"Rich" children in museums

The reason why we say that children can get the best "rich" in museums is because museums often give us a grand coordinate that transcends our own small boundaries, and encourages people to examine their relationship with civilization and the vast nature. It is precisely because of the museum that we are willing to follow the footprints of our predecessors and explore and create more unknowns and possibilities.

■ Zhang Zheng, all-media reporter of China Women's Daily

Children who have seen the world are stronger, and the best gift to children in the world is better than to give children the whole world.

Children spend "June Day" in the museum

On the occasion of Children's Day this year, museums across the country have launched activities to let children enter the museum. For example, the Shanghai Museum launched the series "Learn Idioms with Cultural Relics" and "Through the Wind and Song Dynasty, I Spent the Dragon Boat Festival in the Song Dynasty" and other activities, the teachers of the museum told the children the story of the birth of ancient books, taught the basic methods of reading ancient books, demonstrated the use of book printing, and encouraged children to touch, observe, compare, and experience the beauty of ancient books together; The Inner Mongolia Museum launched the "Museum Night - Exploring the Ancient World" activity, inviting children to stay in the museum overnight, set up camp at the feet of dinosaurs, jointly understand biological evolution and the natural laws of the vicissitudes of the sea, and think about what human beings, as a member of the earth's biological family, can truly achieve the sustainable and coordinated development of man and nature, and build a beautiful home where man and nature live in harmony; The staff of Guangxi Museum took the children to make pottery, and through creative hands-on activities, let the children better understand the ceramic relics in the museum; The Chengdu Museum of Life Mysteries presents children with real and wonderful life information through unique and fascinating bioplasticized specimens...

Ms. Sun, who often visits museums with her children, told China Women's Daily that in her opinion, the museum is one of the most equal public places in a country. It shows children the infinite possibilities of this world in a limited space and welcomes all those who seek the unknown in as inclusive a way as possible. The museum's diverse cultural power and rich content are enough for children to be spiritually enriched here.

Xiaomei, a second-year junior high school student, told reporters that appreciating Western traditional painting is very helpful to her piano learning, not only improving her artistic accomplishment, but also better understanding the works of classical musicians such as Chopin. Her favorite thing is to see exhibitions of museums from various countries, "You can enjoy the art of the world without going abroad, and learn a wealth of knowledge, which is more interesting than the art class at school." ”

In fact, in recent years, "raising children in museums" has become the educational concept of many parents, and museums have become a new "cultural tourism consumption landmark". According to statistics, there are more than 4,000 museums in the country, and there are museums in almost every city. Especially in the past two years, various museums have responded to the trend and launched creative products and cultural exhibitions with renovations, which has made many museums "Internet celebrity check-in places".

The theme of this year's World Museum Day is "Museums, Sustainability and the Good Life". "The world is so big, I want to see it. Where you can't reach by footsteps, your eyes must reach. "When museums are seen by more and more parents as a base for their children to increase their knowledge and broaden their horizons, and have become a must-be place for parent-child outings, a very real question has emerged: Will you really visit museums?" What exactly should we see in a museum?

As a place of lifelong learning, the museum collects human memories, resists the erosion of time, and records the changes of the times. In order for children to fall in love with museums and get real nourishment, parents need to pay attention to the following issues -

Parents: Take your child to visit the museum like this

The exhibition focuses on children's participation. It is said that "interest is the best teacher", which is also the first key for children to enter the door of the museum. Only by making children feel that the museum is a fun place and watching exhibitions is a fun thing can they get more joy from it and take the initiative to learn. Therefore, when choosing a museum, the most important thing is the child's interest: children learn musical instruments by themselves, you can go to the National Museum to find ancient musical instruments; If the child likes aircraft tanks, then go to the military museum to see the "real guys"; Children who love to write calligraphy can go to the Xiling Seal Society or the Stone Carving Art Museum.

If the child does not have a very prominent hobby, it is recommended to start with a more participatory one, and you can choose a museum of culture and art and natural science. In addition, some museums designed specifically for children are also available, as they focus more on children's participation and allow children to learn through play.

"Eat small, frequent meals". Some museums have a large number of exhibition halls, and one exhibition hall may take a long time, so it is bound to be impossible to see all of them in one day. If parents take their children to watch the flowers, the children will not only be overwhelmed, but may also lose interest due to excessive complexity. Therefore, before visiting the museum, be sure to arrange the child's stay in the exhibition hall reasonably according to the actual situation such as the child's age, the size and content of the exhibition hall. It is best to use the longest time the child can concentrate, and use the "eat less, frequent meals" approach.

What is "eating less, eating more"? Taking the Bronze Art Exhibition as an example, when taking children on the first visit, the purpose is to let them know bronze and understand the purpose of bronze. The second visit is to let children understand the process of making bronze. Just as learning is not a one-step climb, the accumulation of knowledge is not achieved overnight, and a visit to a museum is by no means a one-time visit. Only a step-by-step visit can allow children to better absorb knowledge and transform what they see and hear into a knowledge base that they can use.

Gamified learning. Museums are sometimes cold and the content of the knowledge is not attractive to children, so parents can design some fun sessions or take them to some activities in the museum. For example, you can try to participate in museum quizzes with your children, make museum notebooks with your children, and conduct museum treasure hunts. This not only arouses the child's interest, but also enhances the experience in the interaction.

However, parents should pay attention not to let visiting the museum become an "invisible task", and do not expect children to remember all the knowledge points in the museum, especially younger children. The purpose of visiting museums is more to let children gain their own interests in a relaxed and enjoyable process. If your child stops in front of an exhibit, leave enough time for him to ponder and think.

Ask your child questions. During the tour, parents can ask their children open-ended questions, such as, "Why did you look at this exhibit for so long?" "What do you think is fun?" These open-ended questions, which do not have a unified answer, can guide children to think and get their brains running. During the Q&A with parents, the children also exercised their expression skills. Parents consciously guide their children to divergent thinking, which is more valuable than simply remembering the name, age, and purpose of the exhibits.

Of course, children are all "100,000 whys", and there are many imaginative questions that you can't resist. In fact, parents don't necessarily have to answer, you can use "What do you think?" These rhetorical questions cause children to think independently, and then lead them to find answers in the museum. If you can't solve the problem during your visit to the museum, you can take the problem home and guide your child to explore the answer from other channels.

Admire the "Three Beauty" in the museum

See the historical beauty of the collection. The most important thing about visiting a museum is to see the exhibits, and as the collection unfolds before our eyes, the unique story behind the collection unfolds. Taking ancient Chinese cultural and historical exhibits as an example, the 5,000-year-old history and culture of China and ancient aesthetic expressions are hidden in these collections. Each cultural relic hides thousands of years of Chinese cultural symbols, and has unique historical and cultural connotations and aesthetic values.

The stories behind these collections may record the swords and shadows of the Three Kingdoms period, may show the ultimate aesthetics of the Song Dynasty, or may tell the prosperity of the Ming and Qing courts. Through these collections, the life, objects, and culture of thousands of years ago can be displayed to children, allowing them to feel the distant civilization through specific objects.

See the beauty of creativity. "The interior space of a building is the soul of that building." From the scale of the exhibition, to the spatial sequence, to the way of display, the museum reflects the soul and cultural support of a museum.

Some museums that have gone through centuries have developed from the original "object-oriented" to today's "people-oriented", more from the perspective of the viewer, focusing on the emotional experience of the visitor. Each exhibition reflects the cultural characteristics and aesthetic styles of different historical periods, creating a cultural atmosphere unique to this museum and forming a unique field space. This allows the audience to immerse themselves and everyone becomes a participant in the museum, not a bystander. Immersive experiences also make it easier for children to focus.

For example, the Suzhou Museum, the overall layout and the architecture in the Suzhou garden have the same wonder, the exhibition hall has a master and a secondary, like a small house, making people feel walking in the Su Yun garden. Many people will not notice such an inconspicuous space layout when visiting the museum, but if you observe and savor it carefully, you will gain more beauty and emotion from these details.

Look at the beauty of cultural and creative design. In the past, many people remembered the museum as a cold exhibition hall displaying thousands of years of antiquities. The exhibits inside are the flowers of the high ridge, which are shelved and people can only watch from a distance through the glass. The emergence of cultural and creative products just makes up for the disadvantages of museums not being close to the people. Cultural and creative ice cream, archaeological blind boxes, national style programs, and colorful cultural and creative products are "out of the circle" again and again, with cultural and creative products with specific "cultural symbols" of each museum, making cultural relics come alive and making people fully feel that "there is more than one side of national treasures".

At the same time, the museum's cultural and creative products are the best interpretation of "keeping the right and surprising", on the basis of respecting history and cultural relics, it touches people's hearts with creativity. And children can also interact with cultural relics in cultural and creative products, increase the sense of experience and fun, and increase children's imagination and creativity through the imagination of cultural relics, maybe he can become a little cultural and creative artist.

All in all, savoring the "living" cultural relics, the "trendy" collections, and the thousands of flavors of cultural and creative products in the museum must not be missed.

The reason why we say that children can get the best "rich" in museums is because museums often give us a grand coordinate that transcends our own small boundaries, and encourages people to examine their relationship with civilization and the vast nature. It is precisely because of the museum that we are willing to follow the footprints of our predecessors and explore and create more unknowns and possibilities. Here, we can glimpse the formation of the universe and the birth of life. Here, we can witness the rise of civilization and the rise of nations. The common memory of the past, present and future is preserved here, and the immortal soul of a country and a nation is condensed. Museums promote respect for culture and nature, and demonstrate our yearning for a better life; It also establishes a civilizational archive for mankind to explore a better life, always reminding and urging us to continue to work for the future of mankind.