Led by York University’s Lisa Farley, a new report reveals how over 100 children’s museums across Canada and the U.S. approach social issues, inclusion and diversity through storytelling-based programming.
Best known for interactive exhibits and hands-on play, children’s museums have been undergoing a change: they are increasingly engaging with social history and difficult knowledge.
It’s something Farley, a professor in York University’s Faculty of Education and member of the LaMarsh Centre for Child & Youth Research, had noticed.
“Instead of just focusing on child-centred play, they’re starting to ask what it means to introduce children to stories that may or may not be their own,” says Farley. “They’re shifting how they think about their institutions.”
She and her collaborators – including Professor Gillian Parekh from York, Debbie Sonu from City University of New York and Sandra Chang-Kredl from Concordia University – wanted to better understand that shift.
They reached out to the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM). Recently having published a strategic plan to prioritize advocating for diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion (DEAI), ACM was equally interested in the question of how museums across North America were addressing social history considered “difficult knowledge" with child audiences. That’s why Jennifer Rehkamp, senior director of field services and research at ACM, readily agreed to partner with Farley and her team.
In foregrounding knowledge that is “difficult,” the project drew on the work of Emeritus Distinguished Research Professor Deborah Britzman and her abiding commitment to theorize the emotional conflicts and possibilities of education to support processes of working through social and political breakdowns, trauma and ongoing violences.
The researchers surveyed 106 staff members from children’s museums across Canada and the U.S. between February and May 2024 to closely examine DEAI commitments and pedagogical approaches.
Sixty per cent of respondents said their institutions had formal DEAI statements in place, while another 22 per cent reported that one was in development. Museums that were larger or served older children were more likely to have institutional commitments to DEAI.
Storytelling emerged as a key strategy across many of the museums surveyed. It was often used to encourage curiosity, self-expression and empathy among children, while also offering a pathway to explore social difference and difficult knowledge.
At the same time, the report identified areas in need of further development. These included more professional learning focused on inclusive and critical pedagogies, deeper reflection on staff members’ own social locations and allyship, more diverse leadership, and frameworks to support the inclusion of complex and difficult topics with children.
As surfaced in the report, colonial narratives of violence were marginal in programming and practices in both Canada and the U.S., particularly in institutions serving younger children. Factors contributing to this gap included developmental concerns about children’s readiness and backlash from museum visitors themselves.
Even within this context, museum educators and directors were mindful of their obligations to represent and work through “difficult knowledge” for themselves and for the communities they serve, including children. “We were heartened to hear quite a few of the responses thinking critically about the challenges that come with the obligation to tell more diverse and difficult narratives,” Farley says. “You can hear museum educators and directors trying really hard to hold on to these commitments, even in a landscape that’s increasingly unsupportive.”
One notable finding was that respondents opened up more deeply when asked to reflect on their own professional learning rather than on children’s learning alone.
“When educators were prompted to think about their own practices, they were more likely to name tensions, obligations and conflicts,” says Farley. “There was a lot more openness to exploring the possibilities that can exist when working with children.”
Following the report’s release, the team hosted a forum with museum professionals to share findings and spark dialogue. That conversation inspired the project’s next phase: developing a collaborative toolkit of resources based on the needs and opportunities identified through the research.
“We’re going to start compiling a toolkit of resources, surfacing some of the findings and addressing the gaps,” says Farley. “Museum professionals really want to participate and share what they’re doing, so it’s becoming a reciprocal, collaborative construction in response to the report.”
For Farley and her colleagues, the project also reflects a broader approach to education. “We’re scholars of education, and we also wanted to expand our own thinking beyond the walls of schools,” she says. “It’s been exciting to be welcomed into this context, where there’s a strong commitment to educational work outside traditional schooling.”
Collaboration, she adds, was vital to the project’s success.
“The complexity that can be addressed through teams is something we all learned from this project,” she says. “People contributed different perspectives and insights, and no one person could have brought alone. It really was a team effort, from the beginning and continuing on.”
The toolkit is expected to be developed over the next year, with contributions from researchers and museum professionals across North America. The researchers hope it will support ongoing reflection, dialogue and innovation in children’s museums and beyond.