Why is museum education at risk

Added to this is the massive destruction of the planet and its resources for the sake of a consumerism that perennializes economic inequalities and, more recently, the unbridled expansion of a lethal virus that has demanded that we take emergency social measures.

In addition, if they have, they made this change mainly through their education areas Varine-Bohan, They are thus advancing, slowly, toward the dissolution of the belief in single, universal truths. However, although these postures are urgent and very welcome, in most cases they are taken from a revision of their collections, focusing once again on the objects rather than on the ways of rethinking the institution itself. This changes the point of view for thinking about the objects, but it does not change the enunciator.

From the point of view of the workers at different levels in the museums, however, colonial thought still prevails and is felt in a static organizational hierarchy. In the controversial times in which we live, with strong political polarizations, diminished individual freedoms and decreasing opportunities for the least privileged in society to participate in the construction of their own history, if the museum does not engage in a real connection with society, how will it be relevant?

Simon, In contemporary times, we often seek new words, as many of them become heavy due to the load of meaning and historical sense that they bear. The combined word involves the idea that introducing someone to the world through instruction is akin to leading them, showing them what exists beyond themselves.

It is a mistake, however, to reduce education to only what is experienced in the schools, or worse yet, take that model as a parameter for what education is or could be in other contexts.

However, these ideas seem to be contradictory. That is, it presupposes an autonomy of signification. Besides being a model more suitable to the experiences that take place in the museum, these attitudes point to the development of educational proposals aimed at different profiles of the public, with each specialist engaged in educational activities dedicated to his or her own specificity. In his works, he argues that education must aim for the development of the critical conscience of the learner, and he strongly criticizes the mechanical process of teaching a person to read and write [or acquire knowledge] Elias, It was in these contexts that museum education began to be a theme of interest for debates, including in regard to the professionalization and training of the sector, due to the growth of investment in culture, which, not by chance, presupposed an exponential growth in the number of visitors to events of a cultural character, as institutions sought to promote the visibility of brands that support culture.

As shown by our above analysis, however, once we have chosen to adopt constructivist and dialogic models, we have already broken away from the educational approaches based on content, transmission and formalism.

It is simple: the public is our reason to be. On the other hand, the intense and necessary defense of an increasingly socially engaged activity should not eclipse the basic characteristics of this institution. When the final version of the new definition was presented, in June , the museum community was taken by surprise and perturbed for various reasons.

That is reducing and trivializing the debate. This means that perhaps one of its main aims cannot be accomplished. Another point is that it completely ignores all of the previous versions and this means ignoring the discussions held throughout the years.

Made from scratch, it has left aside important and already established concepts. When criticized, the authors justified this absence by stating that the idea of education is implicit in the new text. Bordeaux, M. Botelho, I. Felipini Neves Eds. Conceitos-chave de Museologia. Elias, J. Freire, P.

Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra. More information about evacuations is given below. Please make sure you have the correct adult-to-student ratio— for general visits and either or for other activities—as specified at the time of booking.

Before the visit, discuss appropriate conduct with your students. If the behaviour of anyone in your group adversely affects the safety or enjoyment of other visitors or staff, or risks damage to exhibits, we may ask this person to leave. We recommend you have contingency measures in place, just in case. First aid We have trained staff to provide first-aid treatment.

Please ask if you require assistance or call There are several fully equipped, fully accessible first-aid rooms in the museum. These can be made available if you need them. The nearest accident and emergency department is at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, tel.

All first-aid incidents are recorded, and you can request a copy of our report if anyone in your group is involved. Changing facilities for students with disabilities are available. Please contact us for further information.

Evacuation We operate a zonal evacuation procedure, whereby we only ask visitors to leave the affected area. This means you will may be able to access belongings stored at Group Entrance for a period of time, An audible alarm and announcements over the public-address system will signal an evacuation.

Magnets and allergens in Wonderlab Some exhibits in Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery use magnets that may affect pacemakers or other medical devices.

Warning signs are displayed next to these exhibits. Allergens such as eggs are used in some of our experiments at the Chemistry Bar in Wonderlab. Please contact us for advice if you have any concerns, or ask an Explainer when you check-in for your pre-booked Wonderlab session s.

Museum staff All our staff have undergone a standard police check. Our staff will assist wheelchair users and visitors who may have mobility concerns. At the assembly point please take the register and report any missing persons to security or any museum staff wearing high-visibility jackets.

Allergens such as cotton, eggs, balloons and other food stuffs are used in some of our demonstrations. Please contact us for advice if you have any concerns, or ask a member of staff when you arrive your pre-booked visit. Please note, the Explosions pre-booked educational show will contain loud bangs and sudden flashes of light, which you may want to take note of and include in any risk assessments if you have any children in your class which may be affected by this.

If you would like to discuss this in more detail, please feel free to be in touch. All our staff have undergone a standard police check. As part of the Science Museum Group, we have public and product liability insurance. Download our insurance confirmation letter PDF. The museum is subject to an annual independent audit to ensure that Health and Safety standards are maintained. Our exhibitions and activities are designed with full consideration of risk control measures. Assessments are completed for all new works and activities.

Daily safety checks are carried out on all galleries. Hazards are isolated or rectified immediately. The museum is covered by a comprehensive network of CCTV cameras. Images are monitored and recorded to help ensure the safety of visitors and exhibits.