RETHINKING MUSEUM SPACE AND LEARNING: A STUDY OF THREE MUSEUMS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Local museums are educational avenues for the public to explore national history and its connections between Singapore and the world. To serve as excellent teaching vehicles, they have revamped themselves in many ways. However, the changes made largely fail to respond to the learning needs of visitors. Although visitors are the only audience in museum space, the figures responsible for designing and implementing decisions about the spaces often do so with limited consideration of the pedagogical effects of their design. Visitors’ learning behaviours and preferences are less understood. If so, how then can a museum effectively fulfill its social and educational role? This study aims to identify the architectural elements which reinforce or contradict learning in museum space as the relationship between learning and museum space is presently intuitive. The exact contributing characteristics are under-explored. This study also aims to develop design recommendations to architects and museum professionals in their creation of museum spaces that enrich and enhance the learning experience of visitors. To understand the relationship between museum space and learning, an analysis of the key exhibitions of the three museum spaces is conducted and complemented with passive observation and interviews. Limitations of the research and suggestions for further research are mentioned. Though the research findings might be unique to the individual exhibitions, they still serve as useful precedents for the rethink of museum space and learning. Other variables which influence learning in a museum are also revealed.