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| Curators Corner |
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Education is a museum’s fundamental purpose from its inception that gives rise to two important functions –collections
management and providing access and learning opportunities to visitors. Education is vital for development in today’s
world where values, culture and social trends are rapidly changing. In this scenario, museums have the potential to play
a crucial role in aiding social and cultural progress of the communities that it belongs to.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya is a museum established for the cultural enrichment of different
communities in the city. With the objective of creating a visitor-friendly museum at its heart, the museum is constantly
experimenting with different means of communication to reach out and benefit its audiences. The Museum aims at
being a centre of informal education and is steadily evolving with a carefully designed programme of educational
activities.
“Learning is process of active engagement with experience. It is what people do when they want to make sense of the
world…”
(Black, G: 2005; About Us Campaign for Learning, 1999)
That the Museum is a learning space is not a new concept. However, it is different in that it is an alternative environment
where enrichment can take place. In fact, it has several advantages over formalised education – it is inclusive, in that
it welcomes everyone irrespective of their age, background, qualifications and interests. It is a more ‘open’ kind of
atmosphere free from the disciplinary restraints of a classroom. A visitor is free to make his own decisions about what
he wants to learn and the pace at which he should learn.
Museums enable learning in several ways – while they tend to be inherently didactic, the focus is shifting towards
the experiential learning as the results are long-lasting. Museums are all about human experiences of the past and in
creating access to these lie the foundations of learning.
At CSMVS, the emphasis is on ‘edutainment’- creating memorable experiences for visitors through interactive activities
that would enable them to engage with the collections. Considerable efforts are made to make the Museum a valuable
resource that formal education institutions can avail of for experiential learning. |
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Educational activities are one of the strongest means of engaging public
with the collections. Museums are using educational activities designed in an
interesting manner to appeal to all segments of the public. Many specialised
programmes are designed at CSMVS to meet the needs and interests of a
wide ranging audience.
The Museum mainly identifies three segments as its core target audience –
school children, young adults and special community groups. It is believed
that the non-visiting sections of the public can be converted by reaching out
to these core groups. |
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The Museum works closely with schools and other educational authorities to make the collections relevant to the school
curriculum. Gallery talks, orientation sessions and specialised presentations for schools and colleges are regularly
organised at the Museum.The Museum also designs
kits and trails for various age groups that encourage
children to discuss, debate and ask questions.
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CSMVS also organises teachers’ training sessions as well
as consultation sessions while designing programmes
for schools. This is crucial for museums to involve the
views and opinions of teachers to make their collections
relevant in the school curriculum. For instance, a
Teachers’ Consultation was recently held to seek their
views on the Harappan learning kit designed for schools
in the initial stage of its designing. |
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Learning takes place best when materials are physically
and intellectually accessible. These arouse curiosity,
pleasure, revulsion or other emotions that create
lasting learning experiences. The Museum uses such
tactile materials and visual aids as a means of enriching
experience through educational documentaries, tactile
objects and activity corners in galleries. For example,
the Museum conducts demonstrations of taxidermy
in the Natural History gallery. There are activity
corners in several galleries such as coin stamping or
bookmark-making providing experiential context for
its collection. |
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The Museum is a social space. It is
a meeting place for individuals and
communities to engage in dialogue
and exchange of ideas. Being a platform
for free expression, it is imperative that
museums be inclusive. Museum education
is therefore important for social inclusion
and community engagement. |
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CSMVS devotes special emphasis to
organising programmes for marginalised communities such as underprivileged
children, physically and mentally disabled groups, blind visitors and others. For
such groups, besides free entry, the Museum plans special activities such as craft
activities, treasure hunts, film screenings and special gallery tours with tactile
experiences tailored to their needs and capacity. The Museum collaborates with
several NGOs in the city in this initiative.
The Museum Society of Bombay is an active partner with the Museum in organising
programmes for these groups. |
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The Museum’s success story is the summer holiday programmes, activities in conjunction with special exhibitions as
well as celebration of special days such as International Museum Day, No TV Day, World Environment Day and many others. Such activities are a way of encouraging local
engagement with the Museum. Also, the Museum uses such occasions to promote its support
to special causes such as environmental issues, heritage awareness etc. On such occasions, the
Museum arranges for free activities that visitors with time constraints can also be part of.
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As mentioned earlier, a museum’s activities can be decisive in the socio-cultural development of communities. By creating
engaging learning opportunities, museums can encourage the habit of museum-going, thereby spending leisure time
constructively. By involving communities, it creates civic consciousness and a sense of belonging. A museum catering
across age and socio-economic barriers becomes a genuine resource for the community. In this sense, CSMVS has been
successful in its attempts to create a valuable resource for the public. This reflects in the ever-rising visitor footfall and
the increasing demand for educational activities for schools and special groups. |
The Museum is taking its educational initiatives to a new level with two pioneering projects – a Discovery Tent for
children, designed for learning while playing and the Museo-Bus, literally ‘A Museum on Wheels’ to take the Museum to
communities in the suburban areas of Mumbai and the outskirts.
The Museum is forging ahead with newer and more innovative educational tools and techniques to engage a wider
range of audiences. Because of globalisation and the evolved culture of ‘leisure’ its policies are continually redefined and
the education function is being constantly upgraded to meet the needs of the 21st century society. |
1. Black, G. (2005) The Engaging Museum: Developing Museums for Visitors Involvement, London: Routledge
2. Cabral, M. & Milene M.(2011) Hubs of Activity, ICOM News, Vol. 64 No. 3, Paris: ICOM, p. 14 – 15
3. Chadwick, A. (1995) The Role of the Museum and Art Gallery in Community Education, Nottingham: Barnes and Humby
4. MacDevitt, A. (2011) Cultural lessons, ICOM News, Vol. 64 No. 3, Paris: ICOM, p. 10 – 11
5. O’Neill, M. (2011) Paths of excellence, ICOM News, Vol. 64 No. 3, Paris: ICOM, p. 12 – 13
6. Rose, H. (1956) Museums and Teachers, ICOM Committee for Education, Paris: ICOM, UNESCO
7. Sani, M. (2008) What have museums got to do with lifelong learning?, Newsletters of the Network of European Museum
Organisations (NEMO), Berlin: MK Druck
8. Screven, C. (1974) The Measurement and Facilitation of Learning in the Museum Environment: An Experimental Analysis,
Publications in Museum Behaviour, Washington DC: US Govt. Printing Office
9. Talboys, G. (2000) Museum Educators’ Handbook, Hampshire: Gower
10. Witlin, A. (1949) The Museum: Its History and Its Tasks in Education, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul
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