Lilliput: a museum from a child's point of view

Lilliput Its mission is to network museums, families and associations in order to rethink museum spaces from a child's point of view and to initiate a participation process that will lead more and more families with children to experience museums, discovering their heritage and beauty.

The philosophy and pedagogical approach underlying Lilliput start from the idea of the museum as a relational place, emphasising (in structures and services) its social function. In museums, families can spend quality time and at the same time learn with all five senses, not only didactically and narratively. Lilliput proposes a new way of conceiving the museum, as a living instrument, open to relational approaches already in a free visit, without a guide, with supporting means that do not impact on the visit path, but simply allow to experience it to the fullest. The works in the museum are therefore not only proposed from a didactic and narrative point of view, but become the starting point for playing with the imagination, with the five senses and the different types of art (performing, musical, corporeal...) with the ultimate aim of stimulating the creativity of the family, called upon to interact all together and to enjoy the cultural spaces, almost as if they were their own to be guarded and taken care of. 

Fundamental in this perspective is the desire to reactivate relational experiences, stimulate the imaginative side of places and works of art, acting on simplicity and provocation through play and participation to discover a new adult/child relationship. Already Munari wrote: ‘If I listen I forget, if I see I remember, if I do I understand’. Knowledge is active and as ‘reagents’ the creative team of Lilliput has designed a kit that is transversal to several contexts and suitable for every type of museum. It is also important to equip the museums with infrastructures that facilitate the experience for families, such as: relaxation corners with Montessori tables and chairs, risers to view the exhibits, baby changing tables, bottle warmers, ergonomic baby carriers, and tools to facilitate the visit for the whole family. In recent years Lilliput has collaborated with over 50 museums in Italy and abroad and has actively participated in important European projects.