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Netzwerkmagazin 12|08
Child Inclusive Exhibition Design
Texte publik gemacht
Supplementing the Needs of Children in Conventional Exhibitions
Katarzyna Warpas, Hildesheim
How to let museums better perform their role as a “motor for the learning society” is a
leading question throughout this issue of the Netzwerk
werkmagazin
magazin. . In the following summary
of her Master Thesis, submitted at the University of Applied Arts and Science in Hilde-
sheim, Katarzyna Warpas outlines her design concept for an exhibition at the Römer
R
mer- und
Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim. It aims at conveying the culture of ancient Peru to the
younger museum visitors who become users through well-directed
interaction.
tion.
Museums are often seen as irrelevant,
rigid, boring and stuffy, especially by the
youngest generation. Often they are
indeed like that. However, these features
are not included in the definition of
museum and are rather part of attitude
which has developed during last fifty
years. Now more than ever, in a fast
developing, globalised modern society,
museums are under pressure to motivate
young visitors to examine their past
in order to understand current issues
better and to shape the future with
greater awareness. Although children
constitute a major part of the museum
audience, their needs, perspectives and
museum experiences are still largely
ignored. The main aim of my master
thesis was to examine the importance of
including children’s needs into the
planning of conventional exhibitions.
This work should also form a basis for
future design research in this field.
An example of an information board to an exhibit
49
Alfred Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S.
www.toepfer-fvs.de