Leading UK museums collaborate in £1million cultural innovation supporting young children and families

Collaborating for the first time, Art Fund, the national charity for art, and Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good, announce an innovative research and development programme that will harness the power and network of UK museums and galleries to support families and the formative experiences of early-years children, between 2 – 4 years old.  

The £1million programme has been jointly created and funded by Art Fund, through a generous legacy grant from the Foyle Foundation, and Nesta - and Ulster Museum is the only NI-based museum helping to develop and deliver the programme and will receive a grant to support participation.

Mini Wonders - the Early Years Innovation in Museums programme aims to support early child development and enhance parent-child interactions ensuring more families can benefit from the unique, life-enriching experiences offered by museums and galleries. The pioneering programme – first of its kind in the museum sector - will initially run for two years, supporting as many families as possible to experience and contribute to the work.

Art Fund and Nesta, co-designed with eight UK museums and galleries, will develop and test the new programme for families with young children, blending creativity with well-evidenced messages and strategies to support parents with their children’s social-emotional development. By embedding creativity and learning as part of children’s formative experiences, the programme will give them the best possible start as they move towards primary school.

Following a consultation stage, Art Fund and Nesta selected eight museums and galleries, all leaders in early-years engagement in the cultural sector. Each of the following lead museums has received a grant to support their participation and will work with a partner museum or gallery to deliver the programme in their area:

• Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales
• Great North Museum: Hancock and Discovery Museum, both part of Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums
• Leeds Museums & Galleries
• Mansfield Museum
• National Galleries of Scotland
• Norfolk Museums Service
• Tate Britain
• Ulster Museum

Working with the Nesta design team and leading academics, the eight museums will create a prototype scheme and pilot the programme using museum spaces and collections. By exploring how to unlock the social value of cultural spaces for families the programme will enhance caregiver-child interactions that help support child development and potentially impact how parents and guardians support their children to learn and develop at home. The ambition is that the research and development process will create a robust evidence base that will allow the innovation to be scaled up across the UK while remaining unique to each museum and embedded in their community.

Museums and galleries have an established record in providing children and their families with the tools and inspiration to explore and learn about the world. Arts and education programmes inspired by museum collections of art, design, heritage, science and nature have the potential to break down the barriers to opportunity.

Jenny Waldman, Director, Art Fund, said: 

“Museums are inspiring places for children and their families in every part of the UK. This exciting project combines the skills and expertise of Art Fund and Nesta, along with eight museums and galleries across the UK, to harness their amazing spaces and collections in a programme designed to break down barriers to opportunity. Together, we will design a way of working that will have real impact where it’s most needed.

"The importance of foundational early-years experiences is crucial to giving the next generation the skills and experience to thrive. The recent Art Fund Museum of the Year winner, Young V&A, is a showcase of how a museum can be an agent of change and inspiration to the next generation.”

Ravi Gurumurthy, Chief Executive of Nesta, said: 

“We are really pleased to be working with Art Fund and these eight amazing museums and galleries from across the UK on this programme. The environment and experiences of early childhood shape our brains and bodies, creating the building blocks of our physical, emotional and cognitive skills – but not every child gets what they need to develop during their earliest years.

"Our museums and galleries are magical places, especially for young children, and they offer unique opportunities for joy, learning and creativity – it is essential that all children have these opportunities and get to benefit from the enriching experiences cultural institutions offer. This programme will combine expertise in child development, learning and creativity, drawing on the unique potential of museum collections and spaces, to support parents and their young children to learn, develop and thrive.”