Culture education through museum labels - Labels in museums and the cognitive skills they enhance to children of primary school age.

We live in a time where technological innovation and globalisation are provoking tidal shifts in the way we learn, work, live and communicate with others. Children growing up in these times will need to master a set of different skills to cope with a constantly changing reality. But what are these skills and what is the best way to promote them? While many have tried answering this riddle, it seems that radical changes are needed to, not only adjust the relevance of information provided, but to also dive deep into the structure of the learning process itself. On this note, the field of cultural education has much to offer. Cultural Education can help children understand their culture and the culture of others. Education though does not occur only in formal learning places such as schools, but also in informal learning places such as museums. Hence, how can we connect cultural education and museums? In this thesis I attempt to bring together these two disciplines, by exploring to what extent do museums advance cognitive skills in young audiences of primary school by the use of exhibit labels. To do so, I have approached this matter by conducting interviews with museum professionals involved in the labelling process and by conducting content analysis of labels of their respective museums. In this way, this research aims to reach the very essence of how labels can have a pivotal role in promoting a set of cognitive skills. My findings testify that museums can indeed promote cognitive skills through object labels, but in order to succeed in advancing all skills efficiently, a diversity of tools is needed to be utilized in building up sequence. Finally, by paying closer attention to the structuring of labels according to my recommendations, I believe museums will be in a better position to promote the skills they strive to develop in their young audiences.