Kotka museum’s new exhibition aims to attract families and children

Museums are now designing exhibitions aimed at appealing to multiple generations. In Kotka, Kymenlaakso Museum is particularly attracting families with children through its new “Kuka-kuka-kaupunki” exhibition. “It is important for us to bring families and children here alongside adults to experience what a museum can offer,” says exhibition designer and researcher Jaana Kataja.

The exhibition creatively showcases the city’s public transport, featuring researcher Jaana Kataja waiting for a bus. “Children are the future museum visitors, and we need to increasingly consider their needs when building new exhibitions,” Kataja adds. “We must think about how to ensure children enjoy their experience because if they do, adults will as well.”

During the autumn holiday, Johanna Koivistoinen visited the exhibition with her granddaughter Alissa Tuominen. Koivistoinen believes that museums have become more accommodating to children: “There is so much interactive content now. It’s not just about looking at old objects in display cases; there’s plenty for children to do and see.”

Aino Vantola also attended the exhibition with her mother and grandmother. Although their tour has just started, she has already found interesting items, stating, “Here, you can see what life was like before phones and anything we have today.” The “Kuka-kuka-kaupunki” exhibition opened in October and will be on display until 2030.

In the past fifteen years, Finland has begun to provide a broader range of content for families in museums. “Twenty years ago, such considerations were not even thought of. For example, art museums were not particularly child-friendly,” says Tuuli Uusikukka, head of audience engagement at Museo Leikki in Espoo. She highlights that museums are now increasingly recognizing children and family groups as essential target audiences. Countries like Sweden and other Nordic nations are ahead of Finland in developing child-friendly museum spaces. “This also relates to economic factors,” Uusikukka notes.