Making the Most of Museums: the case for learning through objects

At a time of increased focus on core subjects and shrinking school budgets (Cultural Learning Alliance, 2018), how can we make the case for taking children to museums and galleries to experience the power of object-based learning? Over the past 18 months, learning teams at the University of Cambridge Museums (UCM) and the National Gallery (NG) have been working on the ‘Practical Evaluation’ project with Dr Eric Jensen from the University of Warwick to explore what museums offer to children and young people (Practical Evaluation, 2019). The project has improved the way in which we capture feedback from teachers and students and aims to make programming more responsive to the experiences of our visitors. This article builds on these findings and reviews current research and practice to explore how museum visits can support the acquisition of curriculum-related knowledge and the development of confidence, cultural understanding, creativity and critical thinking. It also considers how