Guiding Children through History

The African American Museum in Philadelphia aims to show that African American history is American history, and it has implemented a number of interactive features to make sure that this message is received by one of their main audiences -- school kids.

If high schoolers and adults are most engaged by the interactive timeline on the first floor, and middle schoolers are most fascinated by the moving and speaking "portraits," then younger children must be most comfortable at "The Children's Wall."  This  long illustrated stretch of wall shows, picture book style, what life was like for the 18th century African American Child in Philadelphia.  Its impressive feat is that despite its content's specificity, it invites child of any race from any city to explore what this life was like.

Possibly the most inspired part of this exhibit are the true historical figures as child guides.  They allow children to feel even more included in the story told than if their guide was an adult.  Following these characters across the wall makes it easer for kids to feel as if they are experiencing the same things.  The historical kids meet important figures between doing day to day tasks.

There is a lot of possible programming here.  Kids can use the wall to tell a story of 18th century life.  Or, they could put on a play.  The question and answer flaps could be used as a Jeopardy game guide.  

Another asset of the Children's Wall is that it is just as useful and fun to individual families as it is to a class.  The last few months have taught us that exhibits built for children are often enjoyed by adults as well. It is easy to picture parents enjoying learning what goes into "pepper pot soup" or quizzing their kids on the school room equations. 

Dawn Horse

Object: Models of the evolution of the horse, similar to drawing above

Year: Pre- 20th century

Creator: Unknown

Materials: Unknown

The collection held upstairs at the Wagner Museum is overwhelming. The Museum's mission is to preserve the history of the institution by preserving how the collection was displayed when it was first exhibited in the building. While this gives an incredible impression of what a 19th century museum looked like, the wealth of objects cause some of the smaller items (and their educational significance) to be lost in the crowd.

A prime example is the set of six models showing the evolution of the horse. These tiny objects are in a case on the side, and near the back of the exhibit, and are very nearly hidden. Also in the case are partial skeletons of a whale, a cave bear, a mastodon, and a sabre tooth cat. In the back are (very old-fashioned) drawings of cavemen hunting a cave bear. In other words, even if visitors stop to view this case, the horse models would be the last things to catch their attention. Finally, even if a visitor spots this tiny collection, the only information to be found is the latin labels of each model: starting from the earliest ancestor, Eohippus (translation: dawn horse), and going through Pliohippus, Mesohippus, Neohipparion, and Equus Scotti before reaching today's Equus Modern.

Of course the Wagner is unable to change the display, but particular programming could highlight these objects and also aid visitors in understanding scientific fields. Middle School aged children could learn about the evolutionary theory by following the horse and its ancestors back through history, noting the changes in anatomy and guessing how the environment impacted those changes. After showing the models and a picture of an Eohippus skeleton, an educator could ask why students think that horses are so much bigger now and no longer have toes.

Or, a school teacher or museum educator could introduce anthropology by exploring the humans and horses through history. Kids could learn how horses have been used to pull ancient chariots, in farm work, and for racing. Or a particular incident of man's relationship with horses could be discussed in-depth. An example could be how horses, not native to the Americas, were introduced by the Spanish in the 16th century. Later, they revolutionized the way of life for the Cheyanne and other Plains Indians to such a degree that they were called "sacred dogs."

This would not have to be permanent programming, but it could be constructive to routinely checking the collection to see what could be highlighted.