兒童博物館是一種特殊的博物館類型,相對於傳統博物館對物件的重視,它自初始就是為了觸發兒童的學習與興趣而產生。經由美國兒童博物館百年發展史的回顧,我們了解這個獨特的兒童教育機構與社會文化脈絡的密切互動,除了不斷的受到教養觀、兒童認知發展研究、教育理論、教育政策轉變的影響,亦不自外於撼動整個國家社會的巨大變革,積極面對逐漸興起的社區意識與博物館在社會公義應盡的任務。兒童博物館的社區傾向賦予其積極面對社會變動的性格,布魯克林兒童博館在八○年代迎接周邊人口組成的變革,由兒童、青少年與家庭著手,利用自身特有的資源回饋到社區之中,廣納居民參與各種活動與事物,成為社區增能的推進器。 本文透過具有代表性的案例:波士頓兒童博物館的多元文化展示以及兒童博物館協會主導之「Go East!亞洲文化展示啟動計畫」中的巡迴展,釐清兒童博物館的文化展示在博物館展示發展史上的位置,以及它對博物館施行多元文化教育的意義與啟發。 位於擅長塑造奇想歡樂國度的主題樂園與帶有排外氛圍、以蒐藏研究為中心任務的殿堂式博物館間的平衡點,相對於真實、珍稀文物的呈現,兒博館展示以主題與概念為出發點,透過兼具個人、社會、環境脈絡的互動性展示,選擇與兒童經驗相關並符合其興趣的題材,跨越文化間的詮釋界線。在探索展示物、投入角色扮演遊戲的過程中,逐漸發展人我的概念並學習從他人觀點思考,進入被展示文化的底韻並突破既有的刻板印象。置身多元文化社會的波士頓兒童博物館,藉由文化展示提供民眾對於大波士頓地區移民與種族歧視議題的討論空間,這類引入批判式的多元文化論的觀點與教育讓博物館化身為一種可供反思的場域。
“Children’s Museums” belong to a distinctive Museum type. In the beginning, they are built up for promoting education for children and didn’t like traditional museums set up for their collections. By understanding their 100 years history, We can see these special children educational institutions were affected by social-cultural context, such as concepts of raising child, children psychology, educational theorys, educational policys, etc.. Children’s museums are audience-centric and also have strong social-orientation, so they are usually affected by changes of communities around them. Since 1980s, Brooklyn Children’s Museum helped children, teenagers and families in its neighborhood by holding activities and programs, which gave the inhabitants opportunities to empower. This thesis takes two typical cases- multicultural exhibitions-Boston children’s Museum and “Go East! Asian Exhibit Initiative”- to show characteristics of cultural exhibitions in children’s museums and compare them with traditional ethnographic exhibitions. Between Disney Land and traditional temple-like museums, children’s museums care about audiences’ personal, social and physical context, and choose contents that related to children’s experience and what they will enjoy, to cross the gap between different cultures. Boston children’s museum takes cultural exhibitions as oppertunuties for children and their families to discuss racism. By putting critical pedagogy in exhibitions and inside the museum, it turns museum to a field where can rethink and reflect.