Involving the Child in the Management of Science Museums: A Tool of Social Transformation

ABSTRACT

The participation of children in the management of science museums, following the theoretical approach of psychologist and educator Francesco Tonucci, is an effective tool both for the improvement at an internal level of the organization itself and for the implementation of a series of significant changes in the child’s most immediate environment – school and family. This article explains the experience developed in this sense in the Museu de les Ciències Príncep Felipe through its Board of Children.

KEYWORDS:

• Museu de les Ciències Príncep Felipe
• Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències
• participation
• Francesco Tonucci
• Board of Children
• management
• girl
• boy
• education
• integration
• learning
• science
• technology
• museum

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

About the author

Jose Antonio Gordillo Martorell is science communicator at Museu de les Ciències Príncep Felipe, Ciutat de les Arts I les Ciéncies. He has a long and broad experience managing science educative and learning projects specially using new and innovative methodologies as STEAM, storytelling and children participation on adults organization. He holds a degree in Humanities granted by Universitat de València, a Fine Arts PhD granted by the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia, and a Master in Local Development granted by Universitat de València, and a Master of Cultural Management granted by Universitat Politècnica de Valencia. He writes regularly on specialized publications on science, education, creativity and museums as Revista de Museología or Spokes ECSITE. He was invited with David Reinado to talk in TEDx Berklee Valencia on 16th April 2016 about Dots and Science Connected by Curiosity.

ORCID

José Antonio Gordillo Martorell http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0504-8698

Notes

1 In respect of this true moment of refoundation of science museums see Asensio et al., “Evaluación implicativa,” 82 y 83., en Arrieta, Reinventando los museos y en Aidelman et al., “Visiter les Mussées”.

2 Fundación Everis, Factores influyentes.

3 A full exploration of some of these advances that must be faced by science museums today can be found in Center for the Future of Museums, Trendswatch.

4 Tonucci, La città dei bambini.

5 A good description of this networking methodology can be found in the internal document Informe del Consell dels Infants del Museu Blau. Some of the synergies referred to have already materialised, for example, the holding on 10 March 2016 of a videoconference between FT, the Parque de las Ciencias de Granada’s Board of Children and the Museu de les Ciències Príncep Felipe’s Board of Children on the occasion of the inauguration of the exhibition “Imagining Education. 50 years with FRATO” around the figure of FT at the Parque de las Ciencias de Granada.

6 In this respect the shift stamped on the project by Mr Enrique Vidal Pérez, CEO of Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències was decisive, including the economic variable so that the child could even share responsibility for the allocation of material resources to implement ideas proposed in the group.