Connecting Kids to History with Museum Exhibitions

Kids have profound and important relationships to the past, but they don't experience history in the same way as adults. For museum professionals and everyone involved in informal history education and exhibition design, this book is the essential new guide to creating meaningful and memorable connections to the past for children. This vital museum audience possesses many of the same dynamic qualities as trained historian-curiosity, inquiry, empathy for the human experience-yet traditional history exhibitions tend to focus on passive looking in the galleries, giving priority to relaying information through words. D. Lynn McRainey and John Russick bring together top museum professionals to present state-of-the-art research and practice that respects and incorporates kids' developmental stages and learning preferences and the specific ways in which kids connect to history. They provide concrete tools for audience research and evaluation; exhibition development and design; and working with kids as "creative consultants." The only book to focus comprehensively on history exhibits for kids, Connecting Kids to History With Museum Exhibitionsshows how to enhance the experiences of a vitally important but frequently the least understood museum audience.

D. Lynn McRainey is the Elizabeth F. Cheney Director of Education at the Chicago History Museum. Lynn has led the education department to redefine adult and school experiences; chaired an institutional Visioning Committee; and served as project director and lead educator for the children's exhibition, Sensing Chicago. She has over twenty years experience in museum education, having worked at art, history, and children's museums. Lynn is on the editorial advisory board for the Journal of Museum Education. She has received a Fellowship in Museum Practice from the Smithsonian Institution, and participated in the NEH Summer Seminar at Yale University and in the Getty Leadership Institute, Museum Leaders: the Next Generation. She has an M.A. in Art History from the University of Virginia. John Russick is senior curator at the Chicago History Museum. He has more than two decades of experience in a variety of museums, including the Field Museum and the National Museum of American History. He served as lead curator for the 2006 exhibition, Sensing Chicago, which was recognized by the American Association of Museums in the 19th Annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Northern Illinois University and a Masters of Science in Architectural Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. He has twice won awards for his exhibition label writing and he currently serves on the board of the American Association of Museum's Curators' Committee.