How Children’s Books Can Transform Museum Visits

Children’s books have always held a special kind of magic — the ability to open doors to worlds that feel both familiar and new. But they also hold an often-overlooked potential as bridges between children and culture. When used thoughtfully, stories can prepare children for museum visits, help them recognize something familiar once they are there, and later allow them to revisit and process what they’ve experienced.

When I previously worked with children’s literature in a cultural context, I used dialogic reading — an interactive approach where the adult and child actively discuss the story rather than reading it passively. Through questions, reflections, and imagination, the story becomes a shared conversation rather than a one-way narration. I saw firsthand how this approach not only deepened engagement but also significantly strengthened children’s language development — particularly among bilingual children, who benefited from the rich, dialog-based exchange.

That insight has been a cornerstone in developing the Saganauts project. In Saganauts, we’re using technology to achieve something similar: to make the encounter between children, families, and culture more personal, imaginative, and language-enriching.

Through AI-generated storytelling directly linked to museum collections, Saganauts invites children to step into narratives inspired by real artworks, artefacts, and objects. Before visiting, they can read or listen to short, tailored stories that introduce them to the museum’s themes in a playful way. During the visit, they can recognize familiar objects from “their” story — turning a passive viewing experience into an active discovery. And afterwards, they can relive the story at home, expanding memory and vocabulary through creative repetition.

In this way, storytelling becomes a form of cultural translation. The child’s imagination connects with the museum’s knowledge, and the digital layer helps create a continuity between reading, seeing, and remembering.

At its core, Saganauts aims to show that technology doesn’t have to distance us from culture — it can bring us closer. By merging AI, storytelling, and dialogic principles, we can nurture curiosity, strengthen linguistic skills, and make cultural encounters feel both accessible and deeply personal.

Because when stories prepare children to see, recognize, and talk about what they encounter — museums are no longer just places to look, but places to belong.