A Case Study of Family Learning in a Chinese Regional Museum

Out of all the different types of groups that visit history museums, families are the most frequent visitors to museums in China. Just like the "Dawn of Civilization" exhibit at the Jilin Provincial Museum, most permanent exhibits do not pay enough attention to families' needs (particularly the need for learning), nor do they encourage group interaction or accommodate multiple users. In this study, we observed 133 families during their exploration of one exhibition hall at a regional museum and pays attention to how they physically and verbally interacted. In addition, 456 questionnaires and 60 interviews were conducted. Our results indicate that although it seems impossible to thoroughly reject current designs to construct family-friendly exhibits, it remains necessary to treat our results as guidance for future development.