Evaluating the impact of children's quotes about the artwork on visitors to a modern art museum.

What is it about?

The museum field has embraced collaboration with the community. However, one portion of our population is still consistently overlooked in these efforts: children – particularly children under the age of eight. It is rare for a museum to collaborate with children as co-curators, which is what the Clyfford Still Museum did for their exhibition, Clyfford Still, Art, and the Young Mind (March 11–August 7 2022). Despite the value placed on an increasingly common practice of community collaboration, there is little evaluation data on the impact of community-engaged practices. This article shares a summative evaluation case study of an exhibition co-curated with young children (ages six months old to eight years old). The results demonstrated how the inclusion of children in exhibition development positively impacted the learning and experience of adults.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

The evaluation demonstrates that children can scaffold the learning of adults in art museums. The flow of learning between the generations goes both ways, which is not often acknowledged among museum professionals.