Press Release
29 April 2004
ARTS MINISTER LAUNCHES GUIDANCE ON CREATING SUCCESSFUL LEARNING SPACES IN MUSEUM AND HERITAGE SITES
At an event at the Horniman Museum today, the Rt. Hon. Estelle Morris MP, Arts Minister, launched
Space for Learning: A Handbook for Education Spaces in Museums, Heritage Sites and Discovery Centres.
Welcoming the publication of the handbook, the Rt. Hon. Estelle Morris said, "The physical environment plays a crucial role in the learning process for both children and adults. This publication is unique: not only is it the first published guidance on creating learning spaces in museums and heritage environments, it is also the result of a collaborative research project which has been run and funded by a consortium of two government departments and eight funding agencies."
The research consortium includes the Arts Councils of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland; the Clore Duffield Foundation; the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment; the Design Commission for Wales; the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; the Department for Education and Skills; the Heritage Lottery Fund; and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (formerly Resource).
To create the handbook, the consortium looked at existing learning spaces in museums and at a wide range of heritage sites across the UK - from archives and libraries, historic houses, heritage sites (industrial, archaeological and natural), to architecture and science centres, children's museums and discovery centres. The handbook is a practical resource for museum educators, policy-makers and funders, architects and designers, and aims to facilitate the creation of high-quality, flexible learning spaces in UK museum and heritage sites.
The research found that many education spaces were inadequate and unsatisfactory, lacking natural light, storage, display space and basic facilities such as sinks; few realised their full potential as learning environments, with too many succeeding only through the ingenuity and enthusiasm of the site's education team.
The handbook's key recommendations include the need for a member of the education team to be part of a site's management team. The report acknowledges that whilst an entire site can be a learning space, a dedicated space significantly enhances provision for learners of all ages. The handbook gives detailed guidance on such topics as fittings, furniture, equipment, new technologies, working with architects and planning for the future.
Carole Souter, Director of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: "I am particularly proud that the Heritage Lottery Fund has been involved with the Space for Learning publication. It's not always easy building learning spaces that people feel comfortable in and we hope that this guide will help show the way forward for innovative, flexible and reasonably priced learning areas."
Notes to Editors
In addition to the 111 sites surveyed for the publication, a detailed series of case studies form a major part
of the Space for Learning research report, providing in-depth analysis of a wide range of learning spaces
including Bishops Wood Environmental Centre in Worcestershire; two science/discovery centres,
Techniquest in Cardiff and @Bristol in Bristol's harbourside development; The Lighthouse,
Scotland's Centre for Architecture, Design and the City, in Glasgow; the National Trust historic house
Dyrham Park near Bath; The Women's Library, London Metropolitan University, in London's East End;
and five very different museums: Bagshaw Museum in Batley, West Yorkshire; Bolton Museum & Art
Gallery; the Horniman Museum in south-east London; the River & Rowing Museum at
Henley-on-Thames, and the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum in Holywood, near Belfast.
Copies of the report are available free of charge as a Word version and PDF file via the partner websites. Printed copies of the report can be purchased by sending a cheque for £5.00 (inclusive of p+p), made payable to Education Direct: Space for Learning, PO Box 105, Rochester, Kent, ME2 4BE.
Partner websites
Arts Council England
www.artscouncil.org.uk
Arts Council of Northern Ireland
www.artscouncil-ni.org
Scottish Arts Council
www.scottisharts.org.uk
The Clore Duffield Foundation
www.cloreduffield.org.uk
Artworks
www.art-works.org.uk
Commission for Architecture & the Built Environment
www.cabe.org.uk
Design Commission for Wales
www.dcfw.org
Department for Culture, Media & Sport
www.culture.gov.uk
Department for Education & Skills
www.dfes.gov.uk
The Heritage Lottery Fund
www.hlf.org.uk
The Museums, Libraries & Archives Council
www.mla.gov.uk
PRESS ENQUIRIES ERICA BOLTON/JANE QUINN 020 7221 5000
