Leigh-Anne Stradeski, chief executive of the UK's national children's museum Eureka!
Monday, July 28, 2014
Ms Stradeski this week received an honorary degree from Leeds Metropolitan University.
Congratulations on the award. What's the best thing about running the museum?
It's so challenging and so rewarding.
I just love the creativity involved in moving forward as children's ideas change. The best thing is the impact we have on children's lives. We have had six and a half million visitors, around 300,000 a year. Children come from their infancy and many visit regularly. Through the galleries and experiences we provide extra potential and self-confidence and plant seeds for a life-long love of learning.
We have a dynamic team at Eureka! that is dedicated to children and we have partnerships with other organisatons sharing interests throughout the world.
Eureka! was one of the first children's museums in Europe and is based on the north American model of children's museums, designed to be hands-on immersive experiences that use themed galleries.
You also have the Eureka! Nursery.
It's been open for 11 years now. We thought it was a real opportunity to extend provision to give children a Eureka! experience. We also work with lots of local nurseries and have a lot of visits. One of our key strengths is focusing on early years. We know how important it is for children's development.
We have two galleries for birth to fives: SoundGarden and Desert Discovery, both permanent exhibits. Outdoors we have a sensory garden.
How do you develop ideas for the exhibitions?
We never do any exhibitions without engaging and consulting with children. Once we have an original concept we develop key themes, then we go to the children, find out about their existing knowledge and what they find interesting, so that we can gear it for different ages. We work with a specific group of children through the entire process. We do the conceptual development and we have to fundraise as well.
What are you working on at the moment?
Our most recent gallery is called All About Me. It teaches children about their bodies, focusing on health and well-being and making good choices. The second phase of the gallery is called the Power of Plants, looking at the importance of plants in our everyday lives.
In the longer-term, we also have plans for redevelopment of the site to expand the museum to cater for older children from 11 to 14, and we want to create more outdoor experiences.
Leigh-Anne Stradeski spoke to Catherine Gaunt.
