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The UMU (Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ Museum) is working on reaching young audiences for whom a museum visit is not a given, or who feel distanced from science. Research shows that experiences such as a museum visit improve pupils’ academic performance. Promoting equal opportunities requires that children living in relative poverty also have access to these enriching experiences.

Together with the Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ Fund, the project ‘Wel-Kom in het UMU’ has been launched to ensure that all children, regardless of their background or financial situation, can become acquainted with science. Thanks to this initiative, schools with limited resources can visit the UMU free of charge, and over 300 children have already had a special experience at the UMU. An enthusiastic teacher says: "For many of my pupils, this was their first museum visit. They gazed in amazement at the experiments and the mounted animals. It has broadened their view of the world."

It is important to get off the AZC (asylum centre) site; such an excursion feels like a warm welcome.

The UMU also collaborated with WereldKidz. This primary school, located at the asylum seekers' centre in Leersum, visited the UMU with a group of pupils and their parents or family members. They have all just arrived in the Netherlands, do not yet speak Dutch, and have very diverse backgrounds.

"At school, they had a lesson about curiosity and asking questions before the museum visit," says Jeroen van Schie, programme coordinator at the UMU. "At the museum, they were given a programme and set out to explore. They were supported by museum guides known as Kennismakers and three interpreters. There were also two students present who participate in the Inclusion programme of Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ. These students themselves have a refugee background, live in an asylum seekers' centre, and attend lectures at the university. They thought it was a wonderful initiative. It is important for them to get off the AZC (asylum centre) site. They told me that such an excursion feels like a warm welcome."

"For the UMU, these visits are also educational; they provide insight into how language-based the museum is. Even with the simplest tasks, you are dependent on language. That's why the guidance is very important, and the assignments can be kept short. Simply looking around the galleries themselves is already a tremendous experience."

Jeroen van Schie is programme coordinator at the UMU.

Text: Marieke Verhoeven
Photo: Marieke Verhoeven