Making connections: Brain building and parent Engagement in Children’s Museum

Making connections: Brain building and parent Engagement in Children’s Museum

Investigative session on brain building moments for children with their parents. Taylor Siedel from Vroom was very well-spoken.

The Building Blocks of Development – Sammy Perone from Washington state university

Foundations in Development

·        Relationships – support brain development, social interactions

·        Knowledge – Children need to acquire knowledge and how to use it, shapes how brain works

·        Skills – general skills that can be used in any learning context (eg. Creativity)

How are Foundation skills built?

·        Though everyday moments.

·        Museum great are a great place to develop these snapshot moments

“Playing is learning” initiative – Signage that has factoids/play tips about development for families

Let’s Play – Barbara Han, Minnesota Children’s Museum

Our Mission – Sparking children’s learning through play

·        Brain building moments are sparked through play.

Adult Engagement Goals

·        Parents embrace their children’s playful learning in museum and beyond.

o   Know the Benefits of play

o   Support Play

o   Make play a priority

“Let’s Play” initiative – provides info and inspiration to help adults notice and support the learning that happens during play

“Let’s Play” signage

·        “Critical Thinking” shows what it looks like in action, and “meanwhile” section for more information

·        Gallery signage – suggestions for parents on how to play with their child (eg. Go with the flow, ask open-ended questions)

               “Let’s Play” Text Messaging Plan and Sample Texts (opt-in)

·        7 messages over a two-hour time frame (length of typical visit)

·        Supports the adult’s role in a visit to the museum by texting them tips.

·        Post-visit messages to thank them and encourage engagement after the visit

               “Let’s Play” @ Home Tips

·        Tips on things like confidence and Creative thinking on a sheet

Vroom: Brain Building Moments - Taylor Seidel, Bezos Family Foundation

Parent engagement initiative to make everyday moments into brain building moments through tips on signs.

5 Brain building basics 

1.      Look – see what catches their eyes

2.      Follow – follow what they are interested in and let them lead the way

3.      Chat – talk out loud together

4.      Take turns – back and forth interactions

5.      Stretch – build on what child says with follow up questions

With Vroom app parents can pull up tips anywhere they are.

Surround strategy – creative partnerships to place Vroom signs with tips on packaging, audio tips on Spotify, etc.

Vroom wants to integrate with museum and institutions putting up tips on signs/decals on underused spaces (windows and bathrooms)

Vroom partnership with Children’s Museum Denver Marsico Campus – Erika Weiss, Associate Director

12,000 to 35,000 sq. ft. facility, Serves 0-8 and grown-ups, 550,000 visitors annually

4 impact areas

·          Health and wellness

·          Arts

·          STEM

·          Parent engagement

Vroom partnership is for parent engagement – signs and decals in various areas

·          Place decals both grown-up and child height to prompt conversations

·          Utilize amenity spaces – bathrooms, changing tables, lockers

·          Signage a small part of initiative also uses pictures and graphics

·          Signs are bilingual

·          Rooted in brain development science

Q & A session

Executive function – doesn’t matter so much for what we are communicating to parents, help child to act in a goal directed way to communicate executive function to parents

Do text messages tips send mix messages to children if parents keep looking at their phones?

o   There is risk, parents also might use their phones no matter what.

o   Vroom app shouldn’t get between parent and child, tech can be valuable tool, but should just be used as a teaching method.

What are other ways Vroom partnered with other orgs?

o   Kindercare took 10 tips and made comics

Success and takeaways of use of Vroom at Minnesota Museum?

o   Simple is good where parents find themselves with their children.

o   Numbered stairs – parents and kids count the stairs all the time

o   Graphics don’t stand by themselves – must have staff training

o   Vroom way to interact and be on the floor.

How have parents responded to Vroom signs?

o   Parents may pass graphics or child moving on to something different

o   Staff should model behavior so parents spend more time with the graphics

What are one thing museum should look for when looking to create brain building moments?

o   Staff training – front line staff should be trained so they can model this and talk to parents

o   Play is a brain building moment – goal is to reveal that and demystify it

o   Community aspect – what happens outside museum is just as important as inside, encourage parents to do new things outside of the museum.

o   Directed play