Open Forum

Museum minds!  I've searched the threads and couldn't find anything related - so apologies if this question has been answered already.

We have two adults who signed up (via our online portal) to attend our "Saturday Studio" virtual class for children ages 6-16.  I have concerns with this because it's paramount that the security & safety of the children participating always come first, and second, that the adults will somehow "hijack" the class as they may find the content too "basic."  We do not, at this time, have adult online classes mostly because we haven't received enough participation to justify them (financially).

Has anyone encountered this?  We did contact the two individuals (they signed up together) and they understand that it's a children's class - and signed up because of their interest in the topic (Surrealism) being presented.  It just really worries me that this is a "can of worms" that I really don't want to open.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

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Amy Smith
Executive Director
Bakersfield Museum of Art
Bakersfield CA
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I haven't come across this particular issue personally, but I would just be upfront with them that the class is designed for children and due to privacy and internet laws when it comes to children, no adults other than the staff can participate.

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Kathleen Lugarich
Manager, Visitor Engagement and Programs
Army Historical Foundation
Fort Belvoir VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-29-2021 02:22 PM
From: Amy Smith
Subject: Adults in children's' art class (virtual)?

Museum minds!  I've searched the threads and couldn't find anything related - so apologies if this question has been answered already.

We have two adults who signed up (via our online portal) to attend our "Saturday Studio" virtual class for children ages 6-16.  I have concerns with this because it's paramount that the security & safety of the children participating always come first, and second, that the adults will somehow "hijack" the class as they may find the content too "basic."  We do not, at this time, have adult online classes mostly because we haven't received enough participation to justify them (financially).

Has anyone encountered this?  We did contact the two individuals (they signed up together) and they understand that it's a children's class - and signed up because of their interest in the topic (Surrealism) being presented.  It just really worries me that this is a "can of worms" that I really don't want to open.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

------------------------------
Amy Smith
Executive Director
Bakersfield Museum of Art
Bakersfield CA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 2/1/2021 8:47:00 AM
From: Kathleen Lugarich
Subject: RE: Adults in children's' art class (virtual)?

I haven't come across this particular issue personally, but I would just be upfront with them that the class is designed for children and due to privacy and internet laws when it comes to children, no adults other than the staff can participate.

------------------------------
Kathleen Lugarich
Manager, Visitor Engagement and Programs
Army Historical Foundation
Fort Belvoir VA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-29-2021 02:22 PM
From: Amy Smith
Subject: Adults in children's' art class (virtual)?

Museum minds!  I've searched the threads and couldn't find anything related - so apologies if this question has been answered already.

We have two adults who signed up (via our online portal) to attend our "Saturday Studio" virtual class for children ages 6-16.  I have concerns with this because it's paramount that the security & safety of the children participating always come first, and second, that the adults will somehow "hijack" the class as they may find the content too "basic."  We do not, at this time, have adult online classes mostly because we haven't received enough participation to justify them (financially).

Has anyone encountered this?  We did contact the two individuals (they signed up together) and they understand that it's a children's class - and signed up because of their interest in the topic (Surrealism) being presented.  It just really worries me that this is a "can of worms" that I really don't want to open.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

------------------------------
Amy Smith
Executive Director
Bakersfield Museum of Art
Bakersfield CA
------------------------------

Hi Amy! 

Yes, I have encountered this a few times for some of our children's programming. Occasionally the adult in question is unaware that the program is meant for children (despite the fact that the target age group is listed repeatedly in the description) and other times they're interested in the content and see nothing wrong with joining a kid's program as in your case. However, I draw a firm line at not admitting adults without children to these programs. My reasoning is - we wouldn't let solo adults attend a kid's program in-person for the reasons you listed, so why would we do so for an online/virtual program? It's so important to ensure that the kids are safe online and that their parents know we are doing our utmost to ensure their safety, so in our confirmation emails we include a message along the lines of "this program is meant for children and adults not accompanying children are not permitted and will be removed." However, we do allow educators to shadow some of our programs so we make an exception for them and ask them to email us separately before the program starts. 

It's nice to offer the adults something else instead - even if you don't have virtual adult offerings, you could direct them to an online resource of yours or the programs of a similar institution.

I hope that's helpful! 
Sheridan

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Sheridan Small
Director of Education
Dumbarton House NSCDA
Washington DC
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-29-2021 02:22 PM
From: Amy Smith
Subject: Adults in children's' art class (virtual)?

Museum minds!  I've searched the threads and couldn't find anything related - so apologies if this question has been answered already.

We have two adults who signed up (via our online portal) to attend our "Saturday Studio" virtual class for children ages 6-16.  I have concerns with this because it's paramount that the security & safety of the children participating always come first, and second, that the adults will somehow "hijack" the class as they may find the content too "basic."  We do not, at this time, have adult online classes mostly because we haven't received enough participation to justify them (financially).

Has anyone encountered this?  We did contact the two individuals (they signed up together) and they understand that it's a children's class - and signed up because of their interest in the topic (Surrealism) being presented.  It just really worries me that this is a "can of worms" that I really don't want to open.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

------------------------------
Amy Smith
Executive Director
Bakersfield Museum of Art
Bakersfield CA
------------------------------