Brooklyn Children's Museum *

Why are children's museums primarily experiences in cultures or nature as opposed to actual experiences with artwork? I can't even begin to hypothesize other than to guess that very young children learn through physical experience more than visual stimulus and that by giving them the right type of developmental activity one can prepare them for fine art observations.

The Brooklyn Children's Museum recently underwent a huge renovation leaving the spaces open and clearly defined by activity. Half of the museum is dedicated to the theme of 'Brooklyn Neighborhoods' which includes several faux storefronts reflecting different neighborhood cultures in Brooklyn. For example, there is a Mexican panderia, or bakery and an Italian pizzeria where the children can go behind the counter and make pretend food. There is also a Caribbean store where kids can try on West Indian Day Parade costumes. It is all laid out in a continuous path so you can easily go from one exhibit to another. I can see how for very young children, teaching them about other cultures is a primary step to learning about fine art. It is showing them a different point of view which opens their minds to differences in the world.

The second part of the museum revolves around natural world around us. There are several indoor sandboxes and large fish tanks with floor level observation areas for children to crawl or walk past. This area has several nature oriented hands-on exhibits and a special section with the largest boa you've ever seen. This section of the museum seems to be more of a natural history museum than a cultural foray.

In conclusion, I think the general concept behind children's museums is not only to give kids a hands-on experience with other cultures or to let them experience nature close up but to prepare them for the experience of larger cultural institutions. Children who go to this museum will be more than ready to go to the Natural History Museum in Manhattan and experience these things on a larger scale. They will understand not only what is in a museum, how to behave there, but also how to see. Likewise the cultural section of the children's museums will teach children the skills needed to appreciate other strange and different displays. Whether they get to touch them or not, they will learn how to see things as different from their world.