Młodzi dorośli w kulturze – casus muzeum

Abstract

Millennials are the representatives of the last generation born in the 20th century. They believe in the value of education, which is the base for personal and professional development. Recognizing education as the most important component of the professional career and stimulant of individual development, young adults appreciate not so much the knowledge and skills which have been already acquired but those which are being acquired. The awareness of this fact is deeply grounded and does not only refer to formal education. It is supported by the belief that education should be of permanent character and should be associated with other ways of obtaining it. What seems of special significance here are museums. This conviction is based on the opinion which has accompanied museum activities since the 1960s. Millennials are children of the parents who at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s discovered museums as important educational institutions. However, the awareness of this has not turned into the practice of participation in the museum offer. The analyses quoted in expert literature confirm that the youth aged 16/18 – 25/30 constitute the group which most rarely choose visiting museums and participating in special educational or popularizing programmes. Moreover, this group is the most difficult one to attract to museums and even more difficult to keep there. In the article (referring to worldwide research and to the results of authorial pilot studies), the main problems determining the participation of the young in museum practices have been presented. The conclusions comprise several preliminary suggestions, which are worth considering in designing museum tasks addressed to young visitors. Both the suggestions and the presented contents should be treated as a say in the broad discussion on the educational role of museums in Poland.