What is age-appropriate?

It is important to remember that what is age-appropriate may vary from person to person. Staff surveyed at a range of museums stated that knowledge of what is age-appropriate came from personal and professional experience, rather than training. Having a working knowledge of controversial topics in the National Curriculum, practical tips on how to navigate them (like these from High Speed Training), and having conversations with teachers can help determine what is age-appropriate, and the kind of language to use.

Many organisations advise that no topics are strictly off limits – it is important to be honest in order to build trust with children. Children often have a good knowledge of what is going on in the news. Talking about their emotions and having the space to ask questions can be more productive.

The People’s History Museum suggests simplifying topics into something children can understand rather than ignoring difficult areas. For example, the More in Common Exhibition in memory of Jo Cox MP focuses on the positive legacy of Jo’s life and work, and provides multiple resources to support adults to have difficult conversations with children as they move around, such as this emotions card for young visitors and Family Friendly exhibition trail.

Similarly, for young audiences, the Migration Museum recommends changing the ways in which the topic area is conveyed, rather than the information itself. The museum takes complex and challenging stories of migration and conveys these through playful and tactile activities. This includes a child-sized marketplace with a shopping list activity to demonstrate the challenges and impact of migrant entrepreneurship.

Some museums, such as the Jewish Museum London, choose to run some facilitated workshops and discussions with a specific minimum age. This is mostly from primary school Years 5 and 6 upwards (9/10 years old), as they have found that students of this age have sufficient knowledge and tools to engage with more difficult topics.

Preparing visitors

Make resources available to visitors before they enter either the museum or exhibition that highlight key themes, signal potentially sensitive areas and prepare visitors for difficult content.

This could take the form of:

  • an FAQ web page
    The International Museum of Slavery in Liverpool has an FAQ page that covers questions like ‘What is your position on reparations?’, and ‘Why are you a campaigning museum? What do you campaign on?’.
  • exhibition guides or resources
    The Migration Museum produces Exhibition Guides for educators with details of the stories in the exhibition, guidance on what questions might come up, and how to approach different topics, as well as highlighting stories specifically for younger children and providing links to activity trails.
  • content warnings on signage or web pages
    The Thackray Museum of Medicine includes a content note on the Operating Theatre and Mortuary web page.
  • a definition guide.
    Introducing or defining certain words or language before entering the exhibition or beginning a group discussion to ensure all participants are clear on the meanings. For example, this is provided by the Thackray Museum in its ‘Below the Belt’ workshops discussing sexual health.

Signposting

Give visitors a choice about the level of engagement they have with difficult or challenging topics. In their blog on content warnings, Margaret Middleton states that the key to creating effective content warnings is not to “dictate how visitors should decide to view an exhibit, but to describe the content and let visitors make up their own minds”. It is important to remember to centre the wellbeing of the people most likely to be negatively impacted by the content – this includes adults as well as children.

This could include:

Having difficult conversations

Speaking to a range of museum staff highlighted several key issues in having discussions about challenging topics. These included concern about perpetuating misconceptions, not always knowing the right language to use, and lacking the structure or resources to facilitate a discussion. These conversations could happen in a variety of settings, such as in a school or group visit, a youth panel meeting, or having a chat with a family during an event.

Interviewing staff led to these suggestions:

  • In a group discussion consider establishing ground rules (e.g. no interruptions) and setting out behaviour expectations. For example, the Jewish Museum London creates a ‘contract’ at the beginning of a session, where participants suggest ground rules everyone agrees to uphold.
  • Acknowledge that you won’t have all the answers, especially for complex subjects.
  • Try to humanise historical events, so instead of using statistics or maps, consider using personal stories, objects or photographs.
  • Be open and honest in your language, avoid euphemisms and identify the language appropriate for your audience.
  • Make use of resources to facilitate discussions, for example at the Bethlem Museum of the Mind, the Explore Bethlem lesson includes discussion questions introducing topics surrounding mental health, and specific patient case studies to apply to these questions.
  • Be conscious of your position as a facilitator – not taking up space but instead platforming others.
  • You may also find it useful to read the ‘Challenging Conversations – how to have a conversation about a difficult subject well‘ resource. This includes a model the National Trust, Coombe and A Merrie Noyse created for developing projects exploring a challenging subject – ‘Anticipate – Prepare – Present – Evaluate – Revise’.

Post-Visit Reflection

Post-activity discussion and reflection may be beneficial to ‘work through’ some of the topics. Consider not only discussions, but also ‘take-aways’ from the experience. For example, at Calke Abbey, visitors are encouraged to combat loneliness and social isolation through selecting a pledge card when they leave. The cards encourage small acts of kindness such as ‘Write a letter’, ‘Donate food’, or ‘Check in on a neighbour’.

Post-visit activities could also include:

  • journaling activities
  • small group discussions
  • creating a creative response piece
  • simply having a break for lunch or a snack
  • anonymous question cards.

Hosting events, workshops, and activities

Difficult topics can be covered with families in an engaging and accessible way for younger visitors.

Museum of London Docklands regularly hosts family events in their London, Sugar and Slavery Gallery, such as the Sugar Coated Histories event, where families are invited to creatively reflect on London’s connection with transatlantic slavery by producing artworks.

The Jewish Museum London in the Remembering the Kindertransport: 80 Years On exhibition provided family friendly activities that dealt with themes of migration and loss. These included bread baking and craft workshops, like decorating a keepsake box, and a refugee suitcase worksheet, which considered what physical and intangible things people might take with them to a new place..

The National Museum of the Royal Navy has Loans Boxes, including a Slavery Through Objects Loans Box, including replica artefacts, source material like images and official reports, and support materials for teachers.

The Migration Museum is running the Moving Stories: Lewisham competition for 9-18 year olds to design an exhibit exploring migration, and the winners will work with creative professionals to build a physical display as a response.

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