Part 1 Valuing Kids; Chapter 1 Never Too Young to Connect to History: Cognitive Development and Learning, SharonShaffer; Chapter 2 It’s about Them: Using Developmental Frameworks to Create Exhibitions for Children (and Their Grown-ups), Elizabeth ReichRawson; Chapter 3 Experts, Evaluators, and Explorers: Collaborating with Kids, Anne GrimesRand, RobertKiihne; Part 2 Connecting Kids to History; Chapter 4 Finding the Story in History, LeslieBedford; Chapter 5 Imagination—A Child’s Gateway to Engagement with the Past, DanielSpock; Chapter 6 Playing with the Past, Jon-Paul C.Dyson; Chapter 7 A Sense of the Past, D. LynnMcRainey; Chapter 8 Are We There Yet? Children, History, and the Power of Place, BenjaminFilene; Part 3 Creating History Exhibitions for Kids; Chapter 9 Shaping the space: Designing for Kids, AndrewAnway, NealMayer; Chapter 10 Making History Interactive, JohnRussick; Chapter 11 Is it Real? Kids and Collections, Mary JaneTaylor, Beth A. TwissHouting; Chapter 12 Write and Design with the Family in Mind, JudyRand; Chapter 13 In a Language They’ll Understand: Media and Museums, GailRingel;
D. Lynn McRainey, is the Elizabeth F. Cheney Director of Education at the Chicago History Museum and serves as Project Director for a new Children's Gallery. She has over 20 years experience in museum education, having worked at art, history, and children's museums. She recently served as guest editor 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 a curator at the Chicago History Museum. He has twenty years of experience in a variety of institutions, including the Field Museum and the Smithsonian Institution. One of his most recent exhibitions, Sensing Chicago, was recognized by the American Association of Museums in the 19th Annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition. He has won awards for his exhibit label writing and he currently serves on the board of the American Association of Museum's Curator's Committee.
"In this solid, helpful and readable book there is not a hint of apology that play and fun are anything but the real work of connecting kids to history. Grounded in current research, stuffed with telling examples, organized around the logic of how exhibits are actually imagined and brought to life, this collection of essays will be useful to all of us trying to understand the theory and processes of creating experiences that appeal to and absorb kids, or for families looking for ways to share in each other's enthusiasms, or in support of teachers looking for insights to bring back to and chew on in their classrooms. And there are productive things to mine, not just for history museums and historic sites, but for art, science and children's museums too. What a wonderful addition to our professional literature."--Michael Spock, Chapin Hall Center for Children, University of Chicago "Each chapter ends with a useful bibliography or reference list, as does the book, and additional sources are cited for interested readers. Part 3 contains interesting, directive, and effective information, and most readers will turn to these five chapters as primary resources. An excellent chapter by Judy Rand, for example, discusses how to create new kinds of labels and explanatory texts for exhibits and how these can attract and hold children's attention. Highly recommended."CHOICE "This invaluable compilation of essays introduces museum practitioners to foundational principles of childhood development; translates how the inherent skills and interests of children--from imagination to play--can be applied to historical exploration; and then demonstrates the practical application of this information into exhibition development.Beyond its focus on kids, I found the book a great reminder of the importance of creating exhibits for PEOPLE, and putting our visitors at the center of museum experiences."--Lori Fogarty, Director, Oakland Museum of California "I can't wait to have this book in the hands of my students! This amazing group of authors presents the most current research and innovative thinking. The breadth of examples and frameworks solidly place kids as a core and not peripheral museum audience. The authors speak to each other and build on each other's work, creating a wonderful conversation with a coherent message. They don't just advocate, they provide concrete guidance, models and powerful examples drawn from theory, research and practice. This book goes beyond the audience of kids and the discipline of history, and is extremely valuable for exhibit designers, educators, evaluators, curators, administrators and any museum professional interested in how to make the museum more engaging for kids."--Kris Morrissey, Director, Museology Graduate Program, University of Washington "Connecting Kids to History with Museum Exhibitions brings all the questions raised by child visitors together into one volume, attempting to fathom how children's minds work and to suggest ways of getting them interested in history. [A] useful handbook for institutions wishing to mount exhibitions aimed specifically at children. As well as providing food for thought and avenues to explore when designing future exhibitions, it assembles theoretical models, a guide, charters, numerous examples, an analytical structure and tables to serve as useful pointers."--Annabelle Laliberte, ICOM News "I would highly recommend this book to anyone involved in the planning and development of history exhibitions or spaces in historic house museums. This book is so much more than about connecting kids to history; it is really about how to plan for visitors of different cognitive skills and abilities and to build exhibitions that will bring history into their lives."-- Elizabeth Pratt, Connecticut Humanities Council
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