8 ways to foster more wonder in museum experiences

Claire Bown: 00:00:08

Hello and welcome to The Art Engager podcast with me, Claire Bown.

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I'm here to share techniques and tools to help you engage with your audience

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and bring art objects and ideas to life.

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So let's dive into this week's show.

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Hello and welcome to a new episode of The Art Engager.

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I'm Claire Bown, and today we are exploring wonder: what it is, why

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museums are perfect for it, and eight practical ways to foster more

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of it in your guided experiences.

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But before that, a quick look back at the past two episodes.

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In Episode 150, we celebrated a milestone with 10 powerful engagement ideas

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distilled from four years of podcasting.

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And in episode 1 5 1, I created The Ultimate Guide to Slow Looking.

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So it's been wonderful to reflect on some of the key insights and episodes that

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have emerged over the past four years.

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And if you've missed either of these episodes, do go back and have a listen.

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They're full of big ideas.

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And this will be the last episode of The Art Engager before our summer break.

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The podcast will return on September the fourth, 2025.

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So do mark your calendars.

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And this gives you the perfect chance to catch up on any

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episodes you might have missed.

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So with 152 episodes now in the back catalog, there are Bown to be a few

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gems you haven't discovered yet.

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So I've got a full list of every single episode of The Art Engager on my website

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and I'll put a link in the show notes.

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You can browse through and find ones to revisit.

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Or perhaps there have been some episodes that have been

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waiting on your to listen list.

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Now is the perfect time to dip back in and to refresh your skills.

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And before we dive into today's show, I also want to mention my

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book, The Art Engager: Reimagining Guided Experiences in Museums.

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If you haven't got your copy yet, you can find it at your favorite online

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retailer or through your local bookshop.

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And if you read it and enjoyed it, I'd be so grateful if you left a short review.

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Now, let's get on with today's show.

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So let's start by exploring what wonder is.

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So it's a familiar term and probably one we use often, particularly in the museum.

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But what exactly are we talking about when we say we want to foster wonder?

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Well, there are actually two different meanings of the word wonder, and

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it's important I think, to draw a distinction between the two.

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Wonder as a verb means to think about something or to ask questions like,

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'I wonder how they made this', or, 'I wonder what this was used for'.

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But today we are talking specifically about wonder as a

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noun, and this is more of a feeling.

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It is defined in the dictionary as.

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'A feeling of amazement and admiration caused by something

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beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar.'

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So, it's wonder in the sense of 'he looked at the artwork with

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the wonder of a child', this feeling of being amazed and perhaps

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completely captivated by something.

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So what's the difference between wonder, awe and curiosity?

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So wonder is about delight and captivation, perhaps enchantment,

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you are drawn to something beautiful or remarkable.

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Awe tends to be more overwhelming.

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It's what you feel in the presence of something vast or big or

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powerful, something that makes you feel small, like perhaps standing

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at the edge of the Grand Canyon.

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Now I explored how to create awe inspiring experiences in episode 32.

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And curiosity, which I explored in episodes 39 and 38, is more about

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the active drive to know more.

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So while curiosity wonder or often occur together, they're actually

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very distinct experiences that can each bring something different to

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our encounters with art and objects.

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So let's go back to wonder.

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So wonder is a fundamental human capacity.

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We are born with wonder and perhaps just think about how

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children approach the world.

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Everything is potentially fascinating.

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You know, a puddle, a butterfly, the way light comes through a window.

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And children have this natural ability to be completely absorbed

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by what they're encountering.

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Rachel Carson writes in The Sense of Wonder, a child's world

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is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement.

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So wonder shows up everywhere in our lives, not just in museums.

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It's what happens when you perhaps see an amazing sunset and you

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stop everything to watch it.

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It's being amazed by how bread rises or how plants grow towards the light, or

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even how your phone can connect you to someone on the other side of the world.

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And I think wonder is essentially about paying attention, really

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paying attention to what's around us.

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It's a way of being present in the world that allows us to notice beauty,

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complexity, and mystery in both the extraordinary and the ordinary.

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Wonder connects us to our environment and to each other.

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Now recent thinking suggests that wonder isn't just one thing.

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It shows up in many different ways.

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And while there's no single agreed upon list, many writers

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and educators, including Jeffrey Davis, who wrote the book Tracking

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Wonder, have explored how wonder can arise through learning, creativity,

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nature, connection, and the senses.

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And if we build on these ideas, we can also think about wonder in ways

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especially relevant to museums.

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So here are some ideas about different types of wonder or different pathways to

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wonder that we might find in the museum.

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So there's intellectual wonder.

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That spark when you are learning about an artworks technique and it

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completely changes how you see it, or perhaps sensory wonder when you really

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notice the texture of brush strokes or the way the light hits a sculpture,

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or details you'd normally walk past.

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You might also have natural wonder, which might hit you when you're standing

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before a massive dinosaur skeleton, or perhaps examining some intricate fossils.

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Spiritual wonder might be connecting us to something bigger, so perhaps

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this might be through sacred objects or artworks that touch the transcendent.

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Relational wonder, perhaps this might arise when you might imagine

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the hands that created an artwork or crafted a ceramic bowl, or when

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you feel connected to other visitors sharing the experience with you.

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Historical wonder, perhaps when you realize that you're looking at something

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that someone held 2000 years ago.

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Or creative wonder, celebrating human imagination.

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Marveling at what people can create with their hands and their minds.

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And last but not least, reflective wonder where we perhaps might

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invite big questions about humanity, beauty, and our place in the world.

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So these aren't fixed categories, but they might help us to notice how many ways

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wonder can appear and how museums offer such rich spaces to experience them all.

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So, yes, museums are special places for wonder.

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They do offer us access to the remarkable.

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They present us with things from different times, places, and cultures,

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things that expand our understanding of what's possible in the world.

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And our work as educators helps to reveal all the hidden stories and

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connections that perhaps participants might not discover on their own.

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And perhaps most importantly, museums give us permission to slow down and really look

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at and spend time with something, simply for the sake of paying attention to it.

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Now a note of caution because as we get older, most of us lose

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some of that natural capacity to wonder that we had as children.

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And this happens for lots of different reasons.

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Sometimes it's simply familiarity.

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You know, when you see the same things over and over again,

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they stop surprising you.

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Sometimes it's about our pace, so perhaps our busy lives don't leave

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much room for the kind of slow attention that wonder requires.

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And sometimes it's about expectations.

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We think that we already know what we're going to see, so we stop really looking.

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I also think that routine may play a part, so we develop patterns and habits that

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become comfortable, but also predictable.

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And sometimes it's just life.

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You know, when you're tired, stressed, or overwhelmed, it's really hard

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to access that sense of openness and curiosity that wonder needs so.

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How can we reawaken this sense of wonder in our guided experiences?

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Let's look at some strategies that invite it in.

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So I've got eight ways here to invite more wonder during your guided experiences.

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So let's start with number one.

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Pause and invite slow looking.

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So encourage participants to spend an intentional moment

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just observing without rushing.

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So say something like, let's all take 30 seconds to quietly look

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and notice what stands out to you.

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So slow looking really helps people to move beyond surface impressions

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and notice details that can spark awe and curiosity, which are both,

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as we know, key components of wonder.

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Two, encourage a beginner's mind, so invite your participants to look at

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the artwork or object as if they've never seen anything like it before.

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So setting aside any prior knowledge or assumptions.

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So you might say, 'try to forget what you might know about this and try to

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approach it with complete openness'.

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If it's a very famous artwork, for example, invite participants to notice

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something they've never seen before.

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A small detail, the way light hits a surface, a facial expression

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you hadn't noticed before.

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So looking at something with fresh eyes rewires our attention patterns

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and helps to overcome habituation, which is our brain's tendency

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to filter out familiar things.

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So this simple shift of encouraging beginner's mind really opens up

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new ways of seeing and invites wonder through discovery.

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So number three, use sensory anchors beyond sight.

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So as I talk about in the chapter on multimodality in my book, you want

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to be using a range of modalities in your guided experiences, and

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this includes all of the senses.

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So you can use one of my Questioning Practices, The Senses Walk, to prompt

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participants to think about what they might hear, feel, or even smell if they

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were in the scene or touching the object.

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So when we engage multiple senses, we deepen connections and

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enrich our experience of wonder.

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Okay, number four.

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Number four is what if I was to tell

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you, so one simple but quite powerful strategy to foster wonder is to

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share a surprising or unexpected chunk of information or a micro

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story about an artwork or object.

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And you can start with the phrase, 'what if I was to tell you...' for example.

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'What if I was to tell you that this seemingly simple object was once

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a symbol of political rebellion?', or 'what if I was to tell you that

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the artist created this artwork under quite unusual circumstances?'

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So why does this work?

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Because it gently challenges what participants think they already know.

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So this moment of surprise breaks the usual way of

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thinking and sparks curiosity.

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It invites people to reconsider any assumptions they might have, and

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it opens up this fresh perspective.

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And when participants start to see an object in a new light,

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that mix of curiosity, amazement, and awe, yes, what we might call

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wonder naturally begins to emerge.

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And in the same vein, we move on to number five, pose an

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open-ended 'what if' scenario.

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So you can encourage creative thinking with an open-ended 'what if...' question.

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So for example, 'what if this object was made from a different material?

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How would that change how it feels or looks to you?' Or 'what if this

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painting was created a hundred years earlier, how might it look different?'

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You can also focus on specific details like color or composition.

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So for example, 'what if the artist had removed this bright red from the painting?

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How would that change how it feels?' Or 'what if this sculpture were painted

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in a completely different color?

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How might that affect what you notice or feel?' So these prompts

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encourage your participants to imagine alternatives and to explore

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an object in new, unexpected ways.

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Opening the door to wonder.

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Okay, number six, invite multiple perspectives.

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So wonder grows when people hear different ideas and ways of seeing the same object.

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So as a facilitator, you can encourage participants to share what they

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notice, feel, or think, and highlight that there's no single right answer.

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For example, you might say, 'what's one detail you noticed that others might

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not have seen', or 'what do you see from where you are standing?' By valuing

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everyone's unique response, you can create a space where participants feel

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safe to explore and express their ideas.

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Hearing different viewpoints invites them to reconsider their own, which can

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surprise and delight, and this helps wonder to deepen as they realize there's

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more to discover than they first thought.

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Okay, number seven, connect the object to participants' own stories.

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So another way to foster wonder is to connect the object to

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participants' own stories.

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You might ask, 'does this remind you of a place, a person, or a moment in your own

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life?' So when people find that personal link, it surprises them suddenly something

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from the past or another culture feels alive and relevant, right here, right now.

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And that moment of recognition can open up fresh ways to see and feel, sparking

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that sense of wonder that we're after.

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At the same time, it's important to invite these personal connections sensitively.

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Not everyone will want to share or may need more time to reflect.

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So creating a safe and respectful space lets participants engage as much or

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as little as they feel comfortable.

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And finally, number eight.

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Leave space for silence and reflection.

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So another important way to foster wonder is to leave space for silence and pause.

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Don't feel like you need to fill every moment with words.

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Sometimes wonder needs quiet time to grow.

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So when you pause and say something like, 'let's just sit with this for a moment.'

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It gives participants a chance to notice new details, to connect, perhaps

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emotionally or simply be present.

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And these silent moments open up space for surprise and discovery to happen

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naturally without pressure or hurry.

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So I think wonder often arises best in these moments of quiet.

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If you want to dive deeper in how to create space for silence and how

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to feel comfortable with silence, check out episodes 95 and 96.

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So they're called How Silence is a Superpower in Museum and

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Gallery programs, and seven ways to make time and space for silence.

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Both have lots of tips that tie in perfectly here.

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So to wrap up today's episode on Fostering Wonder in guided experiences,

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so wonder is a powerful feeling of amazement and admiration that connects

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us deeply to the world around us.

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It's different from awe and curiosity, but often works

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alongside them to create meaningful encounters with art and objects.

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So we've explored how wonder appears in many forms might be intellectual,

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sensory, historical, reflective, and more, and why museums are such

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special places for wonder to flourish.

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Yet as adults, we often lose that natural capacity because of our

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busy lives, because of familiarity and perhaps our habits and

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routines that limit our attention.

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And that's where we come in.

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So by encouraging slow looking beginner's, mind, inviting participants to engage lots

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of senses, sharing surprise information, posing those 'what if' scenarios,

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welcoming multiple perspectives, connecting to personal stories in a

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thoughtful way, and most importantly, leaving space for silence and reflection.

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So with all of these ideas, we create the conditions for wonder to

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arise naturally and meaningfully.

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Wonder is about slowing down, opening up, and inviting participants to

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surprise themselves and see things anew.

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And I'd love to hear how you bring wonder into your own museum experiences.

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Feel free to reach out and share your stories.

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So that's it for today's episode of The Art Engager and our final

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episode before the summer break.

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If you've enjoyed this episode, please consider supporting

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the podcast through Patreon.

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Your support helps me continue creating resources like this one.

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You can find the link in the show notes.

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And finally, don't forget to visit my website to learn more about

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The Art Engager book available now wherever books are sold.

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And while you are there, check out that complete episode list

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to plan your summer listening.

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That's it for today.

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Thank you so much for joining us, the Art Engager will return

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on September the fourth, 2025.

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See you in September.

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Bye.

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Thank you for listening to The Art Engager podcast with me, Claire Bown.

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You can find more art engagement resources by visiting my website,

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thinkingmuseum.com, and you can also find me on Instagram at Thinking

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Museum, where I regularly share tips and tools on how to bring art

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to life and engage your audience.

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If you've enjoyed this episode, please share with others and subscribe to the

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Thank you so much for listening, and I'll see you next time.