learning.pillotproject.eu

Overview

What is it? A non-formal, experiential learning activity where learners curate a museum exhibition answering the question: ”What do you want to show people 100 years from now about life today?” Using physical or digital museum collections, learners select objects, design exhibits, and share stories to create a narrative for future audiences.

Step-by-step description

Preparation: Select or visit a museum with relevant displays (physical or digital, e.g., Europeana.eu). Prepare exhibit planning templates (worksheets for object selection,storyboarding, or digital collage tools). Provide access to digital archives, photos, or physical objects from the museum collection.
Introduction: Pose the guiding question: ”What do you want to show people 100 years from now about life today?” Explain the activity’s purpose: Learners will curate their own museum exhibition using objects from the current exhibition (or their own lives) to tell a story for future viewers. Introduce the museum space, digital archives, and worksheets to support their exploration.
Selection: Learners individually or in small groups explore the museum (physical or digital) and select 3–5 objects that represent their vision of today’s life. Encourage them to consider: The cultural or personal significance of each object; How the objects connect to form a common story for future audiences; Use a worksheet to guide their selection and reflection (e.g., ”Why did you choose this object? What story does it tell?”).
Exhibit Design: In groups, learners curate their exhibit and explain item selection by: Arranging their selected objects (physically or digitally); Explaining their item selection and the narrative behind their exhibition; Creating visual, audio, or digital content (e.g., collages, recordings, or descriptions) to accompany their objects. Facilitate small group dialogues to refine their exhibition’s theme and message.
Wrap-up: Participants create a digital or physical collage of their exhibition, featuring their chosen objects, their place in the exhibition, their relationship to other objects represented by other group members. Each group presents their exhibition to the class, explaining: The objects they chose and their significance. The story or message their exhibition conveys to future generations. How their objects relate to one another and to the broader theme. Encourage a class discussion on the diverse perspectives and stories shared.

Practical insights

What worked well:

Flexibility: The activity can be adapted for physical museums, digital archives, or personal objects from learners’ lives.
Support: Provide worksheets, templates, or digital tools to scaffold the curation process.
Collaboration: Encourage dialogue and teamwork during the exhibit design phase to deepen reflection and creativity.
Digital Application proposal: It is worth summarising in digital form and posting on the social media of the school and/or museum.

Common challenges and solutions:

Object Selection: Provide guided questions or examples to help learners choose meaningful objects.
Group Dynamics: Large groups with varied language proficiency can overwhelm participants. Smaller, level-based or mixed groups improve engagement and peer support.

Field reflections

Participants in Warsaw curated a future-focused museum exhibit, selecting artifacts and using Instax cameras (no flash!) to document their choices. While Freeman Tilden’s interpretation method and universal values exercises helped bridge cultural and linguistic gaps, the large group size and varied Polish proficiency made individual support difficult. Later, smaller, level-based or mixed groups improved engagement. The session highlighted how shared values and peer collaboration can create meaningful presentations, even with language barriers.

In Italy, the activity was conducted with a small, diverse group of highly educated participants - women from Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Santo Domingo, and Latvia, all working as caregivers. Despite its complexity, the women were deeply engaged, particularly in creating an exhibition using a pack of cards and practicing the grammatical expression ”If I were a curator, I would…”. Their enthusiasm highlighted how meaningful, context-rich activities can motivate learners, even with demanding tasks.

Curator for Tomorrow

Themes:

Objectives

Settings

Materials

Physical