From Idea to Realisation – Interview with Christina Behrendt, Laura Groschopp, Daniela Lange and Peter Schützhold
22 November 2024
With the exhibition “Dive into the Picture! Time Travel for Kids” the Deutsches Historisches Museum shows for the first time an inclusively designed exhibition primarily for children of grade school age. It is based on the Picture of the Month “January – February – March”, which belongs to the famous seasonal cycle of the so-called “Augsburg Pictures of the Months” from the 16th century, one of the most important artworks in the DHM collections. Here the world of 500 years ago unfolds before us as if we were in a 3-D walk-in backdrop. The people portrayed in the painting emerge into the exhibition room as historical figures who tell their stories and invite the young guests to explore and experience the world of the 16th century.
In our interview series we speak with the people and teams that have made this exhibition possible through their ideas and expertise. In this interview, Christina Behrendt (events), Laura Groschopp (marketing), Daniela Lange (press) and Peter Schützhold (digital communication) from the DHM Department of Communication speak about the communication campaign and their experience in addressing a very young target group.
How does a museum reach children and families?
Laura Groschopp: For the communication work accompanying the first children’s exhibition at the DHM we addressed young museum guests of grade school age and their families as well as learning guides directly to make them curious about what we had to offer. The playful confrontation with history in the form of an interactive exhibition for a young audience is seldom offered in Berlin. We developed this aspect for our communication campaign. An important part of what were learned was to identify the relevant channels for our target group. To find this out we asked ourselves: Who in the family decides what they undertake together? What media do children use most frequently? Where do families search for tips about what to undertake?
Initial touchpoints for our audience are posters, flyers, and postings in the social media. The visual design had to generate interest at first glance and create a desire to visit the exhibition. Since we did not have a wide range of experience with an exhibition designed specially for very young visitors, we took advantage of the expertise of our Children’s Advisory Board and discussed all questions about a child-friendly design and communication with them. Based on this, our agencies Studio Bens and Visual Space Agency developed the motif that you find on the exhibition posters, on our website, in the social media channels and in the exhibition itself: a “Zeitgeist”, a spirit of the time. The fresh, timeless being with two emoji-like eyes set against a high-contrast background stands out and attracts the interest of all age groups.
What formats were developed to address the new target group?
Peter Schützhold: To reach children and their families directly we spread information about our children’s exhibition to all media through various communication channels. Alongside the intertwinings of the DHM website, social media channels and posters we use to publicise the various offers involved in the exhibition – its contents, opening hours, mediation programme, etc. – we developed new formats to reach the target group.
In our research to identify the relevant channels to address a young audience we determined that this target group could be reached primarily through YouTube. Therefore, together with the agency Pony Factory, we developed an interactive video. It invites the children to slip into the role of Luise and in this way to explore the Augsburg Picture of the Month digitally, the central object of the exhibition. Luise meets the people who were living there and learns exciting things about the times. However, she only proceeds forward when she answers the right questions – but even if she gives a wrong answer, she gets valuable information about the Early Modern Age and can set out on a new path through the painting. With this digital format we provide a playful opportunity to prepare for the exhibition or to delve more deeply into the topic after a visit.
Laura Groshopp: Alongside the attention we pay to individual visitors, we focused on school classes and after-school groups. They can book one of the fixed times in the morning to attend a workshop programme that is specially attuned to their needs. To communicate this offer we developed printed material adapted specifically for schools. It took the form of a smaller version of the exhibition poster that could be hung up in schools and after-school care centres and generate the interest of the schoolkids and their families. It contains specific information about dates and booking methods.
Peter Schützhold: In addition, there are often interconnections between the contents of the exhibitions and our outward communication. For instance, there are takeouts from a video project in the exhibition that can be seen on the website. The Children’s Advisory Board, “The Clever Magic Dragons”, talk in the exhibition about their cooperation with the DHM and invite visitors to join the participation. Even before attending the exhibition, kids learn through the little sneak peak that children were involved in the developing the concept, and at the same time it encourages them to look at all the films in the exhibition.
Laura Groschopp: Our Children’s Advisory Board, “The Clever Magic Dragons”, expressed the wish that there would be something to take home as a souvenir after visiting the exhibition. We took up this suggestion and developed a card that leads visitors through the exhibition by means of little puzzles. Afterwards, the cards function as a reminder of the visit. In the best case, they also act as multipliers for what we offer.
How can media work, cooperations, and events help to publicise the museum’s offers for children?
Laura Groschopp: During our research on exhibition communication it became clear that decisions about what the kids undertake in their leisure time were made together with family members or friends. So we also have to convince the families and friends to visit the exhibition. The cooperation with a magazine about life with children as well as with a radio station for children and families helped us in this effort. By communicating through these channels we were able to reach children and their families directly and to quickly build up the relevant coverage. When we talk about cooperations, we also have to mention the “Museum Sundays”. The possibility of visiting museums throughout Berlin free of charge on the first Sunday of the month brings a large, diverse public to us on those days, some of whom are discovering a history museum for the first time.
Daniela Lange: Also decisive for specific target-oriented communication is the media work. For this we had to make new contacts with TV stations, radio programmes as well as print and online media that are regularly followed by children, (grand-)parents and families throughout Germany, but also on a regional level. Along with our cooperation with the curators, the contact with the “Clever Magic Dragons” was very important. They not only participated in the very well-attended opening press conference and in a photo shoot in front of the Augsburg Picture of the Month, but also gave several interviews and made recordings about their work with the museum. A whole segment of the children’s podcast “Kakadu bei euch” was even devoted to Colin, a member of the children’s board. Alongside the production of attractive texts and photos designed to encourage a visit to the exhibition, it was also very important to find new occasions to report on the exhibition. Among them, for example, were the big opening weekend of International Children’s Day, the summer and autumn school holidays, and the 14th Berlin Family Night, which all provided a good basis for reporting on the exhibition during the entire running time.
Christina Behrendt: We celebrated the start of the exhibition with a whole opening weekend, which began on International Children’s Day. After the “Clever Magic Dragons” cut the opening ribbon, we invited children and families to take a discovery trip through the exhibition. There were also numerous handicraft and activity stations and delicious snacks in the colourfully decorated museum. The weekend was the perfect opportunity to shine a light on the children’s exhibition and attract a huge audience.