To ask if you visit museums?

[Aloezebra]

Slightly shamelessly doing a bit of anecdotal “research” for my degree but also just generally interesting in people’s opinions because it’s a topic I love!

Do you go to museums/galleries? If yes, why and if no why not?

Also do are you more likely to go if there’s some sort of activity for your kids to do?

Yes and not. necessarily.
I go because I'm interested and want to try and instill some kind of love for learning in my DS9.

Yes. Love museums! We used to visit them as kids, something which i have passed on to my dd.
I think museums allow you to appreciate history more because they are visual as opposed to reading a book which you cannot relate to. Brilliant in my Opinion x

@Chickalettaetta thats really interesting! Do you know why you don’t like them or just generally don’t enjoy them? I sometimes find myself surprised by the museums I do and don’t enjoy, often the best museums (for me) are ones that I don’t expect to enjoy because they’re not really topics I’m interested in but they’re just really cool museums

Yes, a lot, mainly art galleries. I don't tend to find out about kids activities in advance but the DC are always thrilled to find them.

We go to a lot of museums and galleries ( we being myself and my adult daughter ) , love history and art

Yes love a museum.

I do like children's activities. .....but we prefer a museum that actually thinks about the kids in the design.....is there a children's trail around key exhibits? Is there signage aimed at kids, with appropriate levels of details. Are there interactive exhibits? (These might be computerised, or things to touch, or things to listen too).

A children's activity with no purpose is rubbish!!

I am trying to think of things we have loved..... horrible history style shows at Liverpoor Museum and Dover Castle, people in character in NT properties, my youngest loved the imperial War museum London for years....the one in Manchester had a great HH show (not live action - multimedia). My daughter loves trails - give her a clip board and pen and some questions and she will go around the museum....again make it age appropriate though. We did a great trail at the Guildhall in London.

Oh, our favourite local museum let's you toast bread on an open fire - massive hit!!! And I enjoy playing the Victorian games.

One of the things that has prompted this question is that I’m running an activity for children under 5 on a family event on this course and I’m interested in the sorts of things people enjoy or don’t enjoy! I don’t personally have young children so I don’t really have the chance to “test run” existing activities

I used to visit them when I worked lived in London weekly. Now I have one local in a smallish town and I go everytime there's a new exhibition. I take my kids too to the local one and am planning on starting the London museums this summer now that my daughter is 7.

Yes I love GEM! I’m on so many mailing lists these days for museums from cities I don’t even live in just to give me ideas

Love museums, no interest in galleries.

Yes I visit museums - a vast range too.
DD is 14 now but if she comes she is still disappointed if there isn't a "treasure hunt" or similar even though she is way too old she still does them if they are there.

I go all the time. I'm lucky enough to live and/or work close enough to some of the really major national ones, so I can just drop in for an hour or so on my way to somewhere else.

I used to go with DS when he was little - not necessarily to children's activities, but just to get out of the flat. He'll come with me to a good exhibition even though he's now an adult.

Special shout out to weird local museums, which I also adore.

I've just been abroad - and I hardly ever go abroad, once or twice a decade - and was shocked to have to pay (a LOT) to go into a museum! We are so lucky here - but I also maintain its good commercial sense on the part of the museums, too. They've had far more money out of me popping in and out than if I went once a year and paid for an entrance fee.

Trails are fantastic, that’s the sort of thing I really enjoyed as a child because it lets you work away yourself (and clipboards always made me feel very important)

Do you mind telling me what your local one is? That sounds absolutely amazing!

Yes & Yes

Love a museum!

Yes.
No.
I go into the National Gallery eclvery time I feel low and I thank God it is free.
I always feel better afterwards

An area I’m quite interested in is looking to expand the amount of engagement with older audiences - if you’re not a young child with an activity geared towards you some museums can be quite boring

Frankly if there’s an activity, aimed at children or not I’m liable to do it anyway

Yes, we still go to museums and galleries even though DC are adult..

Nowadays it is more likely to be when we are on holiday but we went really regularly when DC we're young.

With young DC we liked to follow a trail with questions to answer along the way, maybe a prize at the end. National Trust properties were good at this. Dressing up in period costumes was also good.

No we like guided tours as you learn so much more. Ideally in a small group

Under 5s is quite a different audience to cater for than families with school age children. Can you go and visit any sessions to get a taste?

I'd suggest if you want Mumsnet wonderful people to give you advice that you clearly ask about under 5s. Sorry, I'm sure you know all this and I don't mean to interfere 🤦🏻‍♀️ Good luck and enjoy, under 5s are an amazing audience to work with.

Yes we go frequently

Yes we go, but no the activities are likely to put us off rather than encourage. I have a child but I always find the activities overpriced, over subscribed and over hyped. We would prefer a quiet day to wander around on our own.

Yes I do.
No. I have teenagers now, but I have never visited a museum with them when smaller because of an activity. We do all go to museums though.

Yes - usually to look at something specific that I have reaserched in detail.

Yes/No - it really depends on the type of museum... (&DC are to old now anyway!)

Sorry should’ve been more clear, the audience tends to be under 5s but there’s really all ages, it’s an open family day so there’s often kids who are older that’s just the majority audience based on surveys!

I am interested generally in peoples experiences though, children or not, under 5s or older :)

Before children, no (fee opportunities where I grew up)
After children - frequently as I lived in London where they were readily accessible.

Now live outside of London and there are few (none) that meet the quality / size and interest of those in London, or which have enough to do to warrant taking my DC.

Yes go to them lots. Yeslove it if there is things for kids to do or aimed at them. The space museum in Leicester is absolutely incredible, things for a range of ages and adults, my two (3 and 5) were completely gripped by it and so we're we!