Collecting kids’ stuff: in search of the history of childhood in New Zealand museums: Tuhinga 23

Tuhinga 23: 39-51

ABSTRACT: This paper questions the extent to which museum collections capture the history of childhood. It advances the premise that collections are shaped by the historical context within which they were created, whether at the level of social discourse or the activities of individual people. This is evident in the types of childhood objects collected and in the changing way these objects are valued by the museum. In the museums examined here, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) and the Auckland War Memorial Museum (Auckland Museum), objects change from being valued as ethnographic specimens to colonial artefacts and high-end decorative art, to everyday objects that embody multiple perspectives and personal stories. Yet within these categories, the object-focused case studies in this paper show that the distinctive way in which museums make history enables children to become more visible. The paper argues that in collecting the material culture of childhood, museums capture a unique and extremely elusive element of history.

KEYWORDS: Te Papa, Auckland Museum, childhood, history, children, material culture, New Zealand, collections, museums.