Giving Youth a Voice in Your Museum: Setting Up a Children’s Board

Museums often take a one-way approach to education: professionals teach, and the public learns. But what if we flipped this script? Jose Antonio Gordillo Martorell, Founder and CEO of Cultural Inquiry, urges us to give youth a voice in our museums by setting up a Children’s Board, where kids can become co-creators and decision-makers.

As we’ll see, empowering children to participate in everything from exhibit design to staff development can spark fresh ideas and transformative changes that benefit the whole institution.

Why Giving Youth a Voice in Your Museum Matters

For more than a decade, Gordillo has advocated for the inclusion of young people in museum operations. His work highlights that children possess unique perspectives, creativity, and enthusiasm that can revitalize how museums operate. Rather than viewing kids as passive participants, setting up a Children’s Board makes them active contributors, ensuring that their voices shape museum experiences, policies, and community engagement.

When you give youth a voice in your museum, you:

• Invite innovation: Children’s imaginative thinking can help reimagine exhibit design, museum programming, and visitor outreach.
• Deepen community connections: Families and local organizations see the museum as a truly inclusive space that values all perspectives—including the youngest.
• Inspire staff: Remembering the joy of curiosity can reignite staff enthusiasm and spark new ways of working together.

A New Model: Setting Up a Children’s Board

What Is a Children’s Board?

A Children’s Board brings together a select group of young people—often ranging from primary school age through teens—to collaborate with museum professionals. Members participate in brainstorming sessions, offer ideas for exhibits, and provide real-time feedback that shapes museum initiatives. Crucially, a Children’s Board shouldn’t be a one-off event. Instead, it’s a sustained partnership, with regular meetings and tangible opportunities for kids to contribute.

How to Get Started

1. Define Clear Goals
   Ask yourself: Why are we setting up a Children’s Board? Are you aiming to revamp a permanent gallery, plan a new exhibit, or foster ongoing community dialogue? Clarifying your purpose will help you identify the right mix of participants and structure.
2. Recruit Diverse Participants
   To truly give youth a voice in your museum, seek participants from various backgrounds, ages, and interests. Collaborate with local schools, youth clubs, and community organizations to reach beyond your typical audience.
3. Establish Meaningful Roles
   Encourage Children’s Board members to collaborate on specific, impactful projects. Maybe they’re tasked with conceptualizing an exhibit theme, suggesting interactive elements, or providing feedback on new programming ideas. When their voices tangibly shape outcomes, children feel valued and invested.
4. Foster Regular Dialogue
   Schedule regular check-ins—perhaps monthly or quarterly—where Board members can voice ideas, test prototypes, and brainstorm new approaches. Maintaining consistent communication ensures youth input is integral, not just “nice to have.”
5. Share Outcomes Widely
   Celebrate successes, big or small. If a Children’s Board helps design a new interactive corner in a gallery, showcase their contributions. This not only honors the children’s work but also demonstrates to staff and visitors alike how youth voices are driving change.

Lessons for Museum Professionals from Children

Gordillo highlights several lessons that resonate for any institution looking to give youth a voice in its museum:

1. Celebrating Failure
   Children are less afraid of mistakes. Rapid prototyping and playful testing—much like kids explore a new game—can reveal hidden possibilities or flag issues early on.
2. Living in the Present
   Young people focus wholeheartedly on the moment. This can inform how museums create experiences that prioritize hands-on exploration over rigidly scheduled lectures or tours.
3. Finding Abundance in Scarcity
   Kids see potential where adults see limits—making them ideal collaborators in resource-strapped environments. They might brainstorm cost-effective ideas to repurpose a small gallery or plan a high-impact event on a tight budget.
4. Embracing Play
   Encouraging staff members to “play” during planning sessions can spark creativity and lead to innovative programming that resonates with a broader audience.
5. Risk-Taking
   Children’s boldness challenges museums to step beyond the traditional and explore new audience engagement strategies.
6. Caring and Inclusivity
   Young people naturally create welcoming spaces, reminding museums that true inclusivity should be at the core of every decision.
7. Attentive Listening
   Children excel at staying present and listening deeply—skills that can unify teams and bolster community relationships.

Real-World Success: The Global Impact of Children’s Boards

Museums worldwide—from Spain to Sweden, Australia, and India—have seen impressive results by setting up a Children’s Board. Not only does it enhance the visitor experience through more interactive and playful exhibitions, but it also changes internal culture:

• Revitalized Staff Engagement: Many museum professionals report renewed excitement for their work after engaging with children’s boundless curiosity and energy.
• Stronger Community Bonds: Local schools, youth centers, and families feel recognized and respected when children’s opinions carry real weight.

One striking example is a young participant named Susan, who observed that the museum staff she encountered rarely smiled. Her observation led to the introduction of regular play sessions for staff, which improved morale, collaboration, and visitor interactions.

A Call to Action: Give Youth a Voice in Your Museum

Jose Antonio Gordillo Martorell’s message is clear: museum leaders need to be bold enough to let children take the reins at times, and wise enough to learn from them. Setting up a Children’s Board is more than a gesture—it’s a powerful blueprint for sustained innovation, inclusion, and community-building.

By giving youth a voice in your museum, you:

• Foster Authentic Community Engagement: Children’s Boards strengthen relationships with local schools, families, and youth-focused organizations.
• Spark Lasting Internal Growth: Staff members rediscover the excitement that brought them to museum work, becoming more collaborative and forward-thinking.
• Stay Responsive and Relevant: Institutions that prioritize youth voices are more agile, creative, and prepared for changing trends in culture and education.

Final Thoughts

As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote in The Little Prince, “All grownups were once children, but only a few of them remember it.” When you give youth a voice in your museum and commit to setting up a Children’s Board, you tap into that essential spirit of curiosity and possibility. Let children’s perspectives guide you in reimagining not only exhibitions but the entire museum culture. The future belongs to those who listen—and play.

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Jose Antonio Gordillo Martorell, Founder and CEO of Cultural Inquiry spoke at the Museum Learning Summit 2024.