When the Young V&A development team asked kids what they thought of museums, the overwhelming response was: “boring.”
From July 1, the museum hopes to change that perception by opening what it has dubbed “the happiest museum in the world.” It will be the first free museum of its kind entirely designed for children up to 14 years old. And it heralds a shift in thinking about how museums can be meaningful places for young visitors.
Philippa Simpson, director of design, real estate and public program at the Victoria and Albert Museum, told The Art Newspaper that they wanted to create an institution that could be “shaped by activity rather than behaviour”.
“It had to be informal, surprising and relaxed, stimulating and friendly,” she says. “The kind of experience you couldn’t have anywhere else.”
The Young V&A was previously the Museum of Childhood, which closed in 2019 for a three-year, £13million redevelopment led by AOC Architecture. The museum has examined models across the UK, Europe and the US, such as the Bay Area Discovery Museum in California and Eureka! in Halifax, before launching a consultation process with more than 22,000 children, parents, carers, educators and SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) specialists to shape the new design and display.
Young V&A Director Helen Charman believes a broader shift is beginning to occur in the museum sector to “design with, not for” children. At the Young V&A, one such shift has been represented by curatorial and learning teams collaborating to simultaneously think about the selection of objects for the museum and how the public might experience them – instead of the standard practice of developing educational programs that are parachuted in at the end of the process. Charman points out that “the orthodoxy of museum practice is based on learning by looking”.
“But we know [that] with kids, it’s experiential, a sensory learning process,” Chapman says. “This has been a major shift for standard museum practice: why don’t we start integrating sensory learning into museum strategies?”
The new gallery is divided into three spaces for three age groups: The “Play” space is an open landscape overlooking the museum gardens. Designed for pre-walkers, it is a sensory “mini-museum” that focuses on the tactile qualities of objects in the collection. “Imagine” is where visitors will find the largest object of the Young V&A, an 18th-century Italian puppet theater, alongside a stage for performances by and for children. ‘Design’, aimed at older children, aims to inspire creative thinking with hands-on activities alongside exhibits of remarkable inventions by youngsters. Also on display are major works, including Rachel Whiteread’s Place (Village), a dizzying display of 100 dolls’ houses, created in dialogue with the museum’s collection of dolls’ houses.
In the museum’s three new galleries, visitors will discover architectural elements, interactive exhibits and works designed in unison with children, including a kaleidoscopic staircase inspired by the collection’s optical illusion toys, and a new exhibition of portraits by photographer Rehan Jamil, taken with young people from the nearby Mile End community project.
There’s also a den-building area, a giant marble run, and a selfie station. It was all done with intention, says Simpson. “We mostly wanted to put aside our egos and preconceptions and give the next generation something that really means something to them,” she says. “I strongly believe in trusting the sophistication of your audience, especially younger audiences. We wanted to create something that demonstrates the value we place on our visitors.
100 years of history
In 2021, children up to 14 made up almost 18% of the UK population. More than 1.68 million children live in London alone. Despite this, there is a shortage of museums suited to the needs and interests of children. The Young V&A’s history as a children’s museum dates back to the 1920s, when the original museum, founded in 1872, was remodeled to include an additional children’s section. In 1974, Sir Roy Strong, the former director of the V&A, redefined the space as a museum, in particular, of childhood. The museum has become home to the UK’s largest collection of childhood artifacts, the National Childhood Collection.
While the former Museum of Childhood only featured works drawn from the National Childhood Collection, the Young V&A will draw on objects from the vast collection of 2.8 million works of art. , design and performance of the parent museum. This will set a new precedent for a children’s museum, making it the first children’s museum to feature a national collection of works of art. Until now, existing children’s museums have generally featured only a few objects and favored immersive and interactive presentations.
“We couldn’t find a collection as extensive as we do anywhere else,” says Alex Newson, chief curator of the Young V&A. Showing an organized collection and making it central to the experience was important, he adds. “We didn’t want to lose the feeling of being in a museum,” says Newson. “Families didn’t want it to be a play center. They wanted it to feel like it had the language and authority of a museum.
But displaying a collection of unique objects in a children’s museum presents a series of rather unique challenges. These range from creating a conservation-approved slime for a display centered around the Star Wars character Jabba the Hutt, or creating a realistic potato to display an original Mr Potato head. Other objects have been installed to be more appealing to young visitors: Harry Potter’s broomstick appears to fly, while games like Jenga are presented as if they were in full play. other objects are behind standard glass or in display cases. “We need to protect them for future generations,” Newson says. “But, at the same time, we realize that many of our young audiences want to experience these objects by touching them or putting them in their mouths – that’s how they instinctively learn and explore the world.”
This approach is relevant to broader museum practice, particularly in the field of design, applied arts and performance. “It seemed important not to have things that were just a facsimile,” Newson says. Along with the permanent exhibitions, Young V&A will also hold an annual temporary exhibition. The first, Japan: Myths to Manga, opens in October and explores how Japanese folklore and myths celebrate childhood.
The Victoria & Albert Museum’s provision of a separate, free museum where children can run, hide, build and play – while being exposed to cultural artifacts and art – is welcome, especially During a cost of living crisis in which many beleaguered museums and heritage sites across the UK are beginning to charge visitors for tours or admission.
But the Young V&A can also provide a model for how existing and established museums can adapt their exhibits to be more inclusive and accessible to young children, now and in the future. “I hope museum staff will listen more carefully to what children tell us, what they really want in a museum, what matters to them, what they like, what worries them, what they hope,” Simpson said. “Museums have to cede some control. We must understand that for children and adults, perfection is not as important as authenticity.
