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THE HISTORY OF THE EMERGENCE OF CHILDREN’S MUSEUMS
Arman Yunusov Fayzulla ogli
A student of Museum Management and Cultural Tourism at the National Institute of Fine Art
and Design named after Kamoliddin Behzod
Annotation
:This article examines the historical development of children’s museums, with a
focus on the Brooklyn (1899) and Boston (1913) Children’s Museums. It highlights the
influence of Montessori and Dewey’s educational theories on their interactive and experience-
based approaches. Key contributors like Eleanor Moore and Delia Griffin helped shape the
early philosophy of these institutions. Today, children’s museums worldwide promote learning
through play and serve as inclusive educational and cultural centers.
Keywords
:USA,children’s museum, Brooklyn, Boston, Montessori, Dewey.
INTRODUCTION
Children’s museums have emerged as a distinct type of cultural-educational institution that goes
beyond the traditional function of exhibition spaces. These museums offer interactive
environments that stimulate curiosity, support experiential learning, and foster creative thinking
in children. The first children’s museum was established in Brooklyn, USA, in 1899, marking
the beginning of a new museum concept. This study aims to trace the historical development of
children’s museums with a special focus on their spread and adaptation in European countries.
MAIN BODY
Children’s museums have been gradually developing since the early 20th century. Many of the
creative approaches and interactive exhibitions that seem normal to us today were almost
nonexistent before the 2000s. However, the core principles guiding the work of children’s
museums and discovery centers have remained nearly unchanged since their
inception.Nowadays, the idea that children learn through hands-on experience is widely
accepted, but in the early 20th century, this was considered a new concept. At that time, the
notion that children think differently from adults was only beginning to gain recognition in
academic circles. Educators started to realize that instead of simply giving children information,
they needed to actively involve them in the learning process.
The theories of Maria Montessori also influenced the early development of children’s museums.
Having adults assume the role of facilitator or guide, instead of strictly teaching, is essentially a
Montessori concept. She also emphasized the importance of cultivating independence in
children and of sharing activities and equipment.It’s not at all a coincidence that this country’s
first children’s museums (in Brooklyn, Boston, Detroit, and Indianapolis) were founded
between 1899 and 1925, when Dewey’s and Montessori’s theories were initially popular.
Directors of those museums clearly wanted to provide a first-rate environment for their young
audiences, as well as experiment with the cutting-edge educational theories they were
espousing[1,8p].
Attempts to systematize the diversity of children's museums, to formulate objective criteria for
identifying institutions of this type, and to establish conceptual foundations have been made
more than once.
The first to take on this task was Eleanor Moore, who conducted a study on this topic in 1941.
She emphasized the difficulty of precisely defining a children's museum, yet proposed criteria
that highlight its specific characteristics. Namely, a children's museum should contain objects
that are:
1.
Selected for children;
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2.
Displayed for children;
3.
Interpreted for children;
4.
Situated in a space for children[2].
One of the leading educators of the time, John Dewey, was making waves with his
theories that emphasized the importance of personal experience in learning. In Dewey’s opinion,
the key to an education based upon experience was “to select the kind of present experiences
that live fruitfully and creatively in in subsequent experiences” [3,267.p]. Consequently, Dewey
pushed for more material things, more fodder for experiments, to be integrated into children’s
learning, and for children to have the freedom to experiment on their own, in their own ways,
with the stuff of real life.
When the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences decided, in the 1890s, to pare down its
collections in anticipation of a move to new quarters, some items “considered not quite up to
standard were left (behind) to make a Museum for Children”[4,209.p].That rather
condescending attitude was quickly changed, and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum opened in
1899 with the goal of stimulating and satisfying children’s natural curiosity. Still, it took Anna
Billings Gallup, an enthusiastic nature teacher, to unlock the glass cases and develop exhibits
expressly for children to use, thereby setting the museum world on its ear. A subsequent
director of the museum, Helen V. Fisher, said that the museum’s “collections are not
necessarily gathered for their intrinsic worth or rarity...but to...be of use in interpreting various
subjects and conveying original ideas”[4,210.p]. In her opinion, adult museums, by acquiring
important collections and sponsoring original research, add to general knowledge, but
children’s museums should be designed to direct children’s interests.
The Brooklyn Children’s Museum, established in 1899, holds a significant place as the first
major initiative in this field. In the following twenty-five years of the twentieth century, three
more important children’s museums were established in the United States: the Boston
Children’s Museum (1913), the Detroit Children’s Museum (1917), and The Children’s
Museum of Indianapolis (1925). Although these museums were founded by different
individuals and groups, in different regions and at different times, they shared several important
characteristics.
Brooklyn
Brooklyn Children’s Museum (BCM) opened in 1899, less than one year after Brooklyn
became a borough of New York City. The museum originally operated under the umbrella of
the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (BIAS), then in the process of moving into a new
and much larger building under construction on Eastern Parkway. The children’s museum
opened just a few blocks away in what was known as the Adams House in Bedford Park (now
Brower Park) in Crown Heights.
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Brooklyn Children’s Museum.(archive photo)
Feeding tree toads children activity in museum.(BCM)
BCM was open to the public, free of charge, and sought to provide young people with an
introduction to the natural sciences that supported the “various classwork of the public
schools,” particularly along the “lines of nature study.” The BIAS Annual Report of 1901-1902
included a special invitation to teachers encouraging them to draw on the museum’s resources
when developing “class work in nature-study.” This focus on nature study is perhaps
unsurprising—New York’s recently appointed superintendent of public schools, William Henry
Maxwell, was an advocate for nature study in the curriculum[5]..
Boston
Delia I. Griffin was one of the other women attending the 1907 AAM meeting, where she
presented her paper, “The Educational Work of a Small Museum.” At the time, she was director
of the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, VT. Like Gallup, Griffin was trained in nature study
techniques and had even produced a pamphlet titled Outline of Nature Study for Primary and
Grammar Grades. At St. Johnsbury, she created lesson plans in nature study at the museum for
local public schools. Griffin and Gallup became friendly, and when a second museum for
children opened in Boston, Gallup recommended Griffin for the job of curator.
In 1909, members of Boston’s Science Teachers’ Bureau began building a collection of natural
history objects that could be used in public school classrooms. By 1913, the bureau had
founded the second children’s museum in the United States, the Boston Children’s Museum.
Like Brooklyn Children’s Museum, it was housed in a former mansion. Located at Pine Bank in
the Jamaica Plain neighborhood, the museum offered children access to ethnographic, natural
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history, and historical collections. Griffin would later write that the goal of the children’s
museum was to train the “plastic minds of children to observe accurately and think logically.”
Boston Children’s Museum (1913).
Purchased through children’s penny donations, Molly, a baby elephant that had passed away at
the Franklin Park Zoo, is preserved and donated to Boston Children’s Museum.(1926)
Over the past century, the number and popularity of children's museums have grown
significantly. According to the American Association of Youth Museums, by the mid-1990s,
there were about 400 children's museums worldwide, with the majority (about 300) located in
the United States. There, they are referred to as “pioneers of modern education,” “experimental
spaces where learning can be engaging and joyful,” and “centers of communication and shared
leisure for children and parents.” Researchers note that by offering “high-quality programming”
that meets the needs of children and families from all social backgrounds, these museums
attract significantly more visitors than other types of museums[6,3p].
It is worth noting that while museum educators and researchers studying this topic at least
understand the essence of the phenomenon known as a children’s museum, most people who
are unfamiliar with academic works on the subject rely solely on their own associations. Often,
they interpret children’s museums merely as museums that tell the story of childhood activities
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(for example, toy museums), although such museums are more “child-related” in content than
in their actual function[7].
Children’s museums are specialized institutions aimed at supporting children’s personal
development and education. They recognize every child as an equal member of society and
strive to create a high-quality learning environment appropriate to their age.In these museums,
play holds a central role as an educational tool. It is one of the key mechanisms for fostering
children’s cognitive, emotional, and social development.
CONCLUSION
Today, there are more than 300 children’s museums around the world, serving millions of
families. Each museum operates with a shared goal: to create interactive, innovative, and
meaningful learning spaces for children. These institutions are more than just exhibition venues
they also offer various educational programs, experimental learning sessions, and collaborative
initiatives that address pressing community issues related to children. Some museums lead
advocacy efforts to protect children’s interests, while others work closely with local
communities to support shared goals.
References :
1.Cleaver, Joanne.Doing Children’s Museums: A Guide to 265 Hands-On Museums. Revised
and Expanded.
2.Макарова, Н.Г. Детские музеи Америки: история и современность [Электронный
Ресурс] / Н.Г. Макарова – Электронные данные. // Музейная педагогика за рубежом.
MuseumPRO. – 1997. – Выпуск 5.0 –эл. Док. В форм. Pdf – с. 22 –39
3.Barbara Newsom and Adele Silver, editors, The Art Museum as Educator.
4.Katz, H., Katz, M. (1965). Museums U.S.A.. 395 p.
5.https://childrensmuseums.org/2019/03/08/the-first-four-childrens-museums/.
6.Галкина Т.В. Музееведение: детский музей. Учебно-методическое пособие для
специализации «Историческое краеведе ние и музееведение» на исторических
факультетах. Томск: Издательство Томского государственного педагогического универси
тета, 2004. 32 с.
7.Российская
музейная
энциклопедия.
–
Москва,
2005.
–
URL:
http://www.museum.ru/rme/sci_child.asp
(дата обращения 22.12. 2013).
