Psychologist Francesco Walker made a significant discovery at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam: the way art is described affects how the audience perceives it, especially when the audience is made up of children. In an article published on Scientific Reports, he explains that providing children with boring or unengaging information is effectively the same as giving them no information at all. Most museum descriptions are written for adults, which often fails to capture the attention of younger visitors. To investigate this, a team of researchers, including students from Leiden University, VU Amsterdam, the University of British Columbia, and Attention Architects, conducted a study with 62 children aged 10 to 12. The children wore eye trackers—glasses that record their eye movements—and were divided into three groups.
The first group received standard descriptions written for adults. The second group was provided with child-friendly descriptions, including interactive questions and perspectives from characters in the paintings. The third group received no information at all. The eye trackers revealed that children who were given engaging descriptions focused more on key details within the paintings. In contrast, those who received adult-level descriptions displayed a gaze pattern similar to the group that received no information, with their attention wandering more randomly.
This study highlights the importance of creating museum communication specifically tailored to children, making museum spaces more inclusive and engaging for all visitors. As mentioned on Phys.org, the Rijksmuseum is particularly interested in the study’s results. “This research gives us clear insight into how you can direct children’s eyes, and that they will look in a focused way if you tell them something engaging about a specific detail. We want our visitors, including children, to connect with what they see, to feel drawn to it, rather than just walking by without engaging. We will certainly incorporate this insight into our policy for younger audiences.”
At the TOMATO Project, we also strive to play our part by providing kits and tools to our partner museums, helping them engage young visitors and involve them in cultural, artistic, historical, and scientific activities.
How You Describe Art Influences Children’s Attention: Time to Focus on Their Needs
Psychologist Francesco Walker made a significant discovery at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam: the way art is described affects how the audience perceives it, especially when the audience is made up of children. In an article published on Scientific Reports, he explains that providing children with boring or unengaging information is effectively the same as giving them no information at all. Most museum descriptions are written for adults, which often fails to capture the attention of younger visitors. To investigate this, a team of researchers, including students from Leiden University, VU Amsterdam, the University of British Columbia, and Attention Architects, conducted a study with 62 children aged 10 to 12. The children wore eye trackers—glasses that record their eye movements—and were divided into three groups.
The first group received standard descriptions written for adults. The second group was provided with child-friendly descriptions, including interactive questions and perspectives from characters in the paintings. The third group received no information at all. The eye trackers revealed that children who were given engaging descriptions focused more on key details within the paintings. In contrast, those who received adult-level descriptions displayed a gaze pattern similar to the group that received no information, with their attention wandering more randomly.
This study highlights the importance of creating museum communication specifically tailored to children, making museum spaces more inclusive and engaging for all visitors. As mentioned on Phys.org, the Rijksmuseum is particularly interested in the study’s results. “This research gives us clear insight into how you can direct children’s eyes, and that they will look in a focused way if you tell them something engaging about a specific detail. We want our visitors, including children, to connect with what they see, to feel drawn to it, rather than just walking by without engaging. We will certainly incorporate this insight into our policy for younger audiences.”
At the TOMATO Project, we also strive to play our part by providing kits and tools to our partner museums, helping them engage young visitors and involve them in cultural, artistic, historical, and scientific activities.
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