Rijksmuseum and NEMO Science Museum invite children and their families to investigate real works of art
1 July to 3 September 2023
Publication date: 16 May 2023 - 09:22
Young visitors and their families will get the chance this summer to investigate real works of art in the Rijksmuseum – using the same techniques as the experts who studied The Night Watch. Learning by doing children will find out what goes on behind the scenes in the museum collection. They discover about the diamonds on the crown worn by King William I of the Netherlands, check whether the porcelain statue of a macaw is still intact, and learn how to identify a Vermeer. The entire Philips Wing will be transformed into a huge research lab for Mission Masterpiece, where the whole family can use use microscopes and x-ray machines as they search for genuine masterpieces.
Mission Masterpiece is a partner project between the Rijksmuseum and NEMO Science Museum. The target group for this exhibition is families with children age 8 and up.
We are staging Mission Masterpiece to show what goes on behind the scenes at the Rijksmuseum. We want to pique children’s curiosity, spark their imaginations and, above all, let them make discoveries together.
Taco Dibbits, General Director of the Rijksmuseum
Be a real-life science investigator
The Rijksmuseum’s restorers and scientists are letting inquisitive younger visitors take their place during the summer holidays. We have transformed the Philips Wing into six Mission Masterpiece research labs. They are modelled on the labs at the Rijksmuseum’s Atelier – one of the world’s leading museum research centres. We have selected six objects for thorough research. They are made from a range of materials and they all have different functions. Wearing a lab coat and armed with a research card, everyone taking part will be able to apply the same methods and techniques the Rijksmuseum uses for its own research. They’ll use UV and X-ray machines, microscopes, fibre analysis and tree-ring data to identify textile fibres, pigments, watermarks and dates. Are the objects as old as we think they are? Are they genuine – or are they forgeries?
What makes a masterpiece?
As well as inviting visitors to do their own investigations into materials, dates and production methods, Mission Masterpiece gets them to consider some of the questions Rijksmuseum researchers face every day. Questions like: What is it that makes an object a masterpiece? Was this art work really made by the artist who we think made it? If an object is forgery or broken, does it still deserve a place in the museum?
Rijksmuseum’s first family exhibition
Mission Masterpiece is the first ‘exhibition’ at the Rijksmuseum aimed specifically at families with children. This mission connects young audiences – in engaging and challenging ways – with fascinating stories about objects in the museum collection, and the scientific world behind them. The story, atmosphere and activities in Mission Masterpiece enable children age 8 and up to lead their own research mission and involve other family members. Children’s author Jan Paul Schutten and presenter and actor Sosha Duysker contributed to the exhibition. The exhibition is designed by creative design agency NorthernLight and graphic designer Irma Boom.
Junior think tank
Eight- to 12-year-old pupils at three primary schools contributed ideas to Mission Masterpiece, on everything from the research objects themselves to the snacks served at the opening. These consultations also led to Dutch astronaut André Kuipers coming to open the exhibition on 29 June. The junior think tanks also came up with the idea that children should also attend the exhibition press conference on Tuesday 27 June 2023.
Catalogue
The catalogue accompanying the exhibition is a special Mission Masterpiece edition of Denksport, the famous series of Dutch puzzle books. This holiday activity book is packed with fun facts, puzzles and home experiments. Language: Dutch and English.
Activities
Visiting families are welcome to come to the Rijksmuseum’s Picknick room to join the creative activities, etching and painting demonstrations, and Mission Talks with restorers and scientists. And the Rijksmuseum Café will be offering a Mission Masterpiece Fun Box containing a children’s menu and fun extras.
Accessibility
Mission Masterpiece is open to everyone, including those for whom a visit to a museum may ordinarily be challenging for some reason. The sensory-friendly evening for families, for example, will be open to visitors with high sensory sensitivity. And families with a parent or child with impaired vision can join the guided family tour for blind and partially sighted on 28 July, 11 August and 25 August.
Benefactors
Mission Masterpiece is made possible in part by ING, KPN, AkzoNobel, Stichting Zabawas and the Rijksmuseum Fonds.
Practical information
- There is no exhibition surcharge for Mission Masterpiece, but all visitors age 19 and above must have a valid ticket for admission to the Rijksmuseum (admission to the museum is free for everyone age 18 or under).
- All visitors/participants are required to book a start time. Tickets for Mission Masterpiece go on sale from 15 May 2023. Book here.
- School groups are welcome to take part in term time. Representatives of out-of-school care organisations (BSO) will be able to make bookings for group visits to Mission Masterpiece during school holidays.
Mission Masterpiece runs from 1 July to 3 September 2023 in the Phillips Wing of the Rijksmuseum.
