Museum Education Through Social Media

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced museum educators to draw on new resources, which has led to the increased use of social media as an educational tool. This qualitative study explores museum education through social media using an adapted museum education theoretical model. The more specific aim is to address the approaches, experiences, and objectives of museum educators who use social media, and to consider how youth aged 18 to 24 respond to it. Twenty-eight art museum educators answered a survey, and 15 young people participated in in-depth focus groups. The results suggest that social media is a new horizon for museum education, short-form videos are an effective tool for learning about art in museums, the connection between educators and visitors is complicated via social media, and a balance between high and low cultural practices is hard to strike. The study also provides practical recommendations for educators who wish to consider young people’s experiences in the future development of networking platforms for museum educational purposes.