The Parental Role in Children's Museums

AbstractChildren's museums across the country work very hard to help children learn through play. The need to cultivate parent involvement in children's museum experiences has become central to these efforts as an increasing amount of literature identifies the benefits to children's learning when parents act as play facilitators. However, a visitor study conducted at Please Touch Museum, which explored parents' perceptions of play and their role in children's museums, along with literature in the field, identify three main barriers to parent involvement: (1) most parents lack a clear understanding of the learning benefits of play in children's museums; (2) parents lack confidence in, and knowledge of, how to play with their children in a children's museum; and (3) the nature and design of children's museums may not fully encourage and facilitate parent involvement.