314 - Connection Before Content: A New Approach to Museum Learning with Claire Bown

A pair of flimsy plastic headphones, a voice in your ears bombarding you with dates, names and historical periods, and a momentary pause at each work of art as you side-step the seemingly disinterested guided tour.

If this sounds familiar, then museum facilitator and author Claire Bown is here to bring the museum alive for you! She reimagines the experience by making space for curiosity, conversation and participant-led interaction, turning passive presentations and fleeting glances into a treasure trove of stories, deep connection and meaning.

Join Claire to slow down, welcome in a little more wondering, and discover what museum exploration can teach us about the art of participation.

Find out about:

• The role of the museum environment in facilitating the experience
• Strategies for engagement, from visual thinking to slow looking
• Why we must give space for observation, before jumping into explanation
• How to achieve equal participation by re-designing group formation
• How to acknowledge and invite in existing knowledge from the group

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