Explore the purpose of museums today and find how they facilitate learning. Find out how museum collections, spaces and technology help visitors learn. What is the purpose of museums in today’s world - a world obsessed with technology? On this course we explore what can be gained from interacting with museum collections and spaces, and how to use technology to encourage engagement.

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You will consider the ways museum collections improve our understanding of history and how museums can use artefacts to engage learners. You will also explore how museums can better use their spaces to create learning experiences for all visitors.

What topics will you cover?

- What museums know about their visitors and how they find out

- Approaches to learning: young visitors and visitors with additional needs

- Ways in which social media can support learning

- How to design and interpret a contemporary art exhibition

- Why contemporary art can prove challenging to engage with/ understand and to teach?

- What does a conservator do all day?

- Designing an online exhibition

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

- Demonstrate an understanding of the way learning takes place in a museum setting

- Identify a range of learning strategies for a variety of audiences

- Effectively communicate personal ideas and collaborate with other learners to find solutions to issues

- Describe the complexities of label writing from a learning perspective and produce examples

- Explain the difference between key roles in museums

- Apply what you have learned to design your own exhibition