Freedom! Expression center partners with kids' museum

Kids express themselves at VDM
PHOTO BY Jack Looney

J. Joshua Wheeler normally spends little time thinking about what happens at a children's museum. As associate director for the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, Wheeler is typically trying to convince adults about the Constitutional merits of free speech.

"I'm an attorney," says Wheeler. "I work with an organization whose single purpose is to protect the right of free expression, usually by filing briefs at the appellate level, in court cases related to the First Amendment. Working with young children is not something we usually do."

So when the director of the Virginia Discovery Museum, Peppy Linden, approached him with the idea of creating an exhibit directed at young children, Wheeler wasn't quite sure how two- to ten-year-olds might be encouraged to think about these erudite ideas. Linden, however, was convinced that such an exhibit could work at the Downtown Mall Museum.

So Wheeler laid out some concepts, including freedom of the press, artistic expression, and the right to experience the expressions of others. Museum staff then hammered those concepts– literally– into hands-on displays that kids can appreciate.

"What we are really good at is translating concepts and information into hands-on experiences for young children," says Linden.

It took more than a year to develop, but the exhibit is now on display, giving young people the chance to express themselves in a variety of ways. There's a stage where performers can dress up and dance, a television studio where aspiring broadcasters can watch themselves reporting the news, and a soapbox where young activists can let the world know what they think.

In the Discovery Cinema, viewers can watch an episode of the PBS show Arthur in which the animated aardvark and his friends confront the issue of censorship. In the reading room, kids have the freedom to read or be read to from a variety of books, as well as see some of the many books that people have tried to ban. And dramatic youngsters can make up a story and perform it in the puppet theater.

Throughout the exhibit, text displays extend the concepts, giving adult visitors ideas that help them engage children in talking about the topic.

"The greatest threat to free expression is when we take it for granted," says Wheeler. "So anything that fosters greater appreciation for the important role that free expression plays in a democratic society also serves to protect free speech."

Located in the Virginia Discovery Museum at the east end of the Downtown Mall, the "Freedom of Expression" exhibit runs through January 10. 977-1025.