Centres for Curiosity and Imagination: When is a Museum Not a Museum?When is a museum not a museum? When it's a Children's Discovery Centre, Imaginarium, Wonder Workshop, Exploratory, a Please Touch Gallery, or a Discovery Factory. These are some of the many names given to the special institutions known generically in the United States as children's museums, but which defy easy description in one word or phrase. They combine learning with fun and engage children and adults together with inter-linked exhibitions. This report describes the growth of these US centres and looks at what is happening in Europe, particularly at the work and approaches of related institutions in Britain. It examines how the US model might be relevant to Britain, especially when such centres are developed and run as community-based enterprises, serving the needs of the children in their local areas. |
