Children's Museums in New Normal through Museological Approaches

Abstract

Functions such as establishing a connection between the past and the future, democratizing, inclusive and polyphonic spaces emphasized in the new museum definition studied by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in 2019 have been in existence since 1899; it coincides with the existence philosophies and purposes of children and youth museums, which have made progress in parallel with the developments in education and science and have been divided into different types and increased in number all around the world. These museums, which are opened and work purely for educational purposes are considered as the starting point of the visitor-centered and interactive museum approaches. In this context, although the new definition of museum has not yet been officially approved by ICOM, children’s museums have content that will contribute to the new definition of museum with prominent social functions. In the children's museum, which is an interactive example of visitor participation, the choice and control is left to the children; knowledge and personal experience come to the fore; ties are established with personal lives, learning programs are created to ensure communication and cooperation, and entertaining practices that will activate emotions are included. The number and types of these “family-friendly” institutions which offer learning opportunities are also increasing in countries which do not have a long-standing museum tradition. The action taken by children's museums, which stand out with their interaction features, in the face of the COVID 19 pandemic is considered an important indicator for museums in the post-pandemic period, which is defined as the new normal. This study aimed to evaluate the debates on children's museums in line with contemporary museum approaches by describing the scope, diversified goals and purposes of children's museums, and exhibition examples emphasizing current issues, and it defined the works they carried out during and after the COVID 19 pandemic.

Keywords

• Museum
• museum education
• children’s and youth museum
• interactivity
• playful museum

Müzecilik Yaklaşımlarıyla Yeni Normalde Çocuk Müzeleri

Öz

Uluslararası Müzeler Konseyi (ICOM) tarafından 2019 yılında üzerinde çalışılan yeni müze tanımında vurgulanan geçmiş ve gelecek bağlantısı kurma, demokratikleştirici, kapsayıcı ve çok sesli alanlar olmak gibi işlevler 1899 yılından beri varlığını sürdüren; eğitim bilimde yaşanan gelişmelere paralel ilerlemeler kaydeden ve kendi içinde farklı türlere ayrılarak sayıca çoğalan çocuk ve gençlik müzelerinin var oluş felsefeleri ve amaçlarıyla örtüşmektedir. Tamamen eğitsel amaçlı açılmakta ve çalışmakta olan bu müzeler ziyaretçi merkezli ve etkileşimli müze anlayışının çıkış noktası olarak kabul edilmektedir. Bu bağlamda çocuk müzesi, ICOM tarafından henüz resmi olarak onaylanmasa da toplumsal işlevleri öne çıkan yeni müze tanımına katkı sağlayacak içeriğe sahiptir. Ziyaretçi katılımının öne çıktığı etkileşimli örneği olan çocuk müzesinde seçim ve kontrol çocuklara bırakılmakta; bilgi ve kişisel deneyim ön plana çıkmakta; kişisel yaşantılarla bağ kurulmakta, iletişim ve iş birliğinin sağlanacağı öğrenme programları oluşturulmakta ve duyguları harekete geçirecek eğlenceli uygulamalara yer verilmektedir. Geniş öğrenme olanakları sunan bu “aile dostu” kurumların sayısı ve türleri yıllara dayanan bir müze geleneği olmayan ülkelerde de artış göstermektedir. Etkileşim özellikleriyle öne çıkan çocuk müzelerinin COVID 19 pandemisi karşısında aldıkları aksiyon yeni normal olarak tanımlanan post pandemi sürecinde müzeler açısından önemli bir gösterge olarak kabul edilmektedir. Bu çalışma çocuk müzelerinin kapsamını, çeşitlenen hedef ve amaçlarını ve güncel konulara vurgu yapan sergi örneklerini betimleyerek, çağdaş müzecilik yaklaşımları doğrultusunda çocuk müzelerine yönelik tartışmaları değerlendirmeyi amaçlamış ve COVID 19 pandemisi sürecinde ve sonrasında gerçekleştirdikleri çalışmaları tanımlamıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• müze
• oyuncu müze
• müze eğitimi
• etkileşim
• çocuk müzesi

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