Program Overview
Tickle My Ears: Stories and Art at the Chrysler is a monthly storytelling program for Pre-K children and their caregivers. Taking place in the galleries, Tickle My Ears is designed to familiarize children with the Museum’s environment and collections. Due to popular demand, the Museum now offers two sessions, one at 10:30 a.m. and another at 11:30 a.m., so that caregivers can pick the time that best suits them. Each month’s program is designed around a particular theme, and the gallery in which the program takes place changes regularly depending on the topic being explored. The stories, also based on the monthly theme, are read by a professional storyteller and accompanied by songs, dancing, and sign language activities. Some storytellers provide a list of books and related materials for families to seek out at their local library or from other sources.
While initially designed in conjunction with the local public library, the Chrysler Museum has, in recent years, found it more practical to run Tickle My Ears independently. The program is now advertised on the Museum’s website, its Facebook page, and in its bimonthly members’ magazine. In the future, Channon M. H. Dillard, Museum Educator for Children & Family Programs, hopes to be able to provide free books to participants to encourage early childhood literacy and engagement in a museum environment.
Program at a Glance
- Date of Program: First Thursday of the month (two sessions, at 10:30 and 11:30)
- Target age group: Children ages 1½-4 and their caregivers
- Number of attendees: Average of 35 children and 12 adults per month
- Cost to attendees: Free
- One time program, repeated, or hope to repeat: Program began in April 2004, and is repeated monthly
- Material costs: None
- Non-material costs: $300-500 per month for the professional storyteller
- Number of Facilitators required: 1 staff member
- Staff resources needed (hours) to develop: About 4 hours per year (planning themes and making/maintaining contact with storytellers)
Tangible Takeaways
Engage children at a young age. Some staff members were initially wary of hosting an early childhood program in the galleries. However, the best way to create members and lifelong visitors is to make children feel as welcomed and comfortable in your museum as possible—this engagement can (and should!) begin as early as possible.
Provide structure. Many children—and even adults—may not be aware of proper “museum etiquette.” Furthermore, it is important not to disturb the experience of those visitors not participating in the program. The Chrysler Museum has taken these points into consideration, providing seating for parents and using painter’s tape on the floor to delineate program space. By providing this physical structure, both parents and children gain a greater respect for the museum, its staff and collections, and their fellow visitors.
