Between 2020-2023 numerous undergraduates at Toronto Metropolitan University in the Department of English participated in our research project as collaborators examining virtual and in-person exhibits in museums around the world. As a part of their Capstone Seminar, students in Dr. Naomi Hamer's English 910 course completed critical exhibit reviews and capstone projects on the basis of their classroom discussions, lectures, and readings on children’s museums. Students were required to visit multiple virtual museum sites and exhibits as part of their course engagement. The review assignment invited students to discuss one selected exhibit (digital, in-person or hybrid) relevant to the course either featuring children’s literature or artifacts and/or hosted by a children’s museum. The reviews included in this section draw upon the theoretical and methodological frameworks discussed in the course readings with particular reference to Nina Simon’s The Participatory Museum (2010).  The students also produced capstone assignments that focus on an exhibit and a proposal for its revision or extension. Framed by Erica Lehrer and Shelley Ruth Butler’s Curatorial Dreams: Critics Imagine Exhibitions (2016), students provided extensions to existing exhibits or new ideas for critical exhibits that challenge both the place of children in museums, and diverse knowledges in our public sphere. 

All rights reserved by the review authors and used here with permission. You can read abstracts of these reviews here. 

Eva Escandon's exciting Minecraft tour of Anne of Green Gables Museum here.

• Ahmed Ridha Fantastic Beasts (ROM, Toronto) Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension

• Arianna Guaragna Van Gogh Exhibit Review (Toronto) and Proposed Extension for Innovation Sandbox at the National Children's Museum (Washington, D.C.) 

• Cristal Gillette You Me Us and Animals Allowed Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension at the Toronto Public Library

• Eleni Sapounas Smithsonian Human Origins (Washington, D.C.) Exhibit Review and Mummies exhibit (ROM, Toronto) Proposed Extension 

• Emily Mackey Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension (Great Missenden, UK)

• Erica Armata Robert Munsch Experience Review (Toronto) and Proposed Extension for Storyland at the Children's Museum of Atlanta (US)

• Eva Escandon Tigers in Pictures Books review (Costen Children's Library, Princeton, NJ) and Anne of Green Gables Museum Proposed Extension (PEI)

• Francesca Jamshidy Music of the Era Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension (ROM, Toronto)

• Imani Brown A Question of Truth Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension (Ontario Science Centre, Toronto)

• Isabelle Anastacio ROMKids Show Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension for ROM Artventures (ROM, Toronto)

• Jacqueline Petsinis Boston Black: A City Connects and BCM Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension (Boston Children's Museum, Boston, Massachusetts)

• Joanna Tortorici Munsch Madness a Proposed Exhibit for the ROM (Toronto)

• Karen Li Boston Children’s Museum’s Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension (US)

• Kyrie Woolsey The Prehistoria Museum and Skull Store (Toronto) Exhibit Review and Canada Now at Toronto Metropolitan University's Image Centre Proposed Extension

• Lola Messersi Tigers in Picture Books Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension (Costen Children's Library, Princeton, NJ, US)

• Loraine Illeperuma Tigers in Picture Books Exhibit Review (Costen Children's Library, Princeton) and Winnie the Pooh Proposed Extension (ROM, Toronto)

• Matthew Luna Picture Books and VR Proposed Extension

• Maxwell Hedington Fantastic Beasts Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension (ROM, Toronto)

• Melina Milkis Winnie the Pooh Exhibit Review (ROM, Toronto) and Boston Children’s Museum Proposed Extension

• Nadia Tonkovic Louvre Kids Review (Louvre, Paris, France) and Proposed Extension for MetKidsExhibit (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, US)

• Paris Salmon-Wright Boston Children’s Museum Exhibit Review and Winnie the Pooh (ROM, Toronto) Proposed Extension

• Rebecca Rocillo Kidtropolis Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension (Children's Museum Houston, US)

• Semhar Tesfagergies The Strong’s Sesame Street Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension The Strong National Museum of Play, Rochester, NY, US)

• Shawna Cormier Harry Potter at the British Library Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension (British Library, London, UK) 

• Tiffany Yeung Louvre Kids Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension (Louvre, Paris, France)

• Veron Zhou Winnie the Pooh Exhibit Review and Proposed Extension (ROM, Toronto)