Tristram Hunt, the director of the V&A, has announced that the Museum of Childhood will be closed for two years from May to allow a £13 million renovation to take place.
The Museum of Childhood, formerly the Bethnal Green Museum, is a subsidiary of the V&A in South Kensington.
First opened in 1872, its renovation will take the changing role of the museum into consideration.
The director has noted a decline in the importance of play in education, something he hopes the newly designed interior will go some way to resolving.
He notes: “Children growing up in England today are among the most tested in the world, whilst, at home, iPhones and iPads have come to the detriment of many of the crucial skills which play offers – such as the opportunity to problem-solve, physically explore and imagine.”
The former Labour MP said that: “With art, design and music under pressure in the school curriculum, we believe championing creativity and the transformational power of play is more important than ever.”
He hopes that the renovation will “nurture the potential of future generations and become a global champion of children’s creativity”.
Hunt believes that the renovation will serve to “prise young eyes away from their screens and offer an escape from the timetables, Kumon [a maths and English study programme] and cramming”.
Plans for the museum have revealed that exhibits will work to accommodate children, with pieces shown at their eye height for the first time.
The importance of play will be an integral theme in the development, with assorted spaces for craft to take place.
It is also anticipated that various pieces of Hollywood memorabilia will go on display, including the Superman suit worn by Christopher Reeve and the costume worn by Boris Karloff when he played Frankenstein’s monster in 1935.
A main hall will also be constructed to accommodate up to 150 people to watch various performances.
Ultimately Hunt feels that: “We want to empower children to realise that every act of creativity is wondrous, whether it’s self-expression through their clothes, building a world on Minecraft, or launching a school climate strike.”
