Education Using Museum Interactives

Parents and teachers alike are always on the look out for ways to encourage children to learn, and in this digital age, we are blessed with many new and exciting ways to do this – however, it is important to remember that not everything is best learnt from books and computers, a good, old-fashioned visit to the museum with its interactive educational models with their “hands on” appeal can often allow insight where other media fails.

The "hands on" approach makes it easier for children to grasp difficult concepts as they can see how their manipulation can effect the results. This approach, though valuable for all children, can be particularly helpful for younger children, or children who have specific learning difficulties as it is often easier to understand then other media.

Many museums all over the country, and indeed the world, have ensured that they have interactive exhibits as they try to attract and capture the attention of the younger generations. They have discovered that museum interactives help instill within those young minds a lifelong love of learning, and by making sure that learning is fun it keeps the children engaged for longer.

These highly engineered, working, interactive models can help teach many concepts, ranging from how magnetism causes objects to behave, and the phases of the moon, right through to explaining how Tornado’s are formed and what makes long distance communications possible. The interactive models use a range of materials and techniques, which result in a simple, yet beautiful design that calls "touch me" to children and adults alike.

The interactive museum exhibits use a mixture of colour, sound and materials to add to their appeal, some use water or sand, both of which are an irresistible draw for children. Most of the museum interactives are also designed for more then one child to use at a time, which helps teach them social skills alongside the other educational benefits.

Some of the smaller interactives are also useful for classroom demonstrations, and can even be shared among the schools of the area to split costs as they can be stored and transported in robust packing crates when they are not in use. For more information on how working, interactive models can benefit your classroom, contact a company that specialises in museum interactives, like Rainford Models in Derbyshire.