Architecture Papers of the Faculty of Architecture and Design STU (Sep 2020)
Museums in the 21st century: Innovative forms of exhibitions for children
Abstract
In the past few decades, we experienced significant development of construction and renovation of various museums worldwide. At present, museums, galleries, partial or temporary exhibitions tend to focus more on attracting the interest of children. A distinctive feature of children's museums and exhibitions is that visitors are encouraged to touch exhibits, perceive exhibitions through multiple senses, and be actively involved in the handling of exhibits. The analyzed case studies of the visited exhibitions in Austria, mainly for children, present a variety of solutions utilized by this type of institution. Particular attention is paid to the educational potential, the atmosphere of the exhibitions, and the ways of creating and adjusting the exhibition space for all visitors, including people with special needs are explored. The aforementioned attributes were chosen for the great importance they have in the role of children's museums, whose purpose is to educate and “shape” their visitors, offer memorable experiences through the creation of unique atmosphere and their modern goal is also to support the inclusion of children with health limitations. These examples are intended to serve as inspirational architectural and design options for the presentation of exhibitions, as these museums primarily highlight the positive elements and introduce the options for adapting some of the exhibition segments to better accommodate the needs of people with disabilities. Based on the acquired information, the paper also suggests potential areas for further research concerning mainly the possibility to divide the museum space for children into sections, as well as suitable routing of exhibitions in order to achieve a playful, inclusive and educational architectural space.
