Young Children’s Well-being and Creative Museum Spaces

Museums have long played an important role in engaging families with the arts and cultures. In particular, being involved in the arts from a young age has been found to facilitate cognitive and emotional skills, as well as prosocial and healthy behaviours (Lester et al., Int J Play 3(1):24–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2014.886137 , 2014). Despite the potential that museums have to promote children’s learning and wellbeing beyond the traditional school and home environments, there is a stark gap in the understanding of young children’s perspectives of museum spaces and experiences. This chapter explores how museums support children’s wellness in the context of enjoyment, play, and learning. It provides insights from Singapore and highlights areas that educators and researchers can further investigate to understand how creative spaces influence learning and emotional well-being in early childhood. Future directions are offered for how museum spaces can further enhance experiences for young children’s healthy development.