MUSEUM AS A “THIRD SPACE”

Abstract

Modern life and society development, as a result of technological progress and accelerated flow of information, require an individual to study longer and acquire more knowledge than formal institutions provide. Therefore, lifelong and informal learning becomes an imperative of modern life, while social interaction is the central and most important concept for their realization. Current considerations on how to organize the functioning of museums for the purpose of more effective learning create a certain pressure on them that should lead to the transformation of learning in the museum, which would be the result of social interactions and active participation in the community of those who learn, instead of the transmission of information. The "third space", apart from being an informal space for learning, is a place where new learning patterns and new knowledge are created through the integration of experiences gained in different situations, and a place of transformation of participation in community practice, where the potential for the creation and development of new knowledge grows. More and more active work is being done to improve learning in the museum in which there is a rich interaction between visitors, and visitors and curators or exhibited objects, so the goal of this research is reflected in the perception of museums as "third spaces" that enable visitors to learn from each other in an informal context in mutual cooperation, and with their joint contribution create new communities of practice and new knowledge. The goal is achieved by applying the method of theoretical analysis and the technique of content analysis. In the first part of the paper, different approaches to the concept of the "third space" are presented, while in the second part of the paper, perceiving the museum within that concept is analyzed. As an informal learning space, the museum represents a large source of opportunities for learning, regardless of whether the learning is unconscious or self-directed. It provides the opportunity to engage in different learning communities, and within those communities, to connect old and new experiences, redefine old experiences, develop new patterns of learning, transform relationships and build new connections. The pedagogical implications of this paper include a better understanding of the museum as a "third space", because through such a way of observing the museum, the social context of learning is emphasized as necessary for the construction of new knowledge.