Exploring the Potential of the Museum of Feelings for Children’s Self-Regulation: A Deductive Theoretical Analysis

Abstract

In today’s world, where people are exposed to ever-increasing flows of information, children may find it difficult to regulate their emotions, attention, thoughts and behaviour. Self-regulation is widely recognised as a key factor in children’s learning, emotional well-being and social functioning, yet there remains a lack of research analysing how processes related to self-regulation can be conceptually explored in museum, experiential and sensory educational settings. To address this gap, this study examines the conceptual links between the exhibits and educational activities at the Museum of Feelings, established in Lithuania in 2025, and children’s emotional, cognitive and behavioural self-regulation. The study employed qualitative deductive content analysis. The museum’s exhibits and the associated educational activities were analysed using a coding system derived from the academic literature. The analysis identified three main categories of self-regulation: emotional, cognitive and behavioural. The results of this study reveal that the museum’s exhibits and activities were conceptually linked to all three categories. The activities analysed were linked to the development of emotional vocabulary, the recognition and naming of emotions and bodily sensations, reflection on the interrelationships between thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and behaviour, attention regulation, impulse control, and the exploration of constructive ways of responding to complex emotions and social situations. By revealing how these aspects of self-regulation are given meaning within the experiential museum environment, this study offers a new theoretical perspective on the educational potential of museum activities. However, the identified links are conceptual and theoretical in nature and should therefore not be interpreted as empirical evidence of the museum’s impact on children’s self-regulation.