ABSTRACT

Museums for all that they concern themselves with the collection, preservation and display of examples of material culture are places of learning. If the museum being visited is lucky enough to have one or more of the experts in the educational uses of the resource, then there is a great temptation to assume that they are going to do all the work, provide all the materials and cope with the children. Education is not a one-way transmission of knowledge. Working in museums with such source material means that it is important to look carefully at the philosophical basis of what we mean by education and learning. The changes in working environment, social context and working practice may mean that the social structure of the group you take into the museum is subtly altered, even if only during the visit. A museum is not a place designed for continuous, linear, structured learning.