You've all probably planned your Mother's Day events by now (if not, why not?) but just in case you haven't, or if you've still got room to add and change your programme then I figured I'd throw out a few ideas.
As an event which celebrates part of the family unit, Mother's Day is a fantastic opportunity for encouraging families to work for each other and with each other.
Some fun ideas that I've had over the years;
- an event that encourages kids to bring their Dad to make something for Mum as a present. This works particularly well when they're doing an activity that Dad will probably feel plays to his strength, such as making a picture frame (Dad's are responsible for supervising the gluing of the wood together for the frame, the kids can take the lead on the painting-and-sticking decoration).
- making bath salts in glass jars as a gift for Mum. This is so easy even very small children can do it, as essentially they're just mixing in colours and scents in a giant mixing bowl and then decanting it into glass jars. Make sure you buy cosmetic grade epsom salts, colours and scents so that they're bath safe. Personalise the activity more by having the children decorate the jar with labels, ribbons and so on.
- making Mother's Day cards. A tip; don't run this activity on Mother's Day itself, as most people have already given their cards by then! If you're going to make cards, do it in the week or weekend before. This sort of activity would work very well with groups of children. There are lots of types of cards you can make, but I find the pop-up flower cards are excellent for Mother's Day, as are the paper tissue flowers with pipe cleaner stems.
- encourage Mum and children to share memories and play together with a special trail. Ask children and their mum to tell each other what their favourite object in a room is, or get them to pick an object and explain it to one another. Play i-spy, twenty questions or other games, using the museum as the starting point. Some of these work well even with older children.
- make Mum medals. Rosettes, made with paper or ribbon, are a lot of fun and fairly easy to make though they can be time consuming. Rosettes can be made to say 'Happy Mother's Day', 'Best Mum', 'I Love You' or anything else at all.
There's just a few suggestions there but hopefully its given you some ideas.
If you'd like step by step instructions for any of the crafts I've mentioned please just ask, and I've sometimes got trail or worksheet templates as well so shout if you'd like them.
If you've got a topic you'd like me to cover in a how-to post, just drop me a line on twitter @Sarah_Fellows or here on the blog and I'll see what I can do!
Saturday, 25 February 2012
Hints, tips and 'how-to's
Hi everyone. I haven't updated my blog in far too long, and I do apologise for that! I'll blame the extended Christmas/Winter period somehow, if I can.
I'm planning a new series of blog posts on the lines of hints, tips and how-to articles all to do with the sorts of things I specialise in; family learning, online engagement and interpretation. I don't believe there can ever be enough free advice out there, so I thought I'd throw some of my own our into the wide world in the hopes that it helps someone.
If you've got a topic you'd like me to cover, get in touch either via comments here on the blog or on twitter @sarah_fellows. It could be anything from ideas for a pirate event (that post is definitely happening at some point) to what craft you could make with empty juice cartons to suggestions for growing a twitter following. Ask away; if I can't help I'll just say so.
Hopefully this will open the door for many comments (though I'd settle for one or two, if you're offering).
Thanks all! And I hope this proves useful for everyone.
I'm planning a new series of blog posts on the lines of hints, tips and how-to articles all to do with the sorts of things I specialise in; family learning, online engagement and interpretation. I don't believe there can ever be enough free advice out there, so I thought I'd throw some of my own our into the wide world in the hopes that it helps someone.
If you've got a topic you'd like me to cover, get in touch either via comments here on the blog or on twitter @sarah_fellows. It could be anything from ideas for a pirate event (that post is definitely happening at some point) to what craft you could make with empty juice cartons to suggestions for growing a twitter following. Ask away; if I can't help I'll just say so.
Hopefully this will open the door for many comments (though I'd settle for one or two, if you're offering).
Thanks all! And I hope this proves useful for everyone.
Saturday, 19 November 2011
Should museums be family-friendly?
I imagine that if you've ever read my blog or follow me on twitter then you've probably already decided the sort of article that this is going to be. I make it very clear, I think, that some of my chief concerns in museums are families; family education, especially.
So I think all museums should be family friendly, right?
Well, not exactly. Yes, and no. I'll explain a little better.
Firstly, there are some museums that by their content alone should never be encouraging children into them. I'm not going to go into details, but let's just say that if a museum's collection is primarily of material you'd expect to only see on television after the watershed then I don't think it's really ever going to be a good candidate for a family fun day out.
Having said that, I do think there is a case for museums to try and be accessible for families. But definitely with certain provisos.
My second biggest irritation (I'll get to the first in a minute) with people who immediately start shaking their heads when you mention family friendly museums is that so often they're equating "family friendly museum" with "museum for children" in their head. And that's annoying, because they're really not the same thing at all. Eureka, in Halifax, is a children's museum. It's designed for kids, with them in mind as the exclusive audience. And it's fantastic, in my opinion, anyway. I'm pretty sure someone who likes visiting the Courtauld Gallery to look at paintings once a week probably wouldn't think it was for them, but that's not the point. It's a children's museum. Somewhere like the Herbert, in Coventry, however, is not a children's museum. Its exhibits can appeal to anyone, and it is the interpretation created by the museum staff that make an object more appealing to a particular type of visitor, whether that's an adult or a child.
Just because a museum is 'family friendly' doesn't mean that it suddenly doesn't want visitors that don't come bringing childen with them. I'd hate to see that, just as much as I hate to see a museum excluding people who do bringing children with them. I firmly believe that museums are an excellent place to encourage inquiry in young minds and I hope they will always continue to be. I also hope they'll continue to welcome inquiring minds no matter what age they are.
My biggest gripe (told you I'd get to it in a minute) is that whenever you bring up the issue of family friendly-ness in museums, you inevitably get someone who'll say something along the lines of "don't let museums be over-run with noisy children", "museums are the last quiet space I have to think, it's terrible that you're trying to destroy them" and so on.
This bugs me a lot, and for quite a few reasons, not least the somewhat hypocritical attitude of "museums can't be the way someone else wants them, because they must be the way I want them". It also bothers me that there are people who seem to want to ban all children from museums because they perceive them to be a personal nemesis of some kind, a sort of anti-peace-and-quiet. I've known some wonderfully calm and polite children; should they suffer a museum exile because not all of their peers can behave in such a socially acceptable manner in a museum? And lastly, it bothers me because if someone were advocating against people of a race, or religion, or gender being allowed into a museum we'd be up in arms about it - so why is it less of a problem when people are discriminating against potential visitors because of their age?
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and maybe somewhere in there they have a point. Perhaps we should be trying to hold events that are aimed specifically at the people who want to come and sit in the peace and quiet, to use our spaces to think or get away from the hustle and bustle. Their wish for that use of a museum is just as important as any other user-group, and we should think about providing for it if we don't already. Just not to the point of exclusion of others.
So that's where I stand on the issue, really. But before I sign off, I'd like to leave you with some really good reasons to consider as to why I think all museums should think about being family friendly, even if you're not actually wanting to attract hoardes of children to annoy the naysayers out there.
Think about the height of your displays
Because children aren't the only people who are short. What about people in wheelchairs?
Think about the language you use in interpretation
Because not everyone is an expert in your subject, or has the benefit of an excellent education.
Think about making things engaging and fun
Because everyone likes to enjoy themselves. People engage more with content if they're emotionally invested in it, no matter how old they are.
Explain things in simple ways
Because not everyone shares the same life experiences. The more simple your references, the more of your audience that will be able to identify with them.
Don't make your interpretation panels too long
Because most people don't have the patience to read lots of text at once. Give people information in bite-sized bits so that they can decide whether to just read the highlights or to go in depth.
Provide pictures and hands-on activities
Because not all visitors learn by reading. Lots of people are kinesthetic learners who will understand and remember something much better by trying it out than by just reading it.
And if you start to think about all of these things, I daresay you'll find your museum is well on the way to being family friendly... and a better, more inclusive experience for everyone else, too.
So I think all museums should be family friendly, right?
Well, not exactly. Yes, and no. I'll explain a little better.
Firstly, there are some museums that by their content alone should never be encouraging children into them. I'm not going to go into details, but let's just say that if a museum's collection is primarily of material you'd expect to only see on television after the watershed then I don't think it's really ever going to be a good candidate for a family fun day out.
Having said that, I do think there is a case for museums to try and be accessible for families. But definitely with certain provisos.
My second biggest irritation (I'll get to the first in a minute) with people who immediately start shaking their heads when you mention family friendly museums is that so often they're equating "family friendly museum" with "museum for children" in their head. And that's annoying, because they're really not the same thing at all. Eureka, in Halifax, is a children's museum. It's designed for kids, with them in mind as the exclusive audience. And it's fantastic, in my opinion, anyway. I'm pretty sure someone who likes visiting the Courtauld Gallery to look at paintings once a week probably wouldn't think it was for them, but that's not the point. It's a children's museum. Somewhere like the Herbert, in Coventry, however, is not a children's museum. Its exhibits can appeal to anyone, and it is the interpretation created by the museum staff that make an object more appealing to a particular type of visitor, whether that's an adult or a child.
Just because a museum is 'family friendly' doesn't mean that it suddenly doesn't want visitors that don't come bringing childen with them. I'd hate to see that, just as much as I hate to see a museum excluding people who do bringing children with them. I firmly believe that museums are an excellent place to encourage inquiry in young minds and I hope they will always continue to be. I also hope they'll continue to welcome inquiring minds no matter what age they are.
My biggest gripe (told you I'd get to it in a minute) is that whenever you bring up the issue of family friendly-ness in museums, you inevitably get someone who'll say something along the lines of "don't let museums be over-run with noisy children", "museums are the last quiet space I have to think, it's terrible that you're trying to destroy them" and so on.
This bugs me a lot, and for quite a few reasons, not least the somewhat hypocritical attitude of "museums can't be the way someone else wants them, because they must be the way I want them". It also bothers me that there are people who seem to want to ban all children from museums because they perceive them to be a personal nemesis of some kind, a sort of anti-peace-and-quiet. I've known some wonderfully calm and polite children; should they suffer a museum exile because not all of their peers can behave in such a socially acceptable manner in a museum? And lastly, it bothers me because if someone were advocating against people of a race, or religion, or gender being allowed into a museum we'd be up in arms about it - so why is it less of a problem when people are discriminating against potential visitors because of their age?
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and maybe somewhere in there they have a point. Perhaps we should be trying to hold events that are aimed specifically at the people who want to come and sit in the peace and quiet, to use our spaces to think or get away from the hustle and bustle. Their wish for that use of a museum is just as important as any other user-group, and we should think about providing for it if we don't already. Just not to the point of exclusion of others.
So that's where I stand on the issue, really. But before I sign off, I'd like to leave you with some really good reasons to consider as to why I think all museums should think about being family friendly, even if you're not actually wanting to attract hoardes of children to annoy the naysayers out there.
Think about the height of your displays
Because children aren't the only people who are short. What about people in wheelchairs?
Think about the language you use in interpretation
Because not everyone is an expert in your subject, or has the benefit of an excellent education.
Think about making things engaging and fun
Because everyone likes to enjoy themselves. People engage more with content if they're emotionally invested in it, no matter how old they are.
Explain things in simple ways
Because not everyone shares the same life experiences. The more simple your references, the more of your audience that will be able to identify with them.
Don't make your interpretation panels too long
Because most people don't have the patience to read lots of text at once. Give people information in bite-sized bits so that they can decide whether to just read the highlights or to go in depth.
Provide pictures and hands-on activities
Because not all visitors learn by reading. Lots of people are kinesthetic learners who will understand and remember something much better by trying it out than by just reading it.
And if you start to think about all of these things, I daresay you'll find your museum is well on the way to being family friendly... and a better, more inclusive experience for everyone else, too.
Monday, 7 November 2011
Short on money, not on ideas
I had an email yesterday which was inviting me to buy a ticket for a fantastic looking conference. It was to do with digital publishing, it had some amazing speakers and it was in England, as opposed to all of the conferences I get excited about that turn out to be on the other side of the Atlantic. In fact, I was all set up to go and buy a ticket until I saw the price; £350 for a day ticket.
Three hundred and fifty pounds? It might as well have been three hundred and fifty thousand.
It's not the first time I've gotten excited about a conference right up until the moment that I saw the price tag associated with being a part of it. Gaming conferences, museum conferences, digital conferences. You name one of my interests and I've probably found at least three conferences or training courses I'd love to attend but can't afford to.
I understand that hiring venues is expensive, not to mention paying top-class speakers. I'm sure the food is top-notch too. I just wish that having a high amount of disposable income, or a large training budget, wasn't such a pre-requisite for being able to hear the ideas of the best in the business, and being able to share your own ideas with them.
In a time of recession, I'm sure even more museum professionals are feeling as I do, and wishing it wasn't so. Is there anything that we can do about it? It feels like such a waste to think of all the students, the staff from small museums and those just unable to commit half their training budget to one conference who aren't able to contribute their thoughts and ideas to the sector.
In the meantime, if you know of any good conferences or meet-ups, networks or anything else that brings good people together, do let me know. I'm particularly interested in gaming, museum education and digital and new media, but love to hear about anything new and exciting.
Three hundred and fifty pounds? It might as well have been three hundred and fifty thousand.
It's not the first time I've gotten excited about a conference right up until the moment that I saw the price tag associated with being a part of it. Gaming conferences, museum conferences, digital conferences. You name one of my interests and I've probably found at least three conferences or training courses I'd love to attend but can't afford to.
I understand that hiring venues is expensive, not to mention paying top-class speakers. I'm sure the food is top-notch too. I just wish that having a high amount of disposable income, or a large training budget, wasn't such a pre-requisite for being able to hear the ideas of the best in the business, and being able to share your own ideas with them.
In a time of recession, I'm sure even more museum professionals are feeling as I do, and wishing it wasn't so. Is there anything that we can do about it? It feels like such a waste to think of all the students, the staff from small museums and those just unable to commit half their training budget to one conference who aren't able to contribute their thoughts and ideas to the sector.
In the meantime, if you know of any good conferences or meet-ups, networks or anything else that brings good people together, do let me know. I'm particularly interested in gaming, museum education and digital and new media, but love to hear about anything new and exciting.
Monday, 24 October 2011
On a digital treasure hunt
This week, I'm setting out on a quest to find the most exciting interactive content there is to find online. Today was day one; I'm hoping that my treasures each day are more exciting than the last, though they'll have to go some way to top some of things I've found today.
I found a few gems today, and thought I'd share them with you.
The Curfew
A game about freedom, oppression and doing the right thing; somewhere between a video and a point and click adventure game, you navigate your way through the stories of four characters to decide who to trust with some secret information you've got that'll bring down the corrupt government.
What I love about this is the realism of the environments within the game; characters shift and shuffle whilst they're waiting for you to do things, signs flicker and things blow in the breeze. They're very real environments and that makes you invest more in the game, I think.
7NK
There's nothing I love more than a good murder mystery, and as they go this looks pretty fabulous. It was designed for the BBC's Shakespeare programme to give visitors an understanding of some of the bard's most key characters. Unfortunately, the link on the BBC website doesn't look like it works anymore, which is a crying shame. The artwork looks fabulous and the game looks to be full of puzzles and questioning suspects; both key factors in any good murder mystery game.
If anyone knows where I can find it online I'd be very greatful; I'd love to play it.
MyUK
A game from the government, of all people. This one is supposed to engage 13-15 year olds with the idea of laws and governance, but I think it'd be pretty good fun no matter how old you are, especially since you get the chance to do very serious law-type things in your five years in office, such as pass rules about the offside law and paint the front door at Downing Street.
It even links into your facebook and twitter profiles so you can share your moments of prime ministerial genius with all of your friends.
You can look out for mine soon, I'm sure...
High Tea
This one is from the Wellcome Collection, and was created to highlight the opium trafficking that took place in the British Empire in the Victorian period. It's a strategy game, where timing is key and gambling helps. I say that; I'm not very good it!
So there's four good examples; unfortunately they don't all work, but some of them should give you some good productive procrastination!
I'm looking for more inspirational interactives out there on the internet. If you know any, please share them with me. In turn, I'll share them with everyone else!
I found a few gems today, and thought I'd share them with you.
The Curfew
A game about freedom, oppression and doing the right thing; somewhere between a video and a point and click adventure game, you navigate your way through the stories of four characters to decide who to trust with some secret information you've got that'll bring down the corrupt government.
What I love about this is the realism of the environments within the game; characters shift and shuffle whilst they're waiting for you to do things, signs flicker and things blow in the breeze. They're very real environments and that makes you invest more in the game, I think.
7NK
There's nothing I love more than a good murder mystery, and as they go this looks pretty fabulous. It was designed for the BBC's Shakespeare programme to give visitors an understanding of some of the bard's most key characters. Unfortunately, the link on the BBC website doesn't look like it works anymore, which is a crying shame. The artwork looks fabulous and the game looks to be full of puzzles and questioning suspects; both key factors in any good murder mystery game.
If anyone knows where I can find it online I'd be very greatful; I'd love to play it.
MyUK
A game from the government, of all people. This one is supposed to engage 13-15 year olds with the idea of laws and governance, but I think it'd be pretty good fun no matter how old you are, especially since you get the chance to do very serious law-type things in your five years in office, such as pass rules about the offside law and paint the front door at Downing Street.
It even links into your facebook and twitter profiles so you can share your moments of prime ministerial genius with all of your friends.
You can look out for mine soon, I'm sure...
High Tea
This one is from the Wellcome Collection, and was created to highlight the opium trafficking that took place in the British Empire in the Victorian period. It's a strategy game, where timing is key and gambling helps. I say that; I'm not very good it!
So there's four good examples; unfortunately they don't all work, but some of them should give you some good productive procrastination!
I'm looking for more inspirational interactives out there on the internet. If you know any, please share them with me. In turn, I'll share them with everyone else!
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Making a name for yourself on facebook
Just a short post today, because I realised something really important that I'd left out of my facebook summary post: how to get a customized url for your page.
In case you don't know what I'm talking about, I mean being able to type www.facecbook.com/yourmuseum and have it take people directly to your museum page.
Getting a "vanity url" as they call them for your page is actually really simple.
1. Set up your page.
2. Go to http://www.facebook.com/username/
3. Select the page you want to set the url for with the dropdown menu
4. Choose your preferred url (the bit that goes after the www.facebook.com/)
And that's it!
A couple of hints and tips:
1. Once you've chosen your url you CANNOT change it. So double check your spelling and be 100% sure about your abbreviations before you type it in.
2. Facebook changes the requirements for a page to have a vanity url all the time. It's usually a number of fans/followers that your page needs to have. At last check it was 20 fans, so it's not exactly a steep challenge for most heritage organisations. This may change in the future, of course. Whatever the requirements are though, facebook will tell you on the /username page.
3. You want your online profile to be as seemless as possible, so if you have a twitter account name, consider using that as your facebook username url. Of course, you might decide you want something more obvious if it's going to be a place you have to direct people to often.
As always, I hope that's useful. Ask if you have questions and if I can answer, I will.
In case you don't know what I'm talking about, I mean being able to type www.facecbook.com/yourmuseum and have it take people directly to your museum page.
Getting a "vanity url" as they call them for your page is actually really simple.
1. Set up your page.
2. Go to http://www.facebook.com/username/
3. Select the page you want to set the url for with the dropdown menu
4. Choose your preferred url (the bit that goes after the www.facebook.com/)
And that's it!
A couple of hints and tips:
1. Once you've chosen your url you CANNOT change it. So double check your spelling and be 100% sure about your abbreviations before you type it in.
2. Facebook changes the requirements for a page to have a vanity url all the time. It's usually a number of fans/followers that your page needs to have. At last check it was 20 fans, so it's not exactly a steep challenge for most heritage organisations. This may change in the future, of course. Whatever the requirements are though, facebook will tell you on the /username page.
3. You want your online profile to be as seemless as possible, so if you have a twitter account name, consider using that as your facebook username url. Of course, you might decide you want something more obvious if it's going to be a place you have to direct people to often.
As always, I hope that's useful. Ask if you have questions and if I can answer, I will.
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Facepaints and Visitor Feedback
You might not think that facepainting and museums go all that well together. Dogs, butterflies and spiderman in lurid colours on kids' faces are more the realm of birthday parties than museum events, right?
Well, I'm sort of hoping I might change your mind about that in this post.
Here are the top reasons I think facepainting should be included in at least a couple of your events every year. Oh, and it's important that it's your staff doing it too - but I'll get to that in a minute.
1. Kids LOVE it. And I mean LOVE. Most children who would otherwise not sit still to engage with anything remotely museum-y (is there such a thing?) will happily sit quietly for ten minutes and let someone doodle on their face with a paintbrush.
2. Parents love it too. Mostly because of #1 - they love that their kids get to sit quietly for a few minutes. I'm sure they love the animal impressions that come after you've finished just as much, too.
3. Most importantly: it gives you a captive audience. Whilst the child is sitting there, at the mercy of your artistic talent, you can ask them all the questions you wish you could ask every visitor. Are you having a good day? What's your favourite thing you've seen or done? Is there something you're looking forward to later? Have you been here before? Everything you ever wanted to know. And their parents are right there too, ready to be quizzed. Have you ever had a better chance to do some on-the-spot evaluation?
Bearing that in mind, because I'm sure I've just convinced you all to slot some facepainting into your programmes for next year, here's a few things you need to think about before you get out your "facepainting here today" sign.
1. Buy good paints. I can't stress how important it is not to give your visitors an allergic reaction with cheap face paints. Invest in a decent brand, like Snazaroo. It's honestly worth it; not only are good paints easier to paint with than the ones you might pick up from the poundstore, but you'll get some instant respect from any visitors who have painted faces before just for having a good brand on the table.
2. Find someone with some artistic talent to do the painting. It's not fair to say that everyone can be a face painter. Having said that, though, just because you've not done it before doesn't mean you'll be terrible; there are some excellent books out there which have some great simple designs in. If you're only confident doing a tiger, a butterfly and a dog then that's fine. Just make sure you make that clear on the signs that that's what you're offering.
3. Consider your event and your audience. Nature events are a great time to get out the facepaints because it's so easy to find loads of great inspiration for face paint designs in the animal kingdom. But that's not your only option; I've done painting for "princesses" and "fairies" at a magical event before, just by offering small stars or glittery swirls. Small children often won't sit still long enough for a full face so if you know you're going to get a lot of little ones then think about what cheek or arm designs you could do.
4. Facepainting doesn't have to cost the Earth. Parents are very grateful when you can offer it for free, or even for a small charge such as £1 for a full face. If you're not confident in your abilities just yet, offer it for free. You can always start charging at events later in the year when you feel you have improved.
5. Facepainting is time consuming. Make sure you plan enough time into your day for it. If you're expecting a lot of visitors then don't expect your facepainting staff member to have time to do anything else that day.
I've been facepainting for about five or six years now, so if you've got any other questions about it then just ask, as always I'm happy to answer.
Well, I'm sort of hoping I might change your mind about that in this post.
Here are the top reasons I think facepainting should be included in at least a couple of your events every year. Oh, and it's important that it's your staff doing it too - but I'll get to that in a minute.
1. Kids LOVE it. And I mean LOVE. Most children who would otherwise not sit still to engage with anything remotely museum-y (is there such a thing?) will happily sit quietly for ten minutes and let someone doodle on their face with a paintbrush.
2. Parents love it too. Mostly because of #1 - they love that their kids get to sit quietly for a few minutes. I'm sure they love the animal impressions that come after you've finished just as much, too.
3. Most importantly: it gives you a captive audience. Whilst the child is sitting there, at the mercy of your artistic talent, you can ask them all the questions you wish you could ask every visitor. Are you having a good day? What's your favourite thing you've seen or done? Is there something you're looking forward to later? Have you been here before? Everything you ever wanted to know. And their parents are right there too, ready to be quizzed. Have you ever had a better chance to do some on-the-spot evaluation?
Bearing that in mind, because I'm sure I've just convinced you all to slot some facepainting into your programmes for next year, here's a few things you need to think about before you get out your "facepainting here today" sign.
1. Buy good paints. I can't stress how important it is not to give your visitors an allergic reaction with cheap face paints. Invest in a decent brand, like Snazaroo. It's honestly worth it; not only are good paints easier to paint with than the ones you might pick up from the poundstore, but you'll get some instant respect from any visitors who have painted faces before just for having a good brand on the table.
2. Find someone with some artistic talent to do the painting. It's not fair to say that everyone can be a face painter. Having said that, though, just because you've not done it before doesn't mean you'll be terrible; there are some excellent books out there which have some great simple designs in. If you're only confident doing a tiger, a butterfly and a dog then that's fine. Just make sure you make that clear on the signs that that's what you're offering.
3. Consider your event and your audience. Nature events are a great time to get out the facepaints because it's so easy to find loads of great inspiration for face paint designs in the animal kingdom. But that's not your only option; I've done painting for "princesses" and "fairies" at a magical event before, just by offering small stars or glittery swirls. Small children often won't sit still long enough for a full face so if you know you're going to get a lot of little ones then think about what cheek or arm designs you could do.
4. Facepainting doesn't have to cost the Earth. Parents are very grateful when you can offer it for free, or even for a small charge such as £1 for a full face. If you're not confident in your abilities just yet, offer it for free. You can always start charging at events later in the year when you feel you have improved.
5. Facepainting is time consuming. Make sure you plan enough time into your day for it. If you're expecting a lot of visitors then don't expect your facepainting staff member to have time to do anything else that day.
I've been facepainting for about five or six years now, so if you've got any other questions about it then just ask, as always I'm happy to answer.
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