Learning to Love 'Boring' Objects
Claire Bown
Author of The Art Engager: Reimagining Guided Experiences in Museums | Museum Educator, Facilitator, Coach and Speaker | The Art Engager podcast | Thinking Museum? Approach | Slow looking |
As museum and tour guides, we want participants on our tours to look closely at objects. However, research has shown that the average time spent viewing artworks or objects is generally short. We also know that every museum has its superstar objects and that some objects get far more attention than others.
So, how can we get visitors interested in objects that are less popular but still fascinating? How can we engage them with ones that may seem a little ‘boring’ or ‘mundane’ at first glance?
We use objects on guided tours with people of all ages to create connections to the past and to develop important skills. We know that teaching with objects can foster the development of many skills – observation, description, questioning and interpretation to name a few. We also know that working in-depth with objects stimulates curiosity and wonder and can lead to uplifting tour experiences that are memorable and long-lasting.
In this week's blog, I discuss two objects that only came to life for me and my groups once I had spent time looking and asking questions. I hope this will inspire you to search out the ‘boring’ and ‘mundane’ objects around you and to bring them to life!
Read the full article here on the Thinking Museum blog.
Have you ever had to bring 'boring' objects to life? What has worked for you? Let me know in the comments below!
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5 年What a fun challenge to keep a tour fresh!? Not having done museum tours- I can relate through walking tours by trying to pick neighborhoods, or talking points that I don't spend much time on naturally & ramping them up, trying to make them the focus of the tour theme.? It doesn't always stick (or I don't always keep everything) but it's a fun turn of direction.