Surrounded by priceless antiquities, a child visiting the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge explores freely, maracas in hand. For parents of toddlers, the idea of visiting an art gallery can be daunting. But one mother's experience at a family-friendly drop-in event reveals that children can engage with art in meaningful ways, even without child-specific exhibitions.
When my son was a baby, I often waxed lyrical about how easy it was to bring him to galleries while he slept in a sling. Now, as a toddler who can change direction like a squirrel and delights in saying 'no,' I wondered if we should stick to child-focused events. Yet, I found myself at the Fitzwilliam's free, drop-in session, expecting cordoned-off spaces far from the art. Instead, we were surrounded by glazed cabinets of ceramics, pottery, and metalwork.
My son wandered freely between rooms, shaking maracas and delighting in ceramic animals. Kate Noble, assistant research professor in museum participation and practice, explains: 'We're absolutely committed to welcoming young children, but we recognise that museums aren't built for them, they're built for adults.' The museum places objects at child level and provides activities rooted in the collection, such as stencils for making tiles and foam blocks echoing decorative shapes.
Noble adds: 'Part of our argument is that you don't necessarily need to put on a special exhibition for children, because children are really interested in the same kind of art that adults are interested in.' Indeed, crouching in front of a tureen resembling a carp, my son yelled 'shark!'—a detail I might have missed without him.
Michael Corley, deputy director of learning and public programmes, recalls a child observing a portrait while playing with fabric from a resource trolley. 'I genuinely think it's one of the longest times I've seen anybody in the museum observe a painting,' he says. 'It's just about giving enough to a child to play, to explore, and they'll do that well.'
The monthly drop-in was born from research aiming to reduce intimidation for parents who weren't brought to museums as children. 'If you weren't brought to a museum as a child, it can be really intimidating to do that as a parent,' Noble says. 'This session is an introduction to being in a museum with your child.'
While we still plan to visit child-focused sessions, this experience has made me more open to them. My only complaint? The drop-in is dangerously close to the shop—try steering a squirrel away from brightly coloured books and toys.
