Metaphors about the Concept of 'Museum' of 4th Graders in One Elementary School in Turkey

Abstract

Museums, which have the aim of protecting the cultural heritage, are places used not only to preserve and exhibit the materials from the past, but also to use these materials in accordance with educational purposes. The aim of this study is to determine the views of 4^th graders in elementary schools on the concept of 'museum' through metaphors. The study group consisted of 52 fourth graders who were attending an elementary school during the school year of 2014-2015 and who had visited a museum before. In the study, some forms with the statement ''Museums are like ….., because …..'' were delivered to the students and they were asked to complete the statement by filling in the blanks. In the study, it was attempted to answer these two questions: 1) which metaphors do the 4^th graders have about the concept of 'museum'? 2) According to their common features, under which categories those metaphors suggested by the students about the concept ‘museum' could be categorized? To analyze the data, the content analysis method was used. In the study, the categories were named as 'traveling to the past,' 'providing information,' 'exhibition,' 'reflection' and 'preservation.'