Árbær Open Air Museum

_Growing Pains_ is an experiential exhibition emphasizing creativity, education, imagination, and playfulness. Visitors get an insight into the world of primary school children in Reykjavík between 1898 and 1974. Today, most people living in Iceland take education for granted and even find it hard to imagine that it was not a given. However, it was not so long ago that education was considered a human right.

Special attention was paid to public health within the school system during this period, but many necessary steps were taken to improve children's health. These include food donations, medical services, and phototherapy for cold-prone and weak-footed children.

The exhibition allows children to reflect on the past and for adults to remember their primary school days.

The design of the exhibition is in the hands of the design team ÞYKJÓ. All their work aims to stimulate children's imagination and creativity in free play. With the establishment of the Children's Council ÞYKJÓ, the designers want to honor Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is about respecting children's opinions and that adults should listen and take them into account. The children's council is constantly changing, and this time, several classes in Ártúnsskóli make up a council about the exhibition. They are experts in what it's like to be a child in elementary school today, and the exhibition content and format changed a lot after their involvement.

Laugarnesskóli í Reykjavík, skólabörn í röð við skólabíl, nóvember 1953. Ljósmynd: Sigurhans Vignir 

The exhibition was designed with sustainability and environmental protection in mind. It aims to reuse, reduce, and recycle as much as possible in every aspect of the project.

The exhibition is based on the results of detailed research by Reykjavík City Museum experts. It supports Árbær Open Air Museum's role as a leading force in collecting and disseminating material culture related to children and children's culture. 


#### On the occasion of the exhibition's opening, a symposium on exhibition design will be held at Árbær Open Air Museum on Wednesday, May 22, at 15:00.



Grow­ing Pains

The experimental exhibition "Growing Pains" gives you an insight into the world of primary school children in Reykjavík between 1898 and 1974.

Growing Pains