Imagine this delightful scenario:

A family spends a delightful weekend at your museum, immersing themselves in your galleries, participating in engaging activities, sharing a square meal at your cafeteria, and even picking up a souvenir from your shop. As they approach the exit, a friendly volunteer approaches with a comment book, eagerly asking about their museum experience. One family member jots down a heartfelt note: “Great experience! Learnt a lot about our history and culture, keep up the good work!” (You know you’ve seen these comments!)The family leaves, the volunteer glows at the positive review.

A heartwarming review, indeed. Yet, we cannot help but wonder: What happens next? Does this newfound knowledge of history and culture truly resonate with the family beyond a fleeting sense of appreciation and pride? Does their museum visit leave an enduring impact on their lives?

In recent years, museums have undergone a remarkable transformation, evolving into visitor-centric institutions. No longer satisfied with merely housing artefacts, their mission is to weave captivating stories around these treasures – stories that visitors can take back with them and integrate into their own daily lives. The question that lingers, however, is whether museums are fully exploring their potential to connect these narratives with the daily experiences of our visitors.

The Sustainability Narrative in Museums

Today, museums are increasingly being recognized as more than just showcases of history; they are becoming dynamic platforms for dialogue, idea exchange, and education. Museum education has a huge role to play in this. Museums have started to evolve beyond passive viewing experiences. Through their educational programs, museums can proactively take up conversations around global issues such as sustainability, access, and climate change through various initiatives. Sustainability is a dominant theme that is actively being addressed by museums as well as museum associations globally. Especially through their role as a community platform, museums are perfectly positioned to introduce and incubate ideas of sustainability. For instance, imagine a traditional saree as a conversation starter for sustainability. Traditional Indian textiles have a long-standing tradition of being passed on from generation to generation. And when these clothes are worn beyond repair, they shapeshift into clothes for infants, blankets, purses and even toys. In today’s ‘use and throw’ economy, this is such a wonderful way to demonstrate the concepts of reuse, recycle and repair to young, growing children as well as adults who may have been temporarily blindsided.

Museum of Solutions – inspired by the SDGs

But why stop there? Why can’t a museum experience translate into something actionable? Museum exhibits and activities can be designed to not just inform but also to impart valuable skills that transcend the museum walls. This is precisely what we believe at the Museum of Solutions (MuSo). The Museum of Solutions is an experiential children’s museum in Mumbai that is inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). It’s not your traditional museum; we may not have objects, but through interactive exhibits and programs, we tell stories of humanity — of its past, present and future with the intent that children become conscious, responsible, empathetic citizens that care about the planet and its people. Our vision is that through these stories, children are inspired, enabled and empowered to make a meaningful change in the world. Empowerment comes from inspiration and enablement. Children are inspired when they undergo while enablement comes from knowledge and skills. Our programs at MuSo are designed to build essential 21st century skills in children that help them become empathetic, conscious, responsible and caring citizens of the future.

Through its programming, MuSo weaves the sustainability agenda seamlessly into children’s existing knowledge through themes that are immediately relevant to them and their local environment. This helps create a new understanding of the world around them, their place and role in it and how they can make a difference. This, supported by skills-building (both technical and life skills) empowers the children to develop agency to advocate for themselves and what is important to them. Having learnt these valuable 21st century skills, we aim to create a growth mindset in children that sees challenges as opportunities to grow and value the process of learning over fixed outcomes.

Conclusion

Museums have the potential to be powerful agents of transformation, instilling values and skills that extend far beyond the museum visit. As we continue our journey at the Museum of Solutions, we are committed to helping visitors not only appreciate the past and present but also work towards shaping a brighter, more sustainable future. At MuSo, we follow a learn by doing approach while pushing the sustainability agenda. Through dialogue, education, and action, we believe that museums can indeed make a tangible difference in the lives of individuals and communities, leaving an enduring legacy of positive change.

About the Author:

Bilwa Poddar is the Director of Programs and Outreach at the Museum of Solutions. She leads the makerspace programming at MuSo through fun, engaging and hands-on workshops. She holds a Master’s degree in History and Museum Studies from the University of Leicester, UK. With a career spanning over 14 years in museum education, she served as the Head of the Education department at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai until 2019. During her time at the CSMVS, Bilwa led groundbreaking initiatives, including the establishment of the Children’s Museum and the Museum of Wheels. She is an honorary Board Member of the British Museum’s International Training Program Advisory Board.