Museum objects are like effervescent tablets – in water they come to life
Emese Joó, museum educator, Museum of Ethnography
MúzeumCafé 33.
As a museum educator and press officer of the Museum of Ethnography, Emese Joó’s chief aim is to open the museum’s gates to the public as wide as possible. Huge collections have compiled in museum storerooms. An exhibition curator selects from them according to what she or he wants to present in terms of a theme. “Objects are not simply material but also bear content,” says Joó. “They carry significant meanings and information. To me they are like effervescent tablets: they have a taste, smell and colour. You only have to drop them in water for them to come to life. Otherwise they remain dead.” This kind of thinking is promoted by the accredited further training entitled What is a museum good for? set up by Joó with the aim of helping museums to appreciate the application of drama education. A museum educator’s special skill is to have an exhibition speak in different ways to different age groups. Is it a struggle to attract visitors? The answer is perhaps yes. There are fewer school groups and organised visitors. The custom of going to museums has changed much in the past decades. Does the present generation really use museums and not only visit them? A lot depends on the teachers who might feel it their obligation to take students to good exhibitions. Good exhibitions and good museum education projects are needed which address the public. Young people must be won over for museums. In Hungary museums present the world of adults for adults. Although there are exhibitions for children, they cannot make up for the lack of a specialist museum. A children’s museum could become a place for young age groups where they feel at home. Emese Joó longs for an establishment where the world of children appears in its complexity.