KUVERUM TO GO - LEARNING IN MUSEUMS 29.09.- 03.10.2014

Content: Natural History Museum Foundling Museum Ragged School Museum and Gardens Victoria & Albert Museum Whitechapel Art Gallery Britain

Head of Kuverum and Kuverum Services: Franziska Dürr Study week leader: Kristen Erdmann Documentation: Vera Dzubiella, Franziska Staerkle / Nov. 2014

INTRODUCTION

During the Kuverum to go Museum Education study week we explored museums and other learning environments in the cultural centre of London. We experienced inspiring, courageous and outstanding examples of art, cultural and nature education. With different methods, such as hands-on bases, and through dialogue, lectures and discussions, we gained insight into English education philosophy. We learned from and with the Best of the Best; we met entrepreneurs and pioneers who invited us to look behind the scenes and discover the outstanding results of their educational approaches. Themes like social inclusion, participation and community work were important aspects of our programme. We were inspired by our English colleagues’ work with people of differing backgrounds, ages and ethnical groups. Experiencing museum education and “sharing our brains” with colleagues: That’s the reason why Kuverum goes to London!

Participants: Enid Burki Annina Lanzberg Rahel Sutter Prasad Raja Ingrid Butty Sibylle Lüscher Franziska Staerkle Paola Claut Heidi Pechlaner Gut Myriam Valet Vera Dzubiella Barbara Schmid Gabriella Villiger Claudia Kavungu-Zwahlen Judith Schubiger Gabriela Wyss

mit Kuverum to go in London unterwegs

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Monday 29.09.2014

COLLECTING & SHARING THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

www.nhm.ac.uk, Ali Thomas, [email protected] Why do we have museums? An answer to this question can be found in the amazing collection of over 70,000 natural and man-made objects that belonged to Sir Hans Sloane. He bequeathed his collection to ‘all curious and studious’ citizens of England, forming the basis for the founding of the British Museum in 1759 and Natural History Museum in 1881. Our study week started in the wildlife garden adjacent to the Natural History Museum. This garden is a museum of natural habitats and shows the possibility of collecting and sharing different species with visitors in an outstanding exploratory environment. Going on a discovery tour of this garden, which opened in 1995 and which contains over 8000 plants and rare species (for example, a wide variety of bats and their different habitats), was a fascinating start to our study week. The garden is maintained by biologists and volunteers and is an important learning area of the museum, designed especially for families and school classes of all different ages. Volunteers take a central role in the whole museum; they bridge the gap between the visitors and the scientists. "We can't work without them!" said the volunteer project manager Ali Thomas, emphasizing that the Darwin Centre is an example of an interactive learning area that offers virtual tours held by scientists with the visitors of the museum. The V-factor (volunteer-factor = volunteer engagement + collection care) is one of the museum’s most important educational methods. The V-factor study base is part of the Darwin Centre where informal learning processes can take place. The programme is centred around social interaction, encouraging the exchange of knowledge and opens up a window to science. The idea: "the benefit of sharing your brains is that anybody can take part." This shows the dynamic use and the importance of the Darwin Centre, which focuses on interaction and communication about scientific themes and questions. Partnership and collaboration are challenges that work as opportunities because everyone that gets involved receives meaningful benefits. The volunteers get experience, the museum experts can get on with their research…and visitors benefit the most!

In the Wildlife garden and in the Darwin observation centre.

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BLENDED LEARNING THE BRITISH MUSEUM

www.britishmuseum.org, Juno Rae, [email protected] The Samsung Digital Discovery Centre in the British Museum was initiated through a partnership between the multimedia concern Samsung and the museum education department. The company supplies digital technology and other devices to the education centre of the museum. Juno Rae, head of the Samsung Centre, specializes in implementing these facilities in learning programmes especially created for schools and families. In this "blended learning" programme, more than 10,000 children and families were involved in interactive facilitated sessions, video conferences, and other self-led sessions with digital tools between 2013-14. We were introduced to an example of a new game app called "A gift for Athena" in which participants search for details in the Elgin Marbles. They explore the exhibited ancient Greek art with the help of augmented reality tools through interacting with each other and utilizing the possibilities of the tablet.

Samsung Digital Discovery Centre. Playing the game: “A gift for Athena“

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Tuesday 30.09.2014

COLLABORATING WITH CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS THE FOUNDLING MUSEUM

www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk, Caro Howell, Director and Emma Middleton, Learning Curator The Foundling Museum education programme changed immensely five years ago when Caro Howell`s concept of social interaction between the collection of the museum, the visitors and contemporary artists was realized. As the dynamic new director, Howell put collaboration with artists at the heart of the museum. Contemporary artists now play an active part in the museum enjoyment and learning programmes, especially for children and school classes, just as they did when the was founded and funded through art gallery entrance fees back in 1740. In the Foundling Museum, the individual artist’s story and the stories of the museum’s collections come together and bring past and present into dialog. "For children, artists are important role models. The young people see how artists work, they are masters of their own ship!" Involving artists in the museum is a key element of the learning programmes: Artists design learning materials, lead workshops and are connected to the museum in Artists-in-Residence programmes. Volunteers help with different tasks in cooperation with museum educators. On the ground floor of the museum in the introduction gallery, the visitors get a detailed view into the moving and dramatic stories of the foundling children. The exhibited personal belongings such as uniforms, beds and photos provide a distinct picture of what it meant to be an abandoned child. Many maps, digital devices as well as sound and audio installations add information to the whole story. "The stories we tell are powerful. We don't need walls in a blood-red colour. The artefacts speak for themselves.", says Caro Howell. The museum architecture is used as a dialog element: you can peep through the windows and see people and objects in other parts of the room.

Experimenting audience

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MAKE YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE THE RAGGED SCHOOL MUSEUM

www.raggedschoolmuseum.org.uk, Chris Bennion, [email protected] Ragged Schools were the only places where children from poor families in the 19th century had the possibility to get an education, and a free one at that. Today the Ragged School Museum is a very small-scaled museum that takes children, mostly from primary school classes, through workshops and "going-back-in-time" talks to give them an idea of how it was to be in a Ragged School lesson in Victorian times. Led by a professional actor who performs the lessons as a freelance museum educator, the participants learn about obedience and exercise. It’s important for young children to understand the actor’s transformation into a 19th century teacher so that they aren’t frightened by the harsh, and for our time unusual, rules and behaviour. To add to the magic of going back in time, the children are also encouraged to dress up like ragged children before coming to the workshops. Another family learning programme is the workshop session in which children learn more about the activities in the household during Victorian times, which is mostly lead by volunteers. In addition, the museum provides information packs to the schools to prepare classes for the museum visit.

Stand in row, take part in classroom lessons and find out what its like to be a ragged boy.

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Wednesday 01.10.2014

INSPIRING & SURPRISING THE HORNIMAN MUSEUM AND GARDENS

www.horniman.ac.uk, Christine Beckton, Schools Learning Officer, [email protected] At the Horniman Museum and Gardens we found an inspiring, surprising and family-friendly attraction in South London’s Forest Hill. We explored the museum collection, which focuses on a wide range of foreign cultures, their objects and inhabitants, and learned about the education programmes, the heart of which is a „hands-on base“ for children, families, community groups and special-needs groups. Everyone is allowed to compare, touch and explore thousands of foreign objects and clothes, unknown animals and various treasures from nature with their own hands in a fun, interactive way. We were encouraged to investigate the “discovery boxes”, which store and gather a wide variety of objects under a certain theme and provide useful approach to unknown territory. We were very impressed and inspired! Outside in the beautifully maintained gardens, which surround the museum and where plants are grown that are related to the objects inside the museum, we were encouraged by another museums educator to look precisely for some objects and to focus our attention on certain aspects of plant life. Several projects are designed especially for very young children to learn about the treasures of nature in this garden. In addition to this programme, Mr Horniman (a costumed actor) takes children and adults on gallery tours and storytelling sessions. Dance and music events inspired by the wide range of objects invite children, adults and specially also immigrants to take part and get to know their surroundings and foreign cultures. “Everybody is welcome to enter the space and make their own links.”, emphasized Christine Beckton.

Looking for things, looking for connections.

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Thursday 02.10.2014

POWER OF EDUCATION VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM

www.vam.ac.uk, Leanne Manfredi, Creative Industries, [email protected] The V&A Museum is a large-scale museum that is organised into five main themes: Asia, Europe, Materials and Techniques, Modern and Exhibitions. The museum offers a wide range of projects and activities for museum learning. To optimize their offerings, the museum education department does a lot of visitor research. To attract more young people, they provide many hands-on discovery areas, experiments and spaces with self-guided excursions throughout the different sections, themes and exhibitions of the vast museum. The self-led sessions are created for primary and secondary schools and colleges. The museum has so many schools visiting simultaneously, that most of the teachers only receive information about the „treasure trails“ in the museum. The “Undiscovered Museum” is a family trail that follows certain images throughout the museum. The exhibition “Disobedient Objects”, which was on display at the time we visited the V&A Museum, shows the powerful role of different objects used in demonstrations and revolutions for social changes and presents many self-guided sheets and suggestions for the visitor. In some parts of the museum the exhibition education tools reflect the ideas of the sponsors of that area. There are also tablets where you can design your own jewellery or select an artwork that can be „seen“ by blind people. The V&A Museum is currently creating a new European Gallery using learning as the starting point for the exhibition’s design. The visitor will be able to interact directly with objects and actively take part through theatre, dance and design.

Discussion and exchange in the Museum garden.

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NETWORKING THE WHITECHAPEL ART GALLERY

www.whitechapelgallery.org. Sofia Victorino, Learning Curator, [email protected], Ania Bas, artist-educator, [email protected] The education and public programmes of the Whitechapel Art Gallery focus on experiencing contemporary art. 15`000 participants per year take part in 656 sessions, such as the four-seasons programme, family days and the many different workshops in the Gallery. The Gallery involves schools, teachers and local people, especially groups of children from the immediate very poor surroundings of London’s East End. In the co-mentoring programme, art teachers work together with artist-educators to find out how they can engage students with contemporary art. They created a networking platform to exchange about art that is called: THAT network London. Sofia Victorino, head of Art Education, follows three aims: The gallery wants to provide a flexible and experimental education programme to give the participants the possibility to enjoy and experience art by themselves. The Gallery wants different strands to communicate, test new formats and work in a collaborative way. The Gallery aims to build up a relationship between theory and practise. Towards these goals, the Gallery invites artists to create an inspiring, expansive program and realize art education in a participatory way to provide an exchange of knowledge between artists and local people. Improving linguistic skills is a one of the important goals of this exchange. The aim of these activities is to help the child become a person with a response: “to practise to be a mind that thinks”, to shape their own minds and to voice their own point of view.

Ania Bas, artist in residence since 2009, invited us to implement learning tools to connect with the exhibition by Kader Attias: “Continuum of Repair: The Light of Jacob’s Ladder“.

Simply your own way of looking…

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Friday 03.10.2014

CONNECTION AND COLLABORATION

http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/bpartexchange Suzanna Flaskova, learning curator, presented the ground breaking new BP Art Exchange programme at Tate Britain. It is “a new learning collaborative project which connects schools, galleries, artists and cultural institutions worldwide through an exciting social platform as well as with an offline programme.” The programme offers different workshops and activities to inspire international collaboration and to extend the exchange of artwork and ideas. Marysa Dowling, an artist-educator who practices participatory art and who is interested in portraiture and human behaviour by “exploring and observing how people communicate and relate to each other and to the places they live in”, led a workshop for all of us. We had a lot of fun by interacting with the pictures and objects in the museum collection and with each other. The idea of this workshop was to relate the gesture of our hands to an artwork in the exhibition to get an individual point of view. Joined up into pairs and supplied with a digital camera, we selected a picture or a sculpture to engage with. With the focus on hands and gesture, we interacted in a simple, meaningful, communicative way and took pictures of these interactions to represent our relationship. At the end of this session we printed the different actions with a photo printer and matched them into a series.

Watch the gesture of your hands...

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