A museum is a place designed to inform and educate the public. It is important to introduce children to museums from an early age because it is these institutions that open up a world of imagination and further exploration. The main priority in engaging young people in the arts is to make them active participants in the process, to turn museum and cultural events into positive and interesting action.
The first thing to do is to get students interested and awaken their curiosity. A common mistake is to create a standard model of educational experience without considering student preferences. The key to success is personalization, which in turn meets the needs of a much broader audience.
Empathy is an important tool, and by using the right language register and common references, we can communicate directly with younger members of the public. A win-win option is the use of technology and smartphones: as we all know, the aforementioned ones are the best friends of every child since middle school.
Actively engaging younger students in museum visits is successful when they participate in useful, interesting practical activities that later lead to comments and questions. In addition, small, research-based presentations also stimulate further interest.
The best results in such content come from continuous work during a museum visit, which creates an enjoyable climate that works especially well with teens. Innovative apps and sites undoubtedly enrich students’ experiences, capturing the attention of young people and equipping them with new insights and information about culture, and the end result is often really surprising.
Best museums for high school students
Thanks to museums devoted to art, science, history, and everything in between, high school students have the opportunity to learn much more about the world at large, and this is so important for the formation of a well-rounded personality. It is worth highlighting such museums for high school students:
- The National Portrait Gallery is the first gallery to have a collection of portraits of historically important and famous people. In 2006, the National Portrait Gallery launched a special program that targets young people ages 14 to 21. It includes a number of cross-curricular activities-dance, drama, oral performance, photography and film, drawing sessions, and other initiatives.
- The Tate is one of the most visited museums by high school students. Tate attracts teenagers and makes them fall in love with art. The museum’s program gives the opportunity to enjoy performances, events, workshops, and exhibitions. Participation in all sessions is free for young people, and no previous art experience is required. The Tate offers young people an online platform to demonstrate their art and ideas.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art has the largest collection of art in the United States, with more than 2 million works in its permanent collection. The museum allows you to enjoy a variety of activities, including art-making, a teen gallery, music, dance, and more. All teens can join gallery talks, studio workshops, painting sessions, and special events led by artists and museum staff.
- The West Point Library is home to artifacts from the American Revolution. The museum allows you to learn about various cannons, artillery pieces, and more. In the early 19th century, the library became home to works related to mineralogy, sculptures, military artifacts, and more.
Best museums for college students
For most students, a museum is an opportunity to spend time productively expanding their horizons, self-discovery, and personal growth. Here is a list of the most fascinating museums for college students:
- The Harvard Museum of Natural History consists of three departments, including the Harvard Mineralogical Museum, the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and the Harvard Herbarium. Here you’ll find exhibits on arthropods, bees, birds, climate change, countries, evolution, microbes, and many others.
- The Rhode Island School of Design Museum has collected more than 100,000 objects, from ancient to modern history and culture. It is one of the largest university art museums in the United States.
- The University of Michigan Art Museum offers limitless possibilities. Special meeting spaces, stores, and recreational areas are available for students. This state-of-the-art art museum is unique and allows you a glimpse into the future of art museums.
- The Peabody Museum, located on the campus of Yale University, is a must-see for anyone interested in science. It houses an amazing array of Inca artifacts as well as an astounding assemblage of fossils. In this museum, you will also find several other collections such as invertebrate paleontology, invertebrate zoology, and more.
- The Berkeley Museum of Natural History is a collection of six museums and eight field stations. The Berkeley Natural History Museums offer programs for both school-age children and adults.
Best virtual museum tours for students
Museum websites give students the opportunity to explore priceless collections and exhibits from around the world from the comfort of their homes or classrooms. These virtual museums for students offer a vast collection of primary and secondary resources for exploring the depths of history, science, culture, and society both in the United States and around the world. Many of them also contain lesson plans, interactives, and other resources designed specifically for the classroom, which makes learning programs easier to connect to museum artifacts and documents.
Teachers should also necessarily familiarize themselves with the professional development resources and tour opportunities, both remote and in-person, that these sites often offer. The Gaines county museum library system is the best resource for information and inspiration in an environment accessible to all.
Here’s a list of the best virtual museum tours for students that allow you to take advantage of the opportunity to go on an online tour or exhibition:
The British Museum is located in the heart of London. It offers a unique opportunity to tour the Great Court and discover the ancient world. Students can also explore the various exhibits on the famous museum’s interactive website. The site is designed to increase visitor numbers through more interaction, multimedia, augmented reality, quizzes, and questions to attract attention, themed itineraries, and more.
The Guggenheim Museum allows visitors to take a tour of the famous Guggenheim spiral staircase from the comfort of their own homes. Students can explore valuable works of art from very different eras.
The famous National Gallery of Art features two online exhibitions. The first focuses on American fashion from 1740 to 1895, and the second is a collection of works by Dutch Baroque artist Johannes Vermeer.
At the Musée d’Orsay, students can track the time of their visit and see which artists’ works are most popular. In addition, visitors can be repeatedly contacted about their specific interests, and noticing actions is fundamental to making new visitors regular customers.
The State Museum in Amsterdam gives you the opportunity to feel like an explorer. A tour of this famous museum with a street view makes you feel like a person who lived several centuries ago.
Visiting museums is an opportunity for children to discover new worlds in a rich and educational environment through interactive exhibits. In addition, after visiting such events children will want to express their impressions, emotions, and wishes, all of which they can accomplish when they write my essays. If you want children to become inquisitive, open-minded, and lifelong learners, take them to museums and let them explore exhibits from different subject areas!