University Museum Utrecht
Utrecht University Museum is a place where children age 8-14 and families can engage with science. Based on their curiosity, the visitor can participate in data-gathering and a variety of scientific experiments.
Recently renewed after being closed for four years, the attractive building housing the museum has a bright shop and entry area, with separate entry for school groups. A large outdoor area includes a botanical garden and a restaurant/café in an older building.
The main target audiences are children of pre-school age, schoolchildren (8-14) and families, although the museum descibes itself as ‘the museum for everyone who is curious’. The premise is that anyone can become a researcher.
Visitors find that you can research anything if you ask the right questions, and the museum engages visitors in the process through citizen science projects and collecting relevant data. There are also several programmes for primary and secondary schools, supervised by students of Utrecht University, where students get actively involved.
Every room in the museum has a special colour, treats one topic and one specific method of research. Visitors are guided by specific signalling with signs and texts, while instructions are simple but systematic. Collaboration between visitors is actively encouraged.
The museum trains its own researchers in participation, as it wants them to interact with the public and also wants visitors to meet ‘real’ researchers and see them as normal people. Students from very different backgrounds are employed in the role of hosts, and every group is accompanied by two ‘communicators’. Awareness of inclusion is well developed and the entire exhibition was tested with different visitor groups, neighbours, an asylum centre and outreach – members of museum staff went to festivals and events by bike to get in touch with potential visitors.
School visits are well prepared, with clear tasks, feedback forms and a lot of self-detection.
The judges comment
The museum is itself a learning organisation which is constantly changing. It is rare that a science museum acts in such a consistent manner. UMU is a role model in many aspects – establishing new exhibitions (iterative approach, testing); education and inclusion; awareness of the impact of museums on society and academic professions, but also in relation to the development of people and organisations (management, training, marketing) and the strategic use of collaborations.