richer their imagination, the better they will become at real-life problem solving. Imagination play isn't real, but the feelings it engenders are strong and long lasting. It isn't real, but it is true. Scale is important in planning for imagination play. Everything should be scaled down. Try climbing into a five-foot-tall chair where your feet don't reach the ground in order to experience some of the helplessness that children experience every day. Give children a world that is their size and feelings of competence will follow - and, often, these are the feelings that leave the museum with the child. Another important exhibit feature is richly detailed realism. Like Alice through the looking glass, children entering an exhibit need to quickly experience the feeling that they have indeed walked into another world. While children engaged in imaginary play at home spend a long time determining the plot, amassing the props, and planning the environment, there usually isn't time for that in a museum visit, so museum exhibits must immediately and convincingly "set the mood" for a speedy jump into imagination play. Although props and spare parts constantly have to be tidied by staff, a true maxim is that the more resources - in the form of simple materials - the more play. Children need a large supply of good materials when they are imagining. Hearts-On, Hands-On, Minds-On Children's museums often describe themselves as "hands-on" and "minds-on." To that list of descriptors must be added "hearts-on." We know that the best learning in museums (and elsewhere!) occurs when people are engaged cognitively, motorically, and emotionally (Csikszentmihalyi & Hermanson 1995). This "hearts-on" element plays a critical role in long-term learning. Barry Zuckerman, in his presentation at the Association of Youth Museum's Early Learning in Museums Institute (Boston, 1997), suggested that the more favorable the emotional environment, the better the learning. As museums plan exhibits, designers must consider how their exhibits are going to touch the "inner selves" of their visitors. Exhibits should help visitors develop positive feelings towards anything about which the exhibit is designed for them to learn. These affective gains, such as liking the subject; wanting to find out more; and increased interest, curiosity, and self confidence, are too often overlooked in formal lists of educational goals. Children haven't changed, but childhood has. Where children used to freely roam fields, empty lots, or city sidewalks, many of today's children are only safe when indoors. Children used to have hours of free time that required only their own imagination and initiative to fill; today's children are in organized sports, lessons, or programs, or can turn to computers, television, or videos for entertainment. In the past, children imagined that their dolls could talk and cry, or pretended that their robot built of blocks could suddenly come to life and walk. Today's kids have many toys in which computer chips have made the need for imagination largely unnecessary. Children's museums provide a safe harbor in a scary, busy, and complicated world. They offer children the gift of playing freely in an inviting and complex environment and of playing with new things and people in time-tested ways. These positive play experiences are changing children's lives, not merely by what they learn during a museum visit, but by helping them believe in their own powers to learn, to succeed, to make their own choices, to get along with other people, to make their own discoveries, and to know that they are interesting people with good ideas. In providing environments for play-filled learning, children's museums affirm that play isn't merely something to be tolerated in the gaps between eating, sleeping, and episodes of formal learning. Play is vitally necessary to a child's healthy and full development. It is the essence of childhood, and it is this message that may be the most important one children's museums have to share with society. Endnotes: Csikszentmihalyi, M., and Hermanson, K., "Intrinsic Motivation in Museums: What Makes Visitors Want to Learn?" Museum News, May-June, 1995. Jones, E., and Reynolds, G. The Play's The Thing. New York: Teacher's College Press, 1992. Kirschenblatt-Gimblett, B. "What is Good Play?" In Learning Through Play, P. Chance, ed., pp. 18-24. New York: Gardner Press, Inc., 1979. Mary Sinker is a museum consultant specializing in children's museum exhibits. In addition to creating environments that inspire play and learning in museums, Sinker writes and speaks about play, play environments, and toys to audiences here and abroad. Ian Russell is a UK-based biologist, science center specialist, and 'hands-on' consultant living in Derbyshire, England. He has been involved in the European science center scene for over ten years, and has developed several 'classical' hands-on science centers, including Great Explorations, currently moving from Liverpool to Sheffield. In addition, Russell likes to keep in touch with young minds through frequent performances of his popular Exploding Custard show of do-it-yourself kitchen-table science experiments. Page 1 > Page 2 > Page 3