论儿童博物馆的游戏问题

The Problem of Play in Children’s Museums

当前,游戏是大多数美国儿童博物馆目标的核心,也是儿童博物馆区别于其他类型博物馆和非正式学习机构的特征。不过,这些博物馆和非正式学习机构中对游戏的界定仍存在问题,令人费解。近期,儿童博物馆研究网络中心开展了一项研究,目的是调查儿童博物馆如何界定游戏,如何定位游戏。这项研究采访了49位儿童博物馆的专业人员。结果表明,虽然大多数受访者认为游戏的界定和定位对儿童博物馆有非常重要的意义,却仅有一半受访者表示,其所在的儿童博物馆在场馆活动中虽有“游戏”这一说法,却鲜有规范界定。据此,本研究旨在厘清儿童博物馆的游戏定义,并对儿童博物馆中的游戏进行更明确的界定。

Play is central to the purpose of most American children’s museums and often highlighted as an attribute that makes them distinct from other types of museums and informal learning institutions.However,play is also problematic in that it is often ill-defined and illunderstood within society more broadly.This article describes a recent research study conducted by The Children’s Museum Research Network.The study’s purpose was to better understand how children’s museums conceptualize play and how they position themselves and their work relative to play.Professionals were interviewed at 49 children’s museums.Results suggest that while the majority perceived play as important for their mission,only half of the respondents said their children’s museum had the word play in its mission and even fewer had institutional definitions of play.This reveals tensions around the concept of play and the need for the development of more robust definitions.