Hands-On,Shoes-Off: Multisensory Tools Enhance Family Engagement Within an Art Museum |
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Authors: | Alison F. Eardley Claire Dobbin Joselia Neves Peter Ride |
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Affiliation: | 1. University of Westminster, London, UK;2. Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar |
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Abstract: | Families with young children typically struggle to engage with traditional art museum environments. This research examined the impact of multisensory tools on family engagement within Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar. Sixty families with at least one child aged 0–11 were observed during two tasks. One task required participants to look at a series of paintings to select their favorite. In another task, families were given a toolkit of multisensory items to facilitate interaction with a painting. A semi-structured observational method produced quantitative and qualitative data about participant engagement and intergenerational interaction. Self-rating scores of task enjoyment were also collected. Results indicate that multisensory tools enhance family engagement with museums, artworks, and each other. Results also suggest that word-based interpretation was not necessary. We consider the potential implications of these findings in relation to family programming within art museums and museums more generally. |
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