During the weekend leading up to our 2010 conference there are a handful of terrific workshops taking place. One that is definitely on my to-do list is “Tools of the Imagination at Play”, hosted by the Portland Children’s museum (Sunday 17th, 1-5pm).
Who doesn’t have kids coming through their doors? Even if you home institution isn’t a children’s museum per se, there are ideas and practices pioneered by the PCM that can be applied to how you are doing what you’re doing. This workshop is a must see for anyone in museum education, curriculum development, and exhibition design. “Through the experiences of the Portland Children’s Museum and the Center for Children’s Learning, this workshop will engage participants through presentation, dialogue and hands-on experiences, that support rich museum environments layered with meaning, celebrate the image of strong, capable, children and present materials in thoughtful and provoking ways.”
Guided by the principles of the Reggio Emilia process and constructivist educational theories, the PCM and the Center for Children’s Learning are dedicated to research on creative play and learning. By introducing this knowledge into your museum exhibitions and public programs new opportunities for a highly engaged visitorship open up. As the name of the session indicates, this will not be a starchy presentation! Be ready to have fun with this.