Human Centered Design of a Children's Museum

Abstract

Traditional museum is typically characterized especially by presenting exhibits. However, it has recently been enriched by many other features that contribute to the attractiveness of exhibitions. Museum spaces nowadays offer various educational events, creative workshops or shops with artefacts and publications.
 This paper is aimed at presenting partial research results orientated to human-centered design of museums for children. The introductory part describes innovative design tools that focus on multisensory presentation of exhibits, hands-on, color impact, emotion perception etc., as well as possibilities of using the Universal Design as a Learning method to create exhibitions for children with special needs. The main part of the work consists of our team's research aimed at exploring the needs of different children, especially children with various disabilities, in the creation of children's museum space and exhibitions. The first phase of research is focused on the analysis of spatial properties, exhibits and interactions between them. The aim was to discover how those factors influence children's attention and impact on their learning ability. This part of the research was carried out in BIBIANA - International House of Art for Children in Bratislava. The end of the paper indicates further research possibilities that will be explored in the next phase of our research in the future.

Cities for all: co-design interventions on urban features by using inclusive technology

“…As public spaces, museums are one of the most often visited spaces in the city (Filova & Rollova, 2019). Museums are traditionally designed as venues where objects are displayed relative to different fields.…”

“…Lately, modern museums also incorporate spaces and functions such as exhibition areas, art workshops, libraries, and recreation areas (Öden, 2020). Since these spaces offer visitors a combination of education and recreation (Filova & Rollova, 2019), designers have incorporated inclusive design solutions. Previous studies have focused extensively on physically accessible design, inclusive services, and information.…”

Route options in inclusive museums: Case studies from Central Europe

“…The resulting reports also offer concrete recommendations for the individual museums. In the past, more detailed research was also conducted in Bibiana (Filová, Rollová, 2019), and the authors plan to continue indepth research there in the future.…”

The positive impact of wooden material on educational processes in the environment of Slovenian wooden kindergartens

“…Therefore, such an environment should respect not only the physical but also the psychological needs of children. Recent research (Köhldorfer, 2010;Grote, 2021;Filová, 2019) partially proves that by applying natural materials and principles of biophilic design (which represents a holistic approach to the design of interiors and exteriors, where the core of interest is the person and the impact on their mental and physical well-being and health; in combination with an approach that takes into account the longterm impact on the natural environment, this is environmental design that strengthens the health of the individual [Janková 2017]) or restorative environmental design (which is a building design paradigm that combines sustainable building practices with building practices beneficial to the health of residents [Burnard, 2014]) it is possible to help to reduce children's absence from schools and improve health and psychological well-being and increase work performance and improve the results of not only adults but also children. The contact with wooden elements undoubtedly has an impact on people's emotional and physiological well-being .…”