Eardley, Alison F.Dobbin, ClaireNeves, JoséliaRide, Peter2023-02-072023-02-072018Alison F. Eardley, Claire Dobbin, Joselia Neves & Peter Ride (2018) Hands- On, Shoes-Off: Multisensory Tools Enhance Family Engagement Within an Art Museum, Visitor Studies, 21:1, 79-97, DOI: 10.1080/10645578.2018.15038731064-5578http://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/13312Families with young children typically struggle to engage with traditional art museum environments. This research examined the impact of multisensory tools on family engagement within Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar. Sixty families with at least one child aged 0–11 were observed during two tasks. One task required participants to look at a series of paintings to select their favorite. In another task, families were given a toolkit of multisensory items to facilitate interaction with a painting. A semi-structured observational method produced quantitative and qualitative data about participant engagement and intergenerational interaction. Self-rating scores of task enjoyment were also collected. Results indicate that multisensory tools enhance family engagement with museums, artworks, and each other. Results also suggest that word-based interpretation was not necessary. We consider the potential implications of these findings in relation to family programming within art museums and museums more generally.engMultisensory toolsMuseum environmentsEngagementjournal article10.1080/10645578.2018.1503873