The Little Guides That Could

Posted by phyne under Explore Singapore 2007, Explore Singapore!
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Museums have often been misunderstood to be too profound for children. Now, children are turning the misconception on its head by taking the lead in becoming cultural ambassadors for museums. Through I Can Guide!, a unique two-day museum guiding workshop conducted by HandsonLearning Strategies and organised by the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM), participants (aged 10-12 years old) gained invaluable knowledge on the diverse cultures of Southeast Asia and learnt guiding etiquette during the school holidays.

The workshop included a wide range of skills, from researching, analysis of information, and even public speaking. On the third day, the limelight was on the eleven participants who smoothly guided their families and other visitors through the Mary and Philbert Chin Gallery at the ACM. I certainly have to admit that I take my hat off to these impressive young adults!

United we stand: Excited young ones got off to a good start.

Prior to the tour, the trainer from HandsonLearning briefed the families of the guides and shared how the children transformed from knowing nothing about the museum and its artefacts to becoming qualified guides in their own right.


Parents gleefully spotting their children’s contributions during the brainstorming processes. The children showed they were more than capable of handling research, deciding on the artefacts to present, writing their own scripts and even learning how they should present themselves.


The budding museum guides were already in position when we got there. We were greeted by the first guide at the entrance who introduced us to the ASEAN nations, before bringing us into the Mary and Philbert Chin Gallery.

Inside the gallery, the young guides were each stationed at a particular display, ranging from jewellery, weapons, ritual objects to textiles.

Other than introducing the artefacts’ significance and origins, the guides also shared their opinions of the artefacts and highlighted the artefact that caught their attention with much pride and confidence.



Even when they had their hands full (with a larger audience), these guides still managed to stay composed and captivated their audience with attention-grabbing anecdotes.

In particular, I enjoyed the concise and appealing facts that the guides shared for each exhibit.


Equipped with their research, questions posed by the museum visitors did not stun the blooming guides who were able to answer them readily.

A field day for all: The skills that these little guides learnt will certainly pay off in the long run.

A video clip produced by the trainers capturing the children in both during the training as well as the guiding can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsFhLBXye4Q
Credits: HandsonLearning Strategies

I Can Guide is part of Explore Singapore! which happens from 10 November 2007 to 31 December 2007. For more information on Explore Singapore!, visit http://www.museums.com.sg/explore or call 62214463.