House of Beasts is a fun, playful, quirky and very well-thought out family-friendly contemporary art exhibition, funded by Meadow Arts and set in the gorgeous Attingham Park National Trust site ... Read more]]> Kids in Museums volunteer, Mar Dixon visited Attingham Park in Shropshire and discovered that contempory art can attract all ages…

House of Beasts is a fun, playful, quirky and very well-thought out family-friendly contemporary art exhibition, funded by Meadow Arts and set in the gorgeous Attingham Park National Trust site in Shropshire.

I’ve been to see the exhibition once before. On that occasion I was armed with my very informative House of Beasts booklet, but this time we had Meadow Arts curator Mandy Fowler to guide us. Our private tour allowed us to get behind the thought process that went behind this unique exhibition.

First thing you notice is the obvious animal theme going on, with almost all objects somehow connected to animals. (While the exhibition uses taxidermy and feathers, no animals were harmed.) Mandy explained how Meadow Arts looked at the surroundings and let the house determine where the exhibition should go. Looking around the estate and its history, with the deer park, cattle and the Earl of Attingham’s passion for dogs, animals seemed an obvious place to start. With this in mind, the team went about collecting the pieces. Interestingly, some pieces were commissioned while others already existed, but they just knew they would be perfect.

As soon as you walk in, you’re greeted with Katie MccGwire’s ‘Vex’, which at first glance looks like a piece of sculpture you’d see in a huge estate house. However, upon closer inspection you see how playful this exhibition is, as the sculpture is actually made, not of marble, but of pigeon feathers! To add to the playfulness some of the feathers still have the ‘I’m lost’ stamp on them, indicative of racing pigeons.

Throughout the exhibition, both inside and in the grounds of the estate, there is an obvious agenda – contemporary art can be fun for all ages. Another point of this exhibition is that you don’t have to like everything; it’s ok to have opinions. Those who like Polly Morgan’s One for Sorrow or Kate MccGwire Evacuate might not appreciate Kathleen Herbert’s Stable (16mm film).

While most of the art is not touchable (understandably), they have ensured this collection is fun for kids by putting touchable objects near the art, and making the trail part of the exhibition (following the booklet through each room and trying to find the objects is fun on its own). They’ve also coordinated several events that are very kid/family friendly, such as Pigeon Talk, Create a Temporary Artwork, Spawn and Owl Pellet dissection.

The non-traditional setting, added with the quirky and playfulness of the whole exhibition is a formula that shouldn’t necessarily work, but it definitely does at Attingham Park.

House of Beasts is on at Attingham Park until 15th July 2012. Tickets: Adults £9, Children £5.25, Family ticket £20.

This year, Kids in Museums has been especially keen on grandparents, with the 2012 Manifesto encouraging museums to ‘play the generation game’ and get visitors ‘telling ... Read more]]> Kids in Museums volunteer, Elee Kirk and Sue Neaves of  the Museum of London Docklands joined forces to find out how museums can bring generations together…

This year, Kids in Museums has been especially keen on grandparents, with the 2012 Manifesto encouraging museums to ‘play the generation game’ and get visitors ‘telling tales together’, and to remember that often, several generations of a family will visit together. This May bank holiday, the Museum of London Docklands did their bit by holding their first ‘Bring your Grandparents Day’. We thought we’d share with you what some of the visitors thought.

“I came with my whole family. We had a family vote on what to do today. This is my favourite museum. I like the dark street upstairs (Sailortown). I’m going to take my Grandmother in there when we finish this embroidery. I expect she’ll be really scared but there are little animals for you to protect and guide through so that you feel less scared. My brother, who’s five, will want to take her into Mudlarks and show her how to play with the water. He likes damming it up.” Laila, 8.

“It’s a lovely idea to have a day to say thanks to grandparents, after all we do a lot of caring. We’ve brought a packed lunch to eat in the picnic room but just found out that there’s 20% off in the café if you produce a grandparent so we might have to treat ourselves to a cake.” Cathy, Laila’s Grandmother

“I’m only 37 but I’m a grandmother. I wondered what to expect but I needn’t have worried. I’ve done jewellery making, Bengali embroidery, felt-making and seen a hilarious performance from an East End Gran who refuses to grow old.” Linda from Kent

“It’s great to see a place with so many buggies. You never feel like the grandchildren are in the way. I’ve been before and we came today specially for this. I’ve had a lovely waltz down memory lane, singing some old songs and we even danced ‘Knees-up Mother Brown’. More please.” Mike from Shadwell

What’s really great about events like these is that both the kids and the grandparents have something to add. The kids get to show their grandparents around their favourite museum, and the grandparents get to share their own childhood experiences. Plus, with this many great activities, everyone has a great time together, no matter how old, young, or young at heart they are.

In April, myself, my daughter Charlotte and three of her friends travelled to London to sleep ... Read more]]> So, what does happen when all the visitors go home? What’s it like to spend a night in a museum? Kids in Museums volunteer, Mar Dixon found out at the Natural History Museum’s Dinosnore event…

In April, myself, my daughter Charlotte and three of her friends travelled to London to sleep at the Natural History Museum’s DinoSnore. We were entertained from the moment the doors opened until lights out at midnight, then from breakfast until the museum opened again. For the 200ish attending children and adults the fun (and learning) never stopped.

Our group were assigned several activities throughout the night. First, we had to find the green dinosaurs in the Dinosaur room. Sounds easy, until we were told it was in the dark and we only had torches to help us. It was VERY Night at the Museum, especially when one of the animatronic dinosaurs roared as we walked by!

After snacks, we were set our second mission: to make fossils in the Palaeontology lab, which isn’t normally open to the public. We used an ammonite to create an impression in Plasticine, which we then poured plaster over. We used the Latin name to label them and got to take them home.

We then went to the ‘Monsters of the Deep’ show, where a scientist showed us the wonders that live in the ocean (another reason for me never to go on a cruise). The most impressive was the giant squid, of which the Museum has one in their collection. The kids got to see exactly how big a baby giant squid is when they helped hold a life-sized model of one.

The next morning it was brilliant to wake up in the Central Hall with Dippy the diplodocus. We had breakfast, then were entertained by Stu the Animal Man, who had an assortment of animals that the kids were allowed to touch or hold.

Charlotte (10) said “It was something that I’ll always remember. My favourite part was when we got to make our own fossil in the Palaeontology lab. I also loved seeing my name on the ‘I Love Dippy’ screen!”

At around £50 per person for groups of at least 5 children with one accompanying adult, these events aren’t cheap, but I think it was worth it – for me it really was a dream come true.

Details of upcoming Dinosnore events can be found on the Natural History Museum’s website.

If you remember room dividers, glo boots, trim phones, Concorde and Punk this exhibition will wrap you up in a ... Read more]]> Kids in Museums volunteer, Leonie Saywell revisited her youth at the V&A’s current exhibition about British design and was pleased to see engaging events for teenagers and objects for the whole family…

If you remember room dividers, glo boots, trim phones, Concorde and Punk this exhibition will wrap you up in a comforting bedspread of nostalgia. It will also make you feel quite old. Is my Little Man game really now a museum exhibit, along with those glo boots I definitely remember showing off in as a five year old? It’s also a show for sharing with anyone else who grew up in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s or an older child or teenager who would be amused/embarrassed by frequent exclamations of ‘We had one of those!’. Your teens can always escape from your nostalgia-fest by hiding in the video booth and watching Derek Jarman’s 1987 video of The Pet Shop Boys, ‘It’s a Sin’ or the 1995 Damien Hirst/Blur video of ‘Country House’.

This exhibition is undoubtedly lots of fun and the fashion, music and design will appeal to many teenagers. But there’s also a serious message about how Britain has moved from a manufacturing to a science economy and the huge impact of advertising and architecture.

An older child might also enjoy the Concorde model and E-type Jag, as well as the design feat which is Hussein Chalayan’s glowing egg dress and the closing exhibit of a model of Zaha Hadid’s 2012 London Olympic Aquatics Centre. As a parent I loved Henry Moore’s 1954 Family Group which opens the exhibition and the story behind Margaret Calvert’s Children Crossing Sign, apparently based on a childhood photograph of her and her brother.

This is an exhibition aiming to be teen friendly and there are some great workshops on offer for young people, including set design, textile design, and graphic design. These are one-off, so do check their website first.

As you’d expect the shop is lots of fun with mementoes to suit all budgets and at Kids in Museum there are plaudits all round for the ‘please touch’ signs on the children’s toys.

British Design 1948-2012 is on at the V&A until 12th August 2012. Tickets: Adults £12 Under 12’s free £8.00 for 12-17 year olds and full time students Family tickets £20 or £32 for two adults and two teenagers.

You may not believe that an exhibition about a computer developer would be very exciting, but you would be mistaken. To celebrate 100 years of Alan ... Read more]]> Kids in Museums volunteer, Rebecca Willmott discovered that science can be fun at Manchester Museum in an exhibition to celebrate the work of Alan Turing…

You may not believe that an exhibition about a computer developer would be very exciting, but you would be mistaken. To celebrate 100 years of Alan Turing, an English mathematician, wartime code-breaker and computer science whizz-kid, an exciting new exhibition at Manchester Museum has just opened celebrating his life’s work.

After a very warm welcome form the Manchester Museum staff I was escorted up a spectacular coloured lift into a bustling crowd, who were nibbling on giant, brick-shaped flapjacks. The night began with a series of short talks on Turing’s work, explaining how the cubic building situated not too far from the museum is where Turing developed morphogenesis. Morpho-what? ‘Morphogenesis’ is from the Greek word ‘morphe’ meaning ‘beginning of the shape’. It’s a biological process that determines an organism’s shape. In the exhibition this was explained by an image of the Wicked Queen in Snow White, who uses the red apple to morph herself into an old woman.

What else did I see? I saw moths, leopards, cows and pine cones. What did I learn? I learnt that codes, maths and science can be fun, how leopards get their spots, and how Turing’s equations explained how many ridges there were on the roof of a hedgehog’s mouth (he was a detailed kind of guy).

The quote of the evening that, for me, best summarised the exhibition was from scientist Edwin Brewster: “We are made of little living bricks, when we grow it is because these living bricks divide into half bricks, and then grow into whole ones again.” It made me think that throughout our lifetimes we can constantly regenerate and rebuild ourselves – a bit like Doctor Who!

I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition. It certainly opened my eyes to the wonders of computer science. Who knew maths, science and codes could be such fun?

Alan Turing and Life’s Enigma is on at Manchester Museum  until 18^th November 2012. Entry is free.

My seven-year-old wavered at the door of Transmutation, Banbury Museum’s new exhibition of fantastical creatures by artist Michaela Bayley. “Will they be… scary?” she asked, making a hasty retreat when I ... Read more]]> Kids in Museums volunteer, Rebecca Mileham finds out why teenagers are hanging out with aliens at Banbury Museum…

My seven-year-old wavered at the door of Transmutation, Banbury Museum’s new exhibition of fantastical creatures by artist Michaela Bayley. “Will they be… scary?” she asked, making a hasty retreat when I didn’t immediately reassure her.

But hardier youths plunge into the darkened corners of this exhibition to find its various horrors, from a monstrous skull to a full-size caged female alien. A soundtrack by Anya Ustaszewski – created partly from the sound of clashing frying pans – adds to the atmosphere of doom and gloom. And dystopia is definitely playing well with the teenage audience. ‘Freaky, scary but cool’, reads one youthful comment in the visitors’ book. ‘It was so scary I could of cried!!!’, ‘You should do more scary stuff’.

Banbury Museum has appealed successfully to a youth audience before – memorably with Jan Niedojadlo’s sculptural pods which became a destination for older teenagers in 2009. Transmutation also offers a trancily-lit area with beanbags and stools, and various resources on sci-fi and special effects to browse under the gory gaze of surrounding creatures.

‘Teenagers are really enjoying the den area’, says Dale Johnston, the museum officer behind Transmutation. ‘They gravitate there, and text their friends to come and join them. With the 11 and 12-year-olds, we find they like to challenge themselves and each other with the scariness of the creatures.’ The museum encourages unaccompanied young people to visit from the age of 12.

And even though the unique model creatures are very susceptible to damage, there aren’t any ‘don’t touch’ signs. Dale explains their thinking: ‘We’ve caged in the most vulnerable creature – it’s actually for her protection, but she’s so terrifying that it appears it’s for ours.’

With fangs and a nastily wounded shoulder, this nightmarish alien is the undeniable star of the show. But my personal favourite is a model of a man’s head, with intriguing ears and the most incredibly realistic skin and hair. Somehow, knowing that Michaela Bayley can create such a compelling human makes her aliens and monsters all the more unnerving.

 Transmutation is on at Banbury Museum until the 7^th May. Entry is free.

On Wednesday 14th March, The People’s History Museum in Manchester hosted the latest Kids in Museums Family Fortunes ... Read more]]> Kids in Museums volunteer Laura Archer reports back on her first event volunteering for us, getting stuck in to our Family Fortunes workshop held in Manchester earlier in March….

On Wednesday 14^th March, The People’s History Museum in Manchester hosted the latest Kids in Museums Family Fortunes workshop. Over 20 delegates came from far and wide – Anne Scott from Kilmartin House Museum on the west coast of Scotland holding the current record for distance travelled! We met to discuss and share ideas on how to make museums more welcoming to parents and children.

Sue Benson from The Market Family and Janet Uttley from VisitEngland presented fascinating insights into the current status of family life and recreational time, both emphasizing how important the offer of a stress-free, safe and friendly environment is for parents when they are looking for somewhere to spend quality time with their children. Several other speakers from museums and galleries then gave short five minute ‘blasts’, packed with great information about how they’ve made their institutions more family-focussed, from Snack Mats and object handling, to fancy dress costumes for the adults… as well as the kids.

The room then broke up into smaller groups during the afternoon, where discussion continued to flow and time moved too quickly for the amount of ‘bright ideas’ that were generated by each group.

This was my very first Kids in Museums event that I’ve been involved with as a volunteer. I arrived not knowing what to expect, and slightly daunted by the prospect of having to help lead a discussion group. Within minutes, however, I was completely drawn in by the bubbly and enthusiastic atmosphere, and gripped by the brilliant presentations. I left totally bowled over by the sheer generosity and willingness of everyone to help each other – there was no guarding of ideas here. Overall, a truly inspiring day and one definitely worth catching the early train for!

Why do we wear what we wear? This is the question posed by this fascinating exhibition on dress. If you’re ... Read more]]> What happens when museums involve teenagers in making exhibitions? Kids in Museums volunteer Leonie Saywell, discovered the influence a youth panel can have at the Horniman Museum’s The Body Adorned exhibition…

Why do we wear what we wear? This is the question posed by this fascinating exhibition on dress. If you’re reading this thinking, maybe my teenager would be grabbed by this, you’d be right. So right in fact that the Horniman got its Youth Panel to partly curate the show and their photographs make up part of the exhibition. Coolest of all are the three outfits chosen by panel members and carefully analysed in the accompanying display. Even I coveted the floral Doc Martens.

Another highlight was the film where Londoners talked about their own and others’ dress choice in fascinating detail. You can also see the best bits from the Horniman Museum’s anthropological collections, giving an insight into the messages dress conveys in religion, warfare, status, marriage and death. The Seal Gut Parker with its beautifully streamlined design was my favourite.

Together with the moody lighting and a definite lack of anything interactive for young kids, this exhibition should be a hit with teens of Lewisham and beyond.

At the Press View, I got to meet some of the Youth Panel who curated the show. It was great to hear their stories and successes, several of them have secured places for degrees in art, photography or fashion. They invited me back for their Teen Take Over Day last weekend and when I arrived the Museum was chock-a-block with teens buzzing about the fashion show, tattoo art and photo box. Youth Panel members Anna, Honor and Michael were thrilled with their success in attracting other teenagers. At Kids in Museums, one of our 2012 Manifesto pledges is ‘Invite Teenagers into your Gang’ and I think the Horniman has done exactly that.

The Body Adorned: Dressing London is on until 6^th January 2013. Free Entry.

It’s been some years since I last visited London’s Design Museum, and I have vague memories of an exhibition of Dyson vacuum cleaners, which isn’t perhaps ... Read more]]> Kids in Museums volunteer, Corinna Silk remembers the Design Museum as a place for hipsters to hang out. But does it accommodate children and families?…

It’s been some years since I last visited London’s Design Museum, and I have vague memories of an exhibition of Dyson vacuum cleaners, which isn’t perhaps the biggest draw for kids. Coupled with the fact that in my mind it was all very design-y and populated by hip young things, it probably wouldn’t be my first port of call with my five-year-old daughter.

Just as I remembered, it was populated with fashionable types, but also lots of families with young children and babies. I can’t imagine the babies got an awful lot of out of the fantastic Terence Conran ‘The Way We Live Now’ exhibition, and my heart did sink when Edie pronounced it ‘boring’. But then she spotted the giant pencil installation, and she managed to view the entire exhibition without whingeing once.

A quick visit to the café yielded some good sandwiches and cakes, plus free iced water and even little cartons of jelly babies. High chairs were available, and prices were no more than your average Starbucks. The loos were lovely, although a shame the taps were out of children’s reach, but a big plus is that the loos are unisex, with a separate baby changing area.

The Design of the Year exhibition was full of ‘please do not touch’ signs, so not ideal for kids who are used to interactive exhibits. But there were some entertaining items that Edie loved – a state of the art computer game and a prototype car that visitors could sit in were the big winners. Because of the hushed design reverence, I found myself saying ‘shhh’ a lot, but nobody else batted an eyelid. In fact, all children there seemed on monumentally good behaviour. Maybe the stylish surroundings had quelled them into a sort of polite stupor?

They don’t sell family tickets and it’s £11 per standard ticket, but under 12s are free. The gift shop’s gorgeous, with fantastic books, toys and games that would make good presents, plus pocket money priced stickers and postcards.

Is it a good museum for kids? Yes and no. Yes because of the superb dedicated children’s events and facilities, and also because it seems that even five year olds can appreciate design – especially when there’s a fun element to it. But even though there were plenty of young kids, it wouldn’t really be suitable for toddlers and children who simply can’t contain their excitement and want to touch the exhibits.

BRITAIN’S SIX MOST FAMILY FRIENDLY MUSEUMS ANNOUNCED

Where can you ogle at a necklace made of dried frogs, get down and dirty at an archaeological dig or have your portrait ‘Warholized’? At the six museums shortlisted for the Telegraph Family Friendly Museum ... Read more]]> *** PRESS RELEASE *** PRESS RELEASE *** PRESS RELEASE ***

BRITAIN’S SIX MOST FAMILY FRIENDLY MUSEUMS ANNOUNCED

Where can you ogle at a necklace made of dried frogs, get down and dirty at an archaeological dig or have your portrait ‘Warholized’? At the six museums shortlisted for the Telegraph Family Friendly Museum Award – the biggest museum award in Britain and the only one with a winner picked by families.

It was a tough job whittling down the 20 strong longlist nominated by visitors, volunteers and museums themselves. An expert panel of judges, chaired by Jenny Abramsky, chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund, had to make difficult choices. ‘All the museums on the shortlist are providing wonderful experiences for families,’ says Jenny. ‘The transformation of museums across the UK to encourage family visits has been remarkable and deserves celebrating. And taking part in the Family Friendly Museum Award by visiting the shortlisted museums will be worthwhile and fun.’

But it’s visitors who shouted the loudest about what they wanted in a family friendly museum. ‘Some of the things I liked – looking through masks, feeding the fish, watching the ants, learning about dinosaurs, the big German rocket, doing the trail, looking at the cool things in the shop,’ said Nathan, aged 7, about his visit to shortlisted World Museum in Liverpool. ‘I loved the day I went to the museum. I loved EVERYTHING!’

The shortlisted museums are:

World Museum, Liverpool

Museum of London and Museum of London Docklands

Brixham Heritage Museum, Devon

Haselmere Educational Museum, Surrey

Wolverhampton Art Gallery

National Museumof Scotland, Edinburgh

For images of the shortlisted museums or expert comment on them just send an email award@kidsinmuseums.org.uk or phone 020 7250 8338.

What Happens Next?

The shortlisted museums are road-tested anonymously by families who judge them against the Kids in Museums Manifesto and pick the winner. The winner will be announced in the Telegraph and on the Kids in Museums website at the end of May.

Find out more about the Award at our website here.