Parents and children gather in museums for summer vacation How to make good use of museum resources

In the summer vacation, research and study tours of various cultural and museum venues are very popular: the Palace Museum in Beijing is full of tourists, the National Museum of China and the Nanjing Museum series of theme exhibitions are in full swing, and many museums have canceled the practice of "closing on Mondays", and even extended their opening hours and launched night shows...... Even so, many parents still lament that tickets for popular museums are hard to find.

As one of the best places to learn and educate, the museum can bring new experiences to children, satisfy their curiosity, and stimulate their desire to explore.

In April this year, the "Cultural China Tour" theme publicity activity led by the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee was officially launched at the Suzhou Museum in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The event focuses on the inheritance and development of China's excellent traditional culture, focusing on the discovery of cultural relics and historic sites, the protection of famous cities, towns, villages and streets, the development of cultural tourism, the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, and the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations. This has undoubtedly once again promoted the "cultural and museum study fever" of children and teenagers to sweep the land of China.

In recent years, as the craze for museum research continues to rise, various museum research routes and products have emerged in an endless stream, with high prices and uneven quality. In this regard, how can parents, museums, and third-party research institutions make good use of resources to improve the quality of museum research, so as to truly realize the research of materials and knowledge, so that children can benefit?

Parents: Be involved

"The child came back and couldn't say why. When I asked, I found out that the teacher only let the children hunt for treasures, check in, and take pictures by themselves, without introducing the corresponding background knowledge. Ms. Qin, a parent, complained about her son's trip to the museum, which only traveled without studying.

At present, the providers of museum research are mainly museums, schools, third-party institutions and their combinations. The school, the museum and the cooperation between the two have relatively professional curriculum and teacher allocation, but due to the lack of effective supervision and evaluation of some third-party research and learning, under the guidance of economic benefits, there may be problems such as fast pace of visits and rough explanation content, but the fees are not low.

It is understood that some museum research groups are packaged by travel agencies, which is not worthy of the name. The so-called curriculum is to talk about PPT, and then let the children DIY. The "research fever" has also exposed some problems, some of which have become "scenic spots + textbooks" and "scenic spots + homework", which are seriously homogeneous; Some "only travel but don't learn", rush to the itinerary and punch in; Some lack practicality and stop at "seeing" and "listening".

"If the content of the study is good, the family conditions allow, spending money for the child to enroll in the group, which can not only improve the child's academic literacy, but also liberate the parents, which is a choice, but parents should effectively screen in advance." Zhou Jingjing, an associate professor at Fudan University's Department of Cultural Relics and Museology, said that many museums have abundant exhibition and teaching resources, and most of them are free, so parents can use them with a little effort.

Ye Tong, a primary school student in Beijing, will enter fifth grade in September. As soon as she was on vacation, she and her parents left for Nanjing to start her museum research trip, and her first stop was the Nanjing Museum. "The Glory of the Aegean Sea · Ancient Greece Special Exhibition" there opened my eyes, and the most impressive one was the statue of the goddess with raised arms, which is a symbol of the religious beliefs of the Minoan civilization; the second is a myrtle-style golden flower crown, dazzling; The third is the 'kicking scene' tombstone stone, which vividly depicts the scene of the ancient Greece's enthusiasm for sports. The 270 pieces/sets of exhibits show the brilliant splendor of ancient Greece civilization, and I learned a lot more than I learned from textbooks. Ye Tong told the all-media reporter of China Women's Daily.

Ye Tong said: "I also went to the Nanjing Six Dynasties Museum, Jiangning Weaving Museum, Nanjing Folk Museum and Nanjing Museum. At the Jiangning Weaving Museum, I experienced the 'Four Seasons Red Mansion - "Dream of Red Mansions" theme cultural course' to understand the deep relationship between "Dream of Red Mansions" and Nanjing. In the Nanjing Folk Museum, I saw for the first time the intangible cultural heritage exhibits such as Nanjing velvet flowers, Qinhuai lanterns, root carvings, bamboo carvings, etc., participated in the intangible cultural heritage activities of doll learning, and also knew that the museum is located - the Ganxi Mansion is the largest and most well-preserved Qing Dynasty private residence in the mainland, commonly known as 'ninety-nine and a half rooms'. Reading about the city in a museum is unforgettable. ”

Ye Tong's mother told reporters that in recent years, their family has been all over the exhibition halls in Beijing, and a few days ago they saw media reports that Jiangsu Province launched a series of summer activities of "Naturalist Tourism", and the province's cultural and museum venues participated in it, including 600 research characteristics, so they decided to go to these exhibition halls in the summer vacation. "Our family are all museum lovers, and before the trip, the family did a strategy together, and chatted excitedly about their feelings during and after the visit, which increased their knowledge and knowledge, and the children and adults have gained something, and also made the parent-child relationship more harmonious, it seems that we have chosen the right place." Ye Tong's mother said.

Zhou Jingjing said: "Every child has their own interests and rhythms, and we should focus on cultivating their concentration and respecting children's choices. At the same time, she reminded parents: "Don't focus on the summer vacation, you can also take your children to enjoy the cultural and museum time on the weekends." The choice of venues can also be diverse, and you don't have to go to the popular ones. There is no form of forced learning in the museum, only a prepared environment where children can actively explore according to their needs and interests. ”

Museums: Bringing artifacts to life

In recent years, museums have made many useful attempts to provide a second classroom for children and teenagers, and at the same time, they have changed the single experience of visiting in the past, increased immersive experience and hands-on practical activities, combined knowledge and fun, and enhanced the magnetic force of museums.

Liang Xiyue, a student of Yuhong School of the High School Affiliated to Capital Normal University, goes to the China Aviation Museum every year, and after hearing a lot of stories, Liang Xiyue became a little docent and told the history of the "Young Pioneer" fighter to the students who visited together.

Mr. Wang, a parent, told reporters that his 9-year-old son particularly likes the Beijing Automobile Museum. "Every time, the children go to the Progress Hall, where they are excited to operate the steering wheel, see various car models, and ask questions about the internal structure, design and engine principles of the cars." Mr. Wang said that the Future Pavilion is also a must-visit for his son, where concept cars and models of future vehicles always give children a lot of ideas about the future of transportation. "This kind of research can fully mobilize children's creativity and imagination, and children can learn while playing, and they will be more impressed and remembered more firmly by learning new knowledge."

In addition to popular exhibition halls, some niche museums rich in treasures have few fun people, and the sense of experience and harvest is not bad, which also attracts some parent-child families. "Flower arrangement, tea tasting, drawing ancient paper and flower notes, and experiencing the leisure and elegance of the literati in the sound of the guqin; Wear Hanfu and experience the charm of the golden hairpin; Make your own thread-bound book...... Participating in the 'Little Elegance' experience at the National Museum of Classics made me understand the interests of ancient literati, understand the fonts and thread-bound books in ancient books, and fall in love with traditional culture. 12-year-old Zhang Miao told reporters.

"At present, many museum research focuses more on interactive experience, focusing on improving children's interest and hands-on practical ability, and stimulating their thinking potential." Qiao Xiangjie, a professor at the School of Tourism of Beijing Union University, said that the museum can set up a rich interactive experience area and a scientific experiment area, allowing children to operate, observe and experiment by themselves. For example, art workshops are set up for children to make traditional crafts or create art, so as to cultivate innovative thinking in practice. Or apply multimedia technology, digital presentation, intangible cultural heritage handicraft experience, game games, treasure hunting and other activities to the study, enhance the experience of visiting, and make the cold cultural relics vivid.

Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Education Sciences, said that in recent years, the demand for education has diversified, and people's requirements for value-added and growth experience have also increased. "The new curriculum standard emphasizes the transformation of learning from 'problem solving' to 'problem solving', emphasizes the integration of knowledge and action through deep learning in real scenarios, advocates 'learning by doing' and 'learning by use', and attaches importance to the transfer of learning experience to other contexts in learning, all of which put forward new requirements for museum research activities."

Research: not only "view", but also "research"

The mainland is a big country of museums, in the context of the "Cultural China Tour", how to effectively transform the rich cultural and museum resources into learning resources for children and teenagers? What kind of research courses can really benefit children?

According to Guo Qingsheng, an expert in public education in museums, the standard of quality includes several aspects: first, the theme of the research course can stimulate children's interest in learning, be meaningful to their growth, and meet their knowledge accumulation and critical thinking ability; second, it is in line with the characteristics of museum learning, encouraging learners to acquire knowledge through observation and experience, rather than relying solely on teachers' explanations; Thirdly, teaching is carried out in a problem-oriented, inspiring and interactive way, encouraging children to ask questions, discuss and share knowledge in various forms; Fourth, the combination of inside and outside the museum; Fifth, the teacher is good at using vivid language to explain academic concepts in simple terms, and encourages children to "jump" to pick the higher "fruit" on the tree. In short, a high-quality research course is not only entertaining, but also inspires children to think and motivate them to explore, and is a museum learning method that acquires knowledge by means of research, which is very different from cramming knowledge indoctrination.

In 2020, the Ministry of Education and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage jointly issued the "Opinions on the Use of Museum Resources to Carry out Primary and Secondary School Education and Teaching", proposing that museums should enter the campus, through the development of a series of museum series courses, combined with the cognitive laws of primary and secondary school students and the needs of school education and teaching, fully excavate museum resources, and research and develop a series of activities such as nature, history, science and technology. It is necessary to produce museum manuals, guide maps, auxiliary reading materials, pocket books, animations, etc., guide students to use museum resources to creatively carry out activities and assist learning, and constantly explore and complete museum learning models to enhance the learning effect of museums.

The reporter learned that in the past few years, various localities have been trying various possibilities for the combination of museums and schools. Beijing Shijia Primary School and the National Museum of China jointly compiled a series of textbooks entitled "Chinese Traditional Culture: Comprehensive Practice Course for Museums". Sky City Primary School of Hangzhou Normal University in Zhejiang Province has developed a series of school-based curricula "Into the Museum"; During this year's "· 18 International Museum Day", Chengdu Museum in Sichuan Province joined hands with a number of schools to launch a series of museum-school cooperation courses "My Classroom in the Museum". Nanjing Museum has long set up two major theme courses for children and teenagers: "The Cute Beasts of the Museum" and "Art Across Time and Space......

Liu Buming, a special Chinese teacher in Shanxi Province, believes that museum research is not only about "viewing", but also about "research". The curriculum design should strengthen the complementarity and integration with classroom learning, and pay attention to the combination of practical, experiential, interesting and research.

"To develop multi-dimensional research activities, museums should make full use of their own resources, including collections, exhibitions, research results, etc., and combine them with on-campus courses to carry out interactive exhibitions, such as improving parent-child facilities and projects, setting up special parent-child activity areas, and holding parent-child workshops on a regular basis. It is also necessary to pay attention to cross-border integration, unite libraries, exhibition halls, science and technology museums and other public service units to share resources and create high-quality research products. Qiao Xiangjie said that all departments should also improve relevant policies, form a collaborative management and promotion mechanism, and provide a guarantee for the high-quality development of museum research.

Chu Zhaohui believes: "The knowledge transmitted by research activities should be rigorous and scientific, and should not be copied from school teaching, so that participants can get a variety of experiences; It is necessary to integrate the subject, time, space, content, design visit, participation, etc., so that learners can associate and reflect in the activities, guide them to connect with existing knowledge, and enhance their ability to discover and solve problems. He analyzed that research activities are only a way, and the fundamental purpose is to guide students to become masters of learning and life, treat life with wisdom, and establish their own initiative, subjectivity, and autonomy. In the process of research, students should find their own position in the activity through the process of understanding, analysis, and judgment, which is conducive to the enrichment of minors' life experience, and is also conducive to their understanding of themselves and society, developing a sound personality, and promoting their socialization process. Chu Zhaohui added.

During the interview, the experts agreed that museum research should lead the practice and innovation with the change of concept, make full use of modern technology to make the cultural relics in the collection "live", make the history and cultural relics within reach, make this "walking classroom" more age-appropriate and practical, and let children and teenagers truly gain experience and growth. (Source: China Women's Daily Author: Chen Ruokui)