The Getty Family Room: Unpacking the Ideas and Assumptions behind the Development of an Interactive Space

Art museums across the country have become increasingly interested in creating interactive gallery spaces geared to family audiences, as evidenced by the high attendance at the J. Paul Getty Museum’s symposium on this topic over the weekend of June 4 and 5, 2005. These interactive galleries are typically conceptualized as spaces that address the unique learning needs of families in a museum environment in ways that traditional art galleries have been unable to achieve. The process by which they are developed involves learning theory, child development research, and museum-based audience research, and operates according to goals and objectives that are often divergent from those that dominate the rest of the museum’s gallery spaces. Above all, museums create interactive galleries in an effort to provide engaging and educational environments for families. However, the specific visions and objectives for these interactive spaces, as well as the types of approaches used in their conceptualization and development vary widely from museum to museum.