During the 26th ICOM General Conference held in Prague, the ICOM Extraordinary General Assembly approved a new museum definition – “A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.”.

According to this definition, museums play active role in shaping knowledge through enabling people to explore collections for inspiration, learning, and enjoyment. They safeguard a wide range of unique collections that are huge part of the communities’ heritage and make them accessible to the public through museum exhibitions. These collections are invaluable because they tell stories that help people to identify with and appreciate their heritage.

In Kenya, museums are one of the most sort-after educational resource especially in the education sector. The Kenyan education system known as the Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) incorporated heritage studies as part of the school syllabus. The syllabus also makes it mandatory for learners to visit museums, sites and monuments as an extension of their classwork. The curriculum identifies the museum as an educational centre that can shape the future of education through the hands-on and interactivity aspect of museum’s education programmes which is highly observed in the competence-based learning.

The museum education department is mandated to develop education programmes and interactives. These programmes which are both curriculum-based and non-curriculum-based are designed to communicate to audiences of all ages. Interesting and interactive modes of information transmission are used in interpreting exhibitions which enhance and deepen visitors’ interactions and create more understanding and connection with the objects.

Museums as research institutions also place them as a major contributor in shaping the future of education. In Kenya for example, numerous discoveries have been made especially on the area of palaeontology and archaeology. The numerous unique heritage collections and exceptional stories make Kenya to stand out as the ultimate education hub. For instance, the discovery of Turkana boy, Homo erectus, who is the only almost complete hominid fossil to ever be found, sets Kenya on the world map. Turkana Boy together with more than 350,000 fossils, about 700 of which belong to ancient humans are preserved at the National Museums of Kenya. These spectacular discoveries earned Kenya the title Cradle of Mankind.

The education department works with researchers from various research departments. The education officers, then translate research findings into interactive teaching and public programmes at appropriate levels of learning. Many primary, secondary schools and colleges as well as any other interested member of public continue to benefit from these research findings and education programmes. These programmes therefore create a link between learners and industry experts which promotes access to trusted sources of knowledge and not relying too much on the internet

Museum education provides examples of how schools can widen their approach beyond focusing on academic work which promotes competency-based learning. It encourages learners to participate in activities that encourage them to use and develop social and interpersonal skills and be inspired to make connections to programmes that serve the community.

The future of education is to create a safe space for learners to discuss pertinent and sensitive issues and participate in educational activities related to these issues. Museums provide these spaces.

Museum education programmes promotes experiential learning which on top of equipping the learners with various knowledge and skills, they also promote creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. For instance, many of the education programmes offered at the National Museums of Kenya use the learner-centred approach where they are exposed in immersive situations that requires them to interpret museum exhibitions.

It is through museum education and interaction with various museum fields that learners are exposed to various career choices at an early age. By participating in education programmes, they get exposed to real-life experiences of museum activities and careers.

In order to reach to a wider audience, the National Museums of Kenya has adopted new technologies of digitising all museum objects, a programme that is still at its formative stage. However, more methods have been adopted to ensure that the education programmes reach more people including, conducting zoom lessons especially with the learners who are not able to reach the museum, outreach programmes to schools that are in areas that find it a challenge to visit the museum and teachers’ workshops that demonstrate the various ways of engaging learners interactively, among others.