Young people in museums: suppressed voices? Forgotten audiences?

Abstract

This paper will address ways in which knowledge of the enjoyment of learning by people of all ages can be applied to enhancing audience experiences and hence audience numbers. Young people are a valid and important segment of the audiences of cultural and arts programs. It is vital that they have an experience that they judge to be worthwhile - they have enormous influence on future engagement with cultural opportunities. Their early experiences will influence their own attitudes to future participation along with that of their families and friends. Young people can be considered marketing opportunities to reach parts of the audience that may not otherwise be involved. This applies particularly to those who participate through a school-initiated program, as many may never visit in any other grouping. How do we ensure that young visitors have worthwhile experiences? Firstly - but so often forgotten - they need to be asked about their experiences and about what they enjoy. To what extent do we need to develop different programs, or interpret these programs for different age levels? My own and others' research suggests that there is no difference in the learning process of adults and children - any difference lies in the range of experiences they have had. Some research findings on ways of successfully involving young people in planning and conducting visits to museums is outlined. There has been considerable discussion about education versus entertainment in the arts, and the associated issues of dumbing down. This may have much to do with confusion about the meanings of and relationships between terms like entertainment, recreation, leisure, enjoyment, play and learning. Preliminary research findings suggest that people do not distinguish strongly between these concepts Most importantly, people of all ages enjoy learning when they have some choice and ownership of the process.