The learning power of museums : a vision for museum education / Department for Culture, Media and Sport ; Department for Education and Employment.

  • Great Britain. Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Date:
2000
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: The learning power of museums : a vision for museum education / Department for Culture, Media and Sport ; Department for Education and Employment. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    second year of operation. DfEE has asked the 24 Hour Museum to map museum provision against the National Curriculum programmes of study in all subjects to enable teachers to identify centres in which learning relevant to each key stage in any subject can take place. Resource is developing ‘Cornucopia’, a database of information about UK museums and their collections that will complement the 24 Hour Museum. A pilot has already been made available and the entire website is due to go live in 2000. ‘The Learning Circuit’ is working with DfEE to bring together ICT and museum education in exciting and innovative ways. The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester sees science as an integral part of the situations in which it is applied. The Power Hall, the Air and Space Gallery, the Electricity Gallery, the Gas Gallery, Measuring Up!, the Futures Gallery and the Fibres, Fabric and Fashion Gallery all have interactive and working exhibits to help interpret science and technology and explain their impact on our lives. Xperiment!, which opened in late 1988, focuses on the scientific principles behind the technologies and serves to introduce the visitors to the themes in other galleries of the museum. Xperiment! has 70 interactive exhibits, a reading corner and a puzzle desk. The gallery is designed to give an understanding of science in an enjoyable and safe environment and engage visitors of all abilities and backgrounds in a constructive dialogue with the exhibits, staff and each other. It attracts a large proportion of the 300,000 visitors who visit the There is a need for more comprehensive research to complement the educational activities that many museums are undertaking and to give clear evidence of the benefits that flow when museums contribute to learning. DfEE will be evaluating the work of all museums funded through their Museums and Galleries programme against DfEE criteria that include effects on literacy and numeracy, use of ICT, relevance to the National Curriculum, contribution to employability and social inclusion. Government recognises the need for: * targeted research at regional and national levels to provide a clearer picture of museums’ education provision, including staffing, resources, facilities, visitor figures and audience development goals; museum each year. School groups and family groups find Xperiment! particularly attractive and it has been consistently cited as the museum’s most favoured gallery in market surveys. The main themes of the gallery are light, energy and the senses, and the exhibits are linked with everyday life and other areas in the museum. The display is supported by educational materials produced in conjunction with the education department for school groups and adults in family groups. The hands-on approach used in Xperiment! has been incorporated into other galleries and is now an integral aspect of the new gallery projects of the museum. There are plans to add interactive displays in the Power Hall and the Air and Space gallery in the near future. Xperiment! has been the focus of the British Association for the Advancement of Science’s Young Scientist Days and visitor activity programmes. It has
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