The first guidebook for parents and children in Ukraine was presented in the Dnipropetrovsk Historical Museum. What prompted the museum to make efforts to create such a rather unconventional edition (the book contains both photographs and illustrations, photographs of exhibits are often in the context of illustrations, there are homework assignments, there are anecdotes…)?
Parents who come to the museum with their children are often not inclined to include a tour guide in their outing, but want to enjoy family interaction. However, parents face difficulties when trying to explain to their children in the museum. Explanations require knowledge from them, which is often forgotten, and, in addition, must be provided in a language accessible to children. Therefore, the guide should become a reliable assistant for parents.
In order to avoid rapid tiring of the child, the authors tried to make museum explanations clear and easy, to turn the text into a conversation.
Conversational text is the main goal of the authors of the guide. The authors tried to make the explanations of the museum exposition not purely scientific, but easy, attractive, and such that would encourage the child to interview. The conversation is conducted on behalf of the muse of history, Clio.
At the beginning of each chapter, which contains information about each individual hall, there is a plan-scheme. The idea of placing the scheme is to give children and parents the opportunity to play together with the help of a guide, to look for exhibits together. They can check themselves by looking at the photos that are placed in the text.
The guide pursues the goal of satisfying not only children, but also adults. In addition to the simplest information that a child can learn in a museum hall, the guide contains more complex information (under the name “information for parents”). It may also be interesting for parents. At home, when viewing a book, parents can retell it to their children. In addition to “information for parents”, the guide sets several tasks for children and parents, including not only answers to questions, but also competitions between parents and children.
The authors of the guide made every effort to make the text part not only informative, but also not boring and interesting. However, it is no secret that in such editions the work of the artist is of decisive importance – illustrations that give the publication an attractive, or not so, appearance. It is the illustrations in such publications that can either attract or repel the reader. Nadiya Ivanovna was not wrong in her choice.
The young artist Maria Kozolup made the illustrations for the guide funny and ironic. The greatest difficulty, in our opinion, was the task of placing museum exhibits and illustrative material in one context. And make it so that it was both natural and modern. And this most difficult task, in our opinion, became the strongest part of the guide.
The guide can be purchased only at the museum ticket office. Phone: (0562) 46-34-22
