Paying a visit to
museums
is thought by some to be a good way for
children
to learn about
history
,
whereas
others believe that there are other more effective ways to do so. In my view,
history
is best learnt by combining museum trips with other sources of
information
.
There are a number of reasons why going to
museums
is shown to be a good way of studying the past. One of these is that
children
can experience relics of the past in real life. When they go to any museum, be it about nature, engineering or culture,
children
have an opportunity to see exhibits with
information
labels attached that allow them to read and find out more about the
history
.
This
approach is arguably better than just reading bland facts and boring explanations provided by a teacher.
Secondly
,
museums
have guides available for hire and means of media,
such
as audio descriptions accessible by QR codes, that provide
children
with a chance to learn
history
in an interactive and engaging fashion. Descriptions given by these two sources are
also
likely to be more thorough and in-depth than those in shortened and edited school textbooks or on the internet.
Nevertheless
, I would argue that other means of learning about
history
can be as effective as going to
museums
. The view that school textbooks are dull and not able to draw learners' interest is overrated, as they often feature
such
exercises as matching, gap filling and multiple choices both as classwork and homework. The part played by these activities is essential in instructing and consolidating acquired
history
knowledge. Another common, albeit no less important, source of
information
is YouTube, which houses large collections of documentary playlists. These are real treasure troves for young learners of
history
, as they portray vivid and intriguing media accompanied by beautiful narrations.
For example
, my schoolboy cousin has been assigned to find out more about World War II, and a YouTube documentary by BBC served as a useful and effective educational tool to
this
end.
In conclusion,
museums
are for sure great sources of
information
about the past for
children
. But
this
shouldn't mean that other channels of
history
knowledge - like school textbooks and YouTube - suffer in comparison, because they are
also
able to help young learners significantly.
Therefore
, I am of the view that both of these are equally crucial for
children
.