Museum Training Programme in Turkey: Story of Friendship Train and Children’s Education Rooms in the Museums

Abstract

Museum education has been developed in Turkey since the 1990s within theoretical and methodological framework to better serve educational activities in the museum environment. Within this context a Museum Training Programme 1 was developed to make museums more functional, to create places children can enjoy visiting, to support children’s creative skills, as well as, to facilitate participatory and sustained learning. The methods, techniques and activities practiced in these museum trainings took place in Ankara, Istanbul, Kars, Erzurum, Sivas, Erzincan and Eski-sehir districts and were comprised of a variety of content that was developed into a “Museum Training Package”. The components of this package include Adult and Peer Trainer Modules, a Museum Activity Book, as well as, Kars and Erzurum District Samples. Meanwhile it was important to expand upon the museum activities used by children. After the Museum Training Programme had been practiced a Museum and Friendship Train travelled from Istanbul to Kars and the project concluded with the opening of children’s museum room in Erzurum and Kars. This study focuses on the whole process of Museum Training Programme including trainings, methods, techniques, interviews, train project, children’s museum rooms and closure workshop.